I believe that was while they were being handmade in their warehouses.. blanks were completely hand laid.. They are a far superior product compared to what they were a few years ago..

I have personally built hundreds of Rainshadow blanks .I feel the consistantly on dimensions are very close meaning that the actions will be the same overall in the same model . They are very straight and the (seam ) spine is straight on the blank with no grinding flat spots . What it will cost you to build it in to a rod is about 1/3 the cost of a factory Loomis. Replacement of a section is $15.00 plus your postage to mail. I love them .Haveing wrapped Loomis since the mid eighties I gave up on them about 5 yrs. ago because of poor quality . It does`nt make sense to return a factory rod because of a bad guide . The price you pay it should have good componets.

I would agree with ironhead
we build hundreds of Rainshadow blanks each year
they are by far the best blank on the market in my opinion!

Very clean, straight and a consistent taper.
and the new XST series is incredible!