i could see building a sage for a rod that only gets used in the holiest of places, but i'd never spend $300 on a loomis, much less $500 for a finished sage. a blank will run you around $240 the last i checked. figure in $60-100 in components and the rest is just sweat on my brow.

i like to ask the question...is sensitivity REALLY all that important? the only reason i spend more than 100 bucks on a rod is mainly for lightness in the hand, or the joy of fishing with a nice piece of equipment. i'm gonna build a glass rod and drift fish it this winter for steelhead, doubt it'll make any impact in my numbers.