Fly fishing equipment reviews

RiverFly Fly Fishing Tackle and Equipment reviews

Orvis Helios

For many I used Sage fly rods. This all changed at Christmas 2010, when we went about testing a heap of different rod brands in preparation for opening FlyShop 1864. The standout rod amongst 4 major brands, was the award winning Orvis Helios range. Upon release they won the Fly Rod and Reel Magazine award for best rod, and it’s easy to see why. The Helios is the lightest fly rod range available, using proprietary resin technology and built in the Orvis factory; the results are ultra-light, extra-strong fly rods. These rods are lighter than top of the range Scott, Winston, Hardy, Gloomis and the new Sage One, and our favourite among the current crop.

The Helios have great feel, so the caster can sense the rod loading, and the rod tip tracks straight with no bounce, enabling smooth and accurate casting. Thought has even gone into the rod tubes – no clunky alloy tubes costing you excess baggage at the airport, or weighing down the hiking packs. Instead, the sealed rod tubes are carbon fibre, ultra light yet strong. It makes sense that the lightest rod in the world has a tube to match, and it’s this type of thought that led us to make the change to Orvis.