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Travel Rod Test

Manufacturer: Orvis
Model: Silver Label TL 906-4 Mid Flex 7.0
No of sections: 4
Length: 9'
Line weight: 6
Price: £270

Description

Low gloss grey blank with blue wraps with spigot ferrules. American snake rings with hay fork tip-top. One lined stripping guide. Wood real seat with black anodised locking mechanism. Good quality reverse half wells handle. Supplied in rod bag with covered tube with identifying plate on the end. Twenty-five year guarantee against breakage: however a rod may be damaged or broken, it will be repaired or replaced.

Testers' comments

Peter Sutton: This rod immediately felt light and crisp in the hand. The choice of rings and their position on the rod was, I felt, excellent. The build quality could have been better and a cosmetically more attractive reel fitting would have been nice on a rod of this price but functionally it could not be criticised.

This was an exceptionally pleasant rod to use, smooth and vibration free. It coped equally well with long, short and roll casts developing good line speed with exceptional loop control and comfortably casting distances of 90 feet.

I thought the mid-flex rating of 7.0 given by Orvis was spot on as was the recommended 6 line weight. The mid-flex rating of this rod may well have a wider appeal than the more 'racey' tip action of some of the other rods on test here and this should be borne in mind when making a selection.

Orvis has always had a good reputation for customer care and their guarantee of 25 year repair or replace no matter what the cause of breakage is one of the industry's best.
This rod was one of my favourites.

Terry Lawton: This was a very nice rod and an easy long distance caster. It had a nice light feel, very smooth and with next to no vibration. I thought that it was better for longer casts than short casts. I know that Peter thought that the rings and their spacing were good, but I thought that the distance between tip-top and top ring was greater than ideal and that the reel seat was a little suspect. I must say that I found the Orvis mid-flex and similar rods much easier to live with than the more tippy, faster rods.

Summary

A very good buy for someone who wants an Orvis rod but at a lower price than the other Orvis rods on test. We all liked this rod and gave it 8/10.

The rods

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