Sage POWER R8 Fly Rod Review / Model-by-Model Comparison - Maybe Sage Dies a Slow Death for the Sake of Private Equity Profits
First, a quick overview of these rods (leaked by The Fly Fishing Forum and apparently a few fly shops too) then I will explain why I don't encourage anyone to buy Sage products anymore. This is coming from one of the top Sage dealers in the entire Southeast region for 2023-2024. I wore a Sage hat every day for years (literally, not just a metaphor, an actual Sage hat). My father sold Sage at his fly shop long before I started my own. I am not a Sage dealer anymore, you can probably figure out why. This main photo above is from a recent Bloomberg business article about Simms getting dropped by many customers and fly shops but it provides a glimpse into the future of Sage and other private equity-owned brands as well. This could very well be Sage within the next few years. Why? Well, the guy now in charge at Sage is from... Simms.
The Sage Igniter series was in the lineup for a long time and overdue for an update, which is where the new Power R8 fits in. The lineage of this rod series is likely, as the name implies, derived from the R8 generation more so than it is a descendant of the Igniter. Probably why they didn't call it the "Igniter 2" or what I had suggested to them a long time ago, an "Igniter Salt" rod series which would offer much more power than the standard all-around saltwater offering of the Salt R8. That would address some customer complaints that the Salt R8 is too soft (although I don't think so, it's a very good rod).
I'll take a sampling of some other shops' reviews so you can get a variety of opinions. For example, I just watched the review by Trident for these new rods and they rate it a 10/10 for power but only gave it a 6.5/10 for Swing Weight, which is interesting. So it's pretty heavy as a tradeoff to generate that power. They rated this new Power R8 below both versions of the Orvis Helios (D and F) as well as the G. Loomis NRX+ and just barely above the TFO Solution (around $500, and a great rod). *Note that I have zero affiliation with Trident so you're getting a totally separate and independent professional opinion there from my own review here. Draw your own conclusions. Casting 60ft shouldn't be tough for any modern fly rod and you don't need something heavy to achieve that distance.
With plenty of great, fast rods from other brands such as the Orvis Helios D the Thomas & Thomas Avantt II, or the new T&T Exocett 88 (my favorite of the more modern powerful rods for streamers and saltwater), we can see what strong competition the Power R8 is up against. How will it stack up? The more important question is should you even buy it at all? There are lots of great options from friendlier fly rod brands.
Did you know that as of 2025, no fly shop is allowed to sell RIO or SAGE products on Amazon or ebay anymore? Yep. Not even a pack of leaders. Only they are allowed to sell there (direct to consumers). No fly shops allowed. And if you do it, they'll just remove you as a dealer. Does that sound fair? Does it sound like they support fly shops? Nah. Not anymore.
Sadly the Sage POWER R8 Review really comes down to the questionable direction of that company and their parent company Far Bank, and also that company's parent company, a private equity firm. Following all that? I write my opinions in reviews so customers can make a buying decision with as much information or feedback as possible, often it's information they can't find elsewhere online but which many fly shops might be willing to tell you in person. Support your local fly shop (if you have one). Remember to support independent fly shops as it benefits you and them, and helps advance the sport of fly fishing.
When you buy a fly rod, you want to know that the company has integrity and is still going to be the same one you heard so many great things about, later on when you need a warranty repair or some product help in a few years. Sadly it doesn't look like that's the direction Sage is going now. Their new management has made a lot of questionable decisions, in my opinion, which negatively impact fly shops and also customers.
For example: Kicking all fly shops (authorized dealers) off of Amazon earlier this year. Only Far Bank (Sage, RIO, Redington brands) can sell direct to consumers via Amazon now, cutting out a very valuable source of income for fly shops everywhere. Line, leader, and tippet are important for all fly shops. "Fly shop friendly?" Nope. Not at all. And that's only one small example. While my shop has never chosen to sell via Amazon or eBay anyway, this undoubtedly hurts all fly shops that need the sales since Rio made it so easy for consumers to bypass shops entirely. *Just for reference, Scientific Anglers doesn't even sell directly to consumers at all, only through fly shops, and they do allow any authorized dealer to sell where they please. Scott rods? No direct sales to customers. Only sold via serious fly shops like ours. Why? I suspect two main reasons: 1.) Support fly shops and that community of experts 2.) Make sure customers are getting excellent help and advice with their products. Professional advice, experience, and other things you would never get from buying on Amazon, or from some "big box" stores like Backcountry dot com (where Sage is happy to sell you a rod even though they know nobody there could possibly support the product for a customer who had technical questions).
