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A new series of rods designed for all-water application. The R8 represents the most cutting edge fly rod design by utilising a revolutionary new composite, developed in conjunction with the world's leading aerospace companies. Make no mistake, the R8 is a revolutionary new fly rod.
Sage on their new R8
R8 Technology - Shaping eight revolutions in how we fish Since our founding on the shores of Puget Sound four decades ago, Sage has repeatedly revolutionized graphite fly rod technology. We’re lucky to live at the confluence of a diverse angling culture and an epicenter of the aerospace materials industry. This overlap between opportunity and knowledge, between legendary Steelhead rivers and leading-edge composite scientists, between trout streams and saltwater habitat—essentially between the art and the science of fly fishing—has shaped our characteristic outlook on innovation from our very first Winslow blanks to our latest generation of graphite and taper revolution. R8 Core is focused on maximum versatility and applies new revolutionary material technology through our forward-thinking lens of what we’re seeing out on the water where one rod needs to show even greater range. At its Core, R8 Core traces a direct lineage to Sage’s multi-application vision, one shaped by the fishing evolutions happening all around us—from habitats we stalk and waters we frequent, to the flies we fish and the diversity of species we now target.
SHAPING 8 REVOLUTIONS IN HOW WE FISH
R8 TECHNOLOGY
For most of us, an idyllic day on the water is not when we’re thinking more, but when we’re thinking less. Finding that state of fishing in the moment, where instinct and experience bring us to an almost zen-like awareness of each subtle motion and movement—that’s what R8 is all about. It’s not a race, but a state we all aim to reach out on the water. With R8 we enhance that two-way connection from hand to fly and back for greater feel, flow, and control.
ENHANCED HAND-TO-ROD CONNECTION
We’ve increased the purity of graphite in the rod for even more reactivity and sensitivity, shifting energy further down the blank and into the handle. This transfer of energy creates a more natural extension of your arm, ultimately resulting in less wasted effort and intuitive reactivity. Rather than dialing up parking lot distance, we’ve shifted the thinking back to the roots of rhythm and awareness—where you can experience the energy happening in each moment.
AMPLIFIED SENSORY FEEDBACK LOOP
Effortless energy transfer and more connected feel, the amplified two-way feedback loop of R8 Technology, due to our new axial fiber formulation, allows you to feel when the power needs to be applied throughout the cast, presentation, and when applying the appropriate pressure to fish.
HEIGHTENED
FISHING EXPERIENCE
Whether it’s the mental chess of matching the hatch, the headspace of reading the water or the instinct putting a fly in exactly the right spot—our best days emerge when our mind is right. It always seems that when we’re not thinking about it is precisely when our fishing mind takes over—where every single moment feels almost automatic or instinctual. With immediate feedback from tip to hand, R8 is designed to facilitate that higher state of mental flow and focus when small decisions, thoughts, and actions line up effortlessly.
PURE GRAPHITE
The advanced, leading-edge material behind R8 enables us to shape a rod with a stiffer, stronger backbone but a more sensitive tip and more connected feel. The secret is twofold. First, a proprietary aerospace composite with a greater hoop strength enables us to dimensionally grow taper diameter more quickly from the tip—while a nano-sintered resin application increases axial resilience and allows us to pack more fiber into the blank, resulting in that true two-way connection from hand to fly and back for greater feel, flow and control.
EFFORTLESS ENERGY TRANSFER
Elongated energy transfer shifts the sweet spot closer to the hand creating a more natural extension of your arm for greater range, quicker reactivity and less wasted effort.
NEW AXIAL FIBER FORMULATION
Advanced nano-sintered resin application and a more resilient axial fiber allow us to re-profile the dimensional taper to get thicker quicker from tip to butt - resulting in better energy transfer and greater feel. Simply put - a better and more efficient "wiring" of energy.
NEW CIRCUMFERENTIAL
HOOP FIBER
Advanced hoop fibers hold blank in optimal cylindrical shape creating greater circumferential strength - continuously maintaining the inherent blank strength while actively engaged or under tension.