Orvis Zero Gravity 9 Weight

[fiji5]

I am on my way down to Fiji/Australia for a fishing trip over Christmas. Can anyone give me their views on the above rod. I have used the T3 in the past, but was looking at maybe purchasing one of these instead. Any help would be much appreciated.

[jake61198]

I am not much of an Orvis fan and as such really am not familiar with the rod, but from friends and other forums I gather that the T3 was pretty well thought of. From what I hear the Zero G is not being as well recieved. That is just hearsay and hopefully some Orvis users will give you some more solid info.

[Shadowcast]

Good rod. I owned an 8wt. Went back to Loomis.

[Capt. Ted Lund]

Hey Fiji. I've had several sizes of the Zero G, and find them to be pretty good rods. Orvis has traditionally gotten a bad rap in saltwater, but their product development team is one of the youngest and most aggressive in the industry, and it's hard to go wrong with their product. One of the most impressive things about the Zero G is how impact-resistant that material is, because of the construction process. That always comes in handy when you are ceiling fan prone like me.

[fiji5]

Thanks very much for that info. I am going to go down to the local Orvis store and give one a cast. Sounds as though they are not everyones cup of tea, but on the whole not to bad. You say that Orvis has a bad reputation when it comes to saltwater, what are there reels like?

[jake61198]

If you are planning to fish Fiji, you are talking Trevally and they will bring out any weaknesses in your tackle. I have seen the Orvis Battenkill reels explode,so I would reccomend that for an Orvis reel you go directly to the Vortex which I understand to be pretty good. I haven't heard either good or bad about the Mach's.

[Shadowcast]

The MACH's are good reels. I owned a couple. They had some issues in the beginning with faulty clutches. If you are going to tackle a trevally, I'd go with the Vortex if you were going with Orvis reels at all.

[Capt. Ted Lund]

I just received a top secret package from Orvis (as have a couple of other editors that I know)... I can't tell you what is in it, but I had the chance to cast it the other day, and it is one of the most incredible rods I've ever thrown. The jury is still out, as I haven't had a chance to fish it yet, but stay tuned for a big announcement from Orvis in the next month or so. It looks like it will be awesome, taking the Zero G line to another level.

[BP&T]

I recently cast a Zero G and to be honest I didn't notice much if any difference from the T3. Maybe what Capt Ted is talking about might make a difference.

[fiji5]

Capt.Ted, are you saying wait a while before buying a Zero Gravity rod? Went down to the Orvis shop in London and gave one a cast and was very impressed, you got me having second thoughts now!

[George Woodward]

Orvis receives a bad rap, because IMHO they build crappy rods and reels at overblown prices. I've been given several of them over the past twenty years and none have held up to the rigors of continous use in saltwater. There's an "attitude problem" when you send it back for repairs.

I've never had any of those problems with my Loomis, Sage, Scott or Hardy rods and Hardy & Billy Pate reels.

[Legend]

Orvis - highly overrated.

[Mat M]

I've cast the Zero G 8wt and thought it was OK. Wouldn't touch the reels though. There are probably better rods around for the same price. If the budget doesn't allow for a Sage or Loomis the TFO range is hard to go by.

Regards
Mat