Gear Review: Redington Torrent Fly Rod

Seeing as the blog is in it's infant stages, I'm not in the position of receiving free fly fishing goods to test  and review. That being said, if I personally buy a product and feel strongly about it (for good or bad), then I'll possibly post a gear review on it. The following review is my honest input about a product that I spent my hard earned money on... enjoy.

Redington Torrent 8'6" 4 wt 4 pc. Rod

Despite being on a budget, I was on the hunt for a perfect small/medium water dry fly rod. I had a few 5 and 6 weight rods in my quiver but wanted a faster action 4 weight that could shoot some serious line, had solid pick up, but would also cast accurately in close/tight situations. With summer dry fly season nearing, I wanted to find a rod that would fit all those needs but for under $300.

Thankfully, you don't need to spend $750 anymore to get a quality made fly rod. I looked at rods from Echo, TFO, Orvis, Sage, and Scott before settling on the Redington Torrent. One of my local fly shops, Westslope Fly Shop in Spokane, was kind enough to order the rod in for me and allowed me to cast it before I walked out with the rod. Being a newer model, none of the local stores had any Torrents in stock.

Beautiful wraps and green finish. Nice work Redington. 

After just a few days, the rod arrived from Bainbridge Island and I met owner Jesse Clark at Westslope to test cast the rod. First impressions were simply... "wow." The Torrent featured a fairly fast action but was inherently smooth with a slightly tip heavy flex. I was throwing accurately from 15-60 feet and if needed I could punch it further. To be blunt, it cast better than my older Scott A series 5 weight and it gave the Sage VXP (a $500 rod) a serious run for it's money in lawn casting scenarios. Needless to say, after test casting it for a half hour, I left with the rod in hand.

Finish wise, the rod features a nice dark green finish that has some SERIOUS coats of paint on it. Talk about a glistening finish. The cork was not necessarily premium (some filler, but to be expected) but the grip was comfortable and more than adequate. The reel seat has a green graphite insert and a single up-locking reel seat keeps my Lamson Guru 1.5 securely in place. Stripping guides are PacBay and are high quality, and the wraps are nice and neat. The rod tube is a sweet stealthy gray aluminum with a lime colored Redington Logo.

Graphite insert on reel seat. 

The real test for a rod is, to me, how it fishes. A rod can lawn cast like a dream but until you fish it and become infinitely familiar with it, you don't know what you're getting into. The Redington Torrent is built to fish. I've used it with great success throwing everything from dries on the Bitterroot (60 foot reach casts with accuracy) to dropping lighter double nymph rigs on the Coeur d'Alene River. This rod is simply wonderful. Fish from 6" to 18" are a blast on this setup and though a 3 wt would be fun on smaller mountain streams, the 4 wt. Torrent doesn't feel like overkill in those situations.

I love the faster action (now that I've been fly fishing for long enough, I feel that a faster rod can work for many different applications) and enjoy the light weight, sleek finish, and of course the low sticker price.

This Bitterroot Cutthroat was a Torrent 4 wt. victim. 

You can certainly find a cheaper rod out there, but you wont find many with this quality finish, action, and phenomenal warranty (Redington/Sage are some of the best in the business). I suspect that the rod taper was borrowed from an older or current Sage model (perhaps the VXP with slightly lower modulus graphite?) and I don't regret the purchase in the slightest. I'll be looking at a Torrent or Predator in the future for a solid 7 weight streamer/bass rod and recommend it to anyone looking to find a quality, fishable stick.

Redington Torrent Grade Sheet -

Finish - 9/10 (only cork could be better... but for the price that's not realistic)
Hardware - 8/10 (reel seat is solid, but a slightly sturdier one would be nice)
Lawn Casting - 9/10 (faster, progressive action... similar to Sage VXP)
Actual Fishing Situations - 9/10 (can really do it all in the 4 wt class...)
Value - 10/10 (Great work by Redington... as usual)

Overall - 9/10. I prefer this single-hander over a similar CPX and find it to load with minimal line out, make accurate casts from 10-60 feet, and the fit and finish of it is excellent for the price. Pick one up and you wont regret it.