If you want to know what's likely going on at Sage, just look into what happened to Simms or similar companies when private equity took over. Look on Facebook or wherever you like, search around for customer feedback on all that mess. Watch some of the most popular fly shop Instagram pages as they publicly drop Simms in favor of brands that are more "fly shop friendly" for many, many reasons. Do your own research here, I am not telling you what to believe. Then do the same for RIO fly line issues this past year (also part of Far Bank like Sage). This could very well be Sage within the next few years. Why? Well, the guy now in charge at Sage is from... Simms.
Welcome to fly rods. I've been selling them a long time. If you want to be an asshole in this community, customers and fly shops will know about it. Customer loyalty to a brand matters so much more than it does when you're selling hats and t-shirts. It's not about the product as much anymore when the competition offers similar or equally great options but with much friendlier treatment of both customers and fly shops.
Another example: I just heard directly from a customer the other day that it took 6 months for Far Bank to repair his R8 Core rod. A guy in the comments here is defending Sage by saying it "Only took two months" for him. For reference, Orvis takes about a week for their Helios series which is comparable. Scott and Winston are probably 3-4 weeks on average (estimating here based on lots of customer feedback over the years). Customers rarely seem to break Thomas & Thomas rods so I have very little repair time feedback. I can call the nice people there and ask if anyone is curious. For me as a dealer, they get whatever I need done very fast and they are incredibly nice to work with. That has always been my experience. Wonderful people.
As for me, do you know what happens when a customer breaks any rod that I sold them? They can call me and I'll send them a loaner rod until their rod gets repaired. Every single thing I do is about my customers and I think most of them know that. It would certainly explain why they keep coming back year after year.
I normally would never miss reviewing a Sage rod launch and I have reviewed every other R8 in that rod family (except the Classic R8, because Sage refused to ship me the rods I had ordered from them). This time, as you may expect, Sage's business-challenged management have decided not to cooperate and to be outright shitty to me - The guy writing for one of the most popular saltwater fly fishing blogs on the planet. Yes, really. Hmmm. "Fly shop friendly" they most certainly are not. Hope they enjoy my honest reviews. I think they read this blog more than my customers do.
Worth noting for those who think I am biased somehow when I write one less favorable review... Go read literally every single one of my other Sage or Rio product reviews which are all very positive and have been for years. Nobody cared when I praised Sage but a few people got really upset when I dared to criticize them for valid reasons.
I think it's worth considering which shops and rod brands you give your money to, and if you feel the same then keep all this in mind. I tell the truth and I'm independent of the usual sponsored reviews - I am not paid by any company to review anything so I am able to be much more honest.
If you'd like my suggestion for a great powerful fly rod from a much better, nicer fly rod company, I highly recommend you try the Thomas & Thomas Exocett 88
I sincerely appreciate all the support from my customers as we move on to better brands that actually care about small, independent fly shops rather than those companies just trying to squeeze every drop of profit away from dealers. They will continue to pretend they care about fly shops. Now you know better.
As I always suggest, do your own homework and believe whatever you want to believe. It's a free country.
*Source link of the Simms article from Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-12-18/fly-fishing-brand-simms-faces-retail-boycott-after-private-equity-takeover
Leaked image of the new rods via The Fly Fishing Forum: https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/threads/sage-power-r8-and-arrow.967003/
5 comments
Also, in November I sent 5 Sage products, Salt HD, 2 reels, R8 core, igniter, all took 2 months turn around, reels were fully replaced no charge even though it was me banging them on rocks and out of warranty, one rod was my wrong doing and they repaired it as warranty. cost me total $180, to repair 5 products that were either out of warranty or just me breaking them due to heavy use. I’m not respecting rants stemming from one issue probably amazon sale cuts for you, but using anecdotal evidence to try and smear them… I am not buying sage anymore because I found their line up doesn’t match me, but quality/service is still fine…
In all honestly on multiple occasions I received used or half spooled tippets from fly shops, who knows how it got there, so I do welcome them controlling where their products comes from…
I can feel the pain in this blog and it’s the pain all the customers feel with Sage as well. Shame on you Sage and kudos to you for standing your ground. Keep up the great work running Salt Fly Pro and thanks for treating all your customers with such respect.
Something is not right there … I wanted to see rod review as you posted but it was click bait to read about your frustrations.
Love the honesty and passion in your article! Fly shops are the heart of our sport and when companies like Sage and Rio, under FarBank fail to realize that we all lose. I had a “friend” break my custom, legacy LL and working w/ FarBank/Sage customer Service was a nightmare! Multiple lies to get out of bad service and ended up spitefully mismatching the top from the bottom – last penny I ever spent on FarBank when excellent companies like Scott, SA, Ross, etc. I will continue to advocate against all FarBank products – Sage, Rio and Redington! Cheers!