In building the Helios 3 rod series, Orvis’ designers engineered a rod that damps tip vibrations without affecting the rod’s power and flex. It’s earned Gear of the Year honors (Men’s Journal) and it’s my pick as Best Ever Trout Rod.
Our team of testers found the Helios 3F was more accurate and sensitive than any other rod we’ve ever used. At the same time, the rod offered up enough power to push line to the furthest pocket water we could find without any loss of accuracy.
Orvis accomplished this leap in accuracy and power by engineering a rod blank with unmatched wall strength, meaning rod tube stays open and round rather than deflect into an oval shape during the cast. This limits vibration, allowing the rod tip to track in near-perfect alignment with the casting motion.
In a move to further match the needs of anglers, Orvis developed two versions of the Helios 3. OF the two versions, the H3D – D for distance – features less taper and more stiffness in the blank design. That allows the H3D to retain the intrinsic accuracy of the rod while enhancing its casting power. The H3D excels on the open water and windy conditions found on saltwater outings, whether its chasing salmon in Puget Sound, or Bonefish in the southern seas.
The H3F —F for feel — features more taper that provides and less stiffness to enhance the rod’s accuracy. A slight drop-off in casting distance is more than made up for with supreme accuracy and delicate presentations. Our team used the 3F, and we found we could reach all the water necessary on big western rivers. We were easily able to drop flies 50 to 60 feet out and do it with more finesse than we could with any of the other fast-action rods we were testing.
Indeed, the only rod that came close to the H3F’s presentation sensitivity was a classic 7-1/2-foot Orvis 99 Bamboo rod. This 50-year-old split cane rod lacked casting distance, but was a master at placing flies delicately on the water, just where we wanted them. The H3F did the same but at far greater distances.
Orvis designers stated that “all modern fly rods are powerful. But accuracy is everything — accuracy is the new frontier in fly rod design.”
If so, Orvis just launched a moonshot while leaving the competition in low earth orbit!
http://www.orvis.com/helios-3-fly-rods
