Buy one.... or if you did, whould you do it again?

I've had my CR 290F for 2 seasons now its a great rod & hella stout, sure it will outlast all my old style IMX's & most of my lami CP's.

I'm pretty tough on my gear when I'm fishing, they tend to get tossed around in the boat when the action is fast, I'm not much of a high sticker but I whould fearlessly put more of a arc in this Sage than any of my other rods. I really don't think I could bust it on a fish.

On the other hand to me, when fishing my IMX 1025c then switching right off to the 290 it feels Sage sacrificed a bit of sensitivity for durability.

But to me, if not overdone thats not a bad thing......

Your thoughts??

C/22

Hey Brad, I have the Loomis 1084c imx and just LOVE it. Personally I would not spend the extra 200.00 for the Sage. I have fondled them at Three Rivers and their sweet though!

Ron, that IMX 1084c is one of the best rods Loomis ever put out. I have seen some guys use them year after year flat bending them into a capital "C" fighting kings in the 23-35 lb class. & they keep coming back for more. On the other hand my IMX 1082s blew-up on me running 10 lb. mono to a hot steelie, and each time I get a good fish on the 1025 I'm thinking shes gonna blow. In the back of my mind I'm thinking "its a brittle, brittle stick don't over-flex, go easy..."

C/22

I hear ya..the key is Babying them and they will last. Any little flaw can turn into an explosion. I'm on my second in 13 years :>)

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.

I don't think I would want a glass rod for Drift fishing but pulling plugs or plunking would be nice.

I don't know why I don't get it. The light graphite casting rod on the closeout rack for $49 is lighter and nimbler and more fun than my 1970 Eagle Claw yellow fiberglass rod - with the cold metal reel seat. And when they eventually blow up, I just shop the closeout racks again. I just can't find my way to the brands priced in the hundreds of $$.

Gilly uses them on his charter boat and they are very nice. Are they worth what they retail for? Probably not. I am a loomis guy and I agree with Chum man to a certain point. I dont know how much more sensitive than the GLX or IMX you can get. I am sure Lamiglas has their equalls in sensitivity as well.- Good Luck- TBJ

Im a little miffed right now seeing as I picked up a brand new Z-axis that was my buddies and blew it up on a hook set after landing a fish 5 mins earlier.

I had a 290 built last winter and have no regrets.

I've been a Loomis guy since the mid-80's and still use their stuff for plug rods and summer run rods but I was looking for something different in a new winter-run drift rod, did a little research and chose the Sage. It has an ever-so-slightly heavier feel than the Loomis rods but we're talking a "miniscule" difference. The craftsmanship is superb, action and feel is very good and, in my opinion, is more durable than the Loomis rods.

The retail price is ridiculus but I was able to save almost $150.00 having it built so I went for it.

So far, it's been a great marriage.

I don't get why you would pay more for a Sage when a IMX is lighter and more sensitive.

it's not made by shimano

Shimano, Rainshadow, Eagle Claw I don't care. Give me the lightest most sensitive stick and I'm happy.

take a look at the rainshadow XST blanks then...they're parker approved, and we all know how much of a rod nazi he is.

He''s only using a Rainshadow because Superfly is pimping them now or at least he was.

Rainshadow makes a very good blank!!!

First, I didn't pay but about $30 more for the Sage because it was custom built and second, as I said above, I think the Sage is more durable. The need for sensitivity only goes so far and I think alot of guys carry that argument to the extreme. Not doubting at all the sensitivity and feel of an IMX but I've had too many friends explode them under conditions where they really shouldn't have broken, enough so that I wanted to go a different direction........Sage.

Only 30 more, Wow I thought they were 200 more. I must have been looking at an expensive shop.

Hell if they made a 1264 IMX I would buy it just for the weight. I hate holding a float rod for 8-16 hours.

RETAIL they are about $200 more. That's why I went custom built....the rod builder set his own price and was substantially lower than retail so that made it pretty attractive.

I went into this Sage thing thinking I'd get a blank (the 390) have a guy whip one up for me & away I'd go happy as a clam.

Had the blank shipped to Ted's, contacted a rod builder & went to pick it up. Oh NO!! There was the Sage factory rods all lined up, while the guy went back to grab my Sage blank you know what.......

I went & picked-up a finished 390, well I didn't like it at all, it was to much stick. Picked-up that sexy little 290 and got to thinking.....

Blank.............. $240
Trick Guides......$70
Cork...............??
Reel seat..........??
Have it wrapped..??

All of a sudden that crazy high price tag starting looking OK to me. Once you factor in that slick hard Sage rod tube & sock and the lifetime no questions asked return, it was really looking good!!


Before this gomer could say shazzam!! my visa card was out & I was out the door.


Doh......

C/22

I love my IMX 1025c.

I love my TH Sage 290.

3rd place is the TH RX8 1025c. It's an OK rod. I don't endorse or care too much for Rainshadow blanks. TV's craftmanship and quality components make that rod nice.

I did not care for my IMX 1084c. I sold it.

I'd get another Sage 290 in a heartbeat.

Ok, I'm in a bar typing this on my iPhone. I'm outta here.