I have just had a waggle with the new Hardy rods. Interesting, very interesting Mr Bond!
Very very light and a nice olive/brown sort of metallic(ish) finish with a gorgeous matching reel seat.
The finish is much better than recent Hardy rods but still a fair amount of excess epoxy in some areas along with some rough spots on female ferruls (as it they have been stood against something whilst still tacky).
Cork was good on some rods, poor with a lot of filler on others. It is as if thier Wells handles came from a different place to their Half Wells as the quality difference was noticable.
I felt the rings, once more, were a let down. On a £600 rod I would expect Recoils and genuine Fuji SiC stripper guide. Instead they have fitted fairly heavy gauge wire guides and a Fuji look alike. They are not alone in this as many top manufactures seem to try and scrimp on these items.
All in all the rod looked and felt well balanced. I know a rod cannot be judged by a waggle and a bend against the ceiling, but these rods did feel very different to others on the market. Hope to have a cast soon
