Scott Radian - Who has had one in hand?

[Scythe]

Howzit,

After watching the clip Redhumpy posted a few weeks ago about the Scott Radian, I was quite eager to not only see this rod, but also to cast and possibly fish it, notwithstanding the price tag, which in my opinion, would have taken a lot of rod to justify, when compared to other 'premium' price rods like the Sage Method or the GLoomis NRX.

Mate of mine went to Mavungana's intro of the Scott Radian this past weekend, and the resulting review (from him) was somewhat disappointing.

His comments were :

1) Finish and aesthetics - Typical Scott, nothing fancy, nothing noteworthy or remarkable. It's not a beautiful rod by any stretch of the imagination and the finish doesn't scream 'I'm quality, buy me now!'

2) Feel, weight, trim, fittings - aside from the good cork, the use of old style stripper guides and low quality components is compounded by the weight of the rod (it's neither light, nor nimble) and you don't get the feeling that you're handling a canon or a fish muscling monster like a GLoomis GLX or even an NRX. When comparing blank diameter to other rods of a similar perceived ability and specification, it's obvious there is a lot less blank on the Radian.

3) Casting, etc. - At best the rod can be compared to the Sage TCR, which as you well know has been superseded by both the TCX and the Method in the Sage stable and it (The Radian) doesn't compare favourably to either the TFO Axiom (older) or BVK (newer), especially not when considering the ~R9K price tag.

Overall verdict - Nothing special and the steak is definitely not worth the sauce.

Is it possible that due to the intention of creating a 'jack of all trades' rod, Scott has in fact produced a rod which is indeed the master of none?

Does anybody else who has actually held, cast, or fished this rod have a differing opinion?

I'd love to hear.

[gkieser]

I am dying to try one.

Just as an aside, what did he think of the Sage One? I know how i feel about the ONE, so if i know how he feels about it, i might know what the chances are that i will like the Radian (probably makes no sense)

[Scythe]

He really liked the One, very capable rod, lovely trim, etc... first time we cast it together was a factory build 5WT and what we thought it would be great for was presenting hoppers on long lines to Yellows in clear water. (ie : Softer, yet accurate tip while being able to maintain higher line speed required for long casts and even precision dry fly work on longer leaders <12' while remaining light in hand and having enough power to pull really hard on fish)

[gkieser]

Thanks. I feel the same about the ONE - love it to pieces.

I have read a lot of guys that like the ONE don't like the Radian and Vice Versa - it seems like a common thing that you like either but not both which is why i asked the question.

[William Ewels]

I have read a lot of guys that like the ONE don't like the Radian and Vice Versa...

Good info but I wish this could be more clearly articulated - what are the precise characteristics of the do and don't likes in both camps?!!!

[gkieser]

Good info but I wish this could be more clearly articulated - what are the precise characteristics of the do and don't likes in both camps?!!!

I dont know - just a lot of people seem to have that feeling. I cant say myself as i have not held a Radian in my hand.

[GGY]

I'll have my new 10ft 7wt Hardy Zenith in a month, and would love to cast it next to an equivalent Radian to compare.