Guys....

Dorber FINALLY has the Ultraweave 7'6 2wt blank in stock.....and it should be on its way to my house sometime this week.....

Does anyone have the weight of the Struble nickle silver D-25 seat versus the aluminum D-3? I know that if weight was a huge concern I should get a sliding bandd seat - but I just prefer a locking seat.

And........I've heard that burl cork is heavier than standard cork rings. I've planned on getting one of the new burl cork blocks from Mudhole and turning a handle from that. Any intel on the weight difference between regular cork and burl cork??

Sorry - I'm not usually this obsessive about stuff.

David

David, funny you should bring this up. I just posted about a similar thing on a different thread. I just picked up an Elkhorn 2 wt with nickel-silver hardware and I sure wish they would have used aluminum!

The Elkhorn has a cork reel seat but the uplocking hardware weighs a LOT. I have a Cabela's 3 wt with a similar cork reel seat with aluminum uplocking hardware and the weight difference between the butt section of the Elkhorn and butt section of the Cabela's is 0.5oz (1.9 oz versus 1.4 oz). That 0.5 oz of extra hardware comes out to 20% of the weight of the rod. (the Elkhorn butt section is 1.5" longer than the Cabela's but that weighs next to nothing).

For a UL rod that 0.5 oz feels like a lot. You tell me if having nickel silver looks that much better:

Elkhorn:



Cabela's:

If you go with nickel silver you'll need a very light reel to balance it. This Elkhorn is an 8' rod and even with the Hardy Flyweight (2.6 oz) reel it's a little butt-heavy. With a 7'6" blank it will be even harder to balance. Having said that there are a lot of guys who don't worry so much about the balance point so maybe it won't be noticeable to you. Do you know which reel you'll be using on it?

dorber has the all cork grip and reelseat with the aluminum rings; they sell those to blank buyers at cost. That makes the ultraweave light as a feather. When you put a grip, reelseat, and hardware on the little rod, you compromise its lightness. The blank weighs less than an ounce; the all cork less than an ounce; with single foot guides you will have a rod that weighs around 2 ounces, or even a little less. I built a 3 weight-7 foot ultraweave with all cork, single foot guides and it weighed less than 2 oz.; the 2 weight is 6 inches longer so it will be a tad heavier.

The CT 2/3 is supposed to weigh 3.25 oz--about the same as an Orvis BBS I, and 0.6 oz more than a Hardy Flyweight, so you might want to go as light as you possibly can on the reel seat.

David. A cap and ring seat is about as secure as a screw lock. As to total weight, a long or relatively heavy blank needs to be balanced somehow. This means that the reel and seat/grip combined weight must stay within certain parameters. A 2.2 ounce Forbes magnesium or Dennison gives you an ounce or more of leeway in the seat/grip. This more than offsets the weight of the NS or the screw lock. However, some rigs will require the 1.6 ounce Forbes. Jerry posted a pix of my Dan Craft 0 weight and you can see how I addressed that problem with the Forbes. That is a special run REC and I think the hardware was aluminum. Incidentally, I like a very tip heavy rod when fishing UL. Don

WOW....thanks!

I emailed Struble for weight information on some of their seats - a NS cap and ring (D-27), an AL cap and ring (D-2), a NS locking (D-25) and an AL locking (D-3).

It will interesting #1 - if they answer me and #2 - what the weights are.

It's a personal thing, but I dislike sliding band seats. I had UL spinning rods as a kid with sliding bands to hold the reels in place and many times I had to resort to electricians tape to secure the reel in place with out it coming loose. It's this inherent bias I have (maybe illfound) that keeps me leaning towards a locking seat. Plus, to me they look odd with the rings canted over - looking like they are jammed up on the reel foot, barely holding it on.

Maybe a cap and ring would be different?????

What sorts of seats does Sage use on the factory assembled TXLs?

Interesting article on UL fly reel seats - http://www.byrdultrafly.com/seats.htm

David

PS. I got an email today from Dorber. My blank was shipped today! Should have it by Saturday or Monday.

Yeah.....on the Sage......NS or AL? Specially machined to weight less? Brand?

In the link I posted by Bill Byrd, he relates how he had a reel come loose on a sliding band seat.

Guess I just have to make up my mind. I think what I'm going to do is weigh the blank when it gets here.....and then make some decisions.

I was hoping to use the Redington CT reel, but I might need to either trade it for a lighter reel - like a Forbes mag, or convince my wife I need ANOTHER reel.......if I can save an ounce in reel weight.

Thanks for the info.

David

The situation on Byrd's rod was a poorly designed seat, not because of the cap and ring or sliding bands. The Sage uses aluminum hardware, and I am sure it is light gauge stuff at the heaviest. If you are looking for a light reel, look no further than Dennison. That is the best $50 I ever spent.

Sage uses Struble seats. I believe they use the the U25 on the TXL's. David, cap and ring seats work, they are very popular. I have one on the Matrix 2wt I just re-wrapped and I've never had an issue, it holds the reel tight. I used the D2 with aluminum hardware on mine. In my opinion, the Struble D2 is one of the best deals in reel seats. They can be had for around $25 in aluminum. Check Mudhole as they have all the different wood options for the D2. I highly recommend it, and I'll be using D2's again in the future.

J.