Do any of you have knowledge of these fly rods/blanks. I just had never heard of them and did a little checking. I talked to the owner, David Ahn. Says he is a Physics Scientist and developed these rods and has been selling them for 14 years. Obviously, he is very high on them and extols their positive aspects. The concept sounds good, but I admit I know nothing about them and have no other independent opinions on them. He told me he has patented the process and the major dealers won't handle them as they want the rights, or at least that's the way I understood him. Mainly curious for any input on this. If they are as good as he said I would like to build one for Steelheading. The blanks run around $275.
Thanks

The dealers do not have any interest in obtaining the design or manufacturing rights to his rods. They're not in the manufacturing business, they're in the sales business.

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If Mr. Ahn's titanium rod blanks displayed exceptional qualities and performance during the 14 years he has been selling them it would be remarkable that fly fishermen kept this information a virtual secret for 14 years.

Ask him what country these are made in. $275 should get you a near top of the line blank from a US manufacturer. My guess is that he is selling a graphite $80 import blank at a premium price and calling it titanium because it sounds sexy.

But I agree with Phil. In 14 years these would be mainstream if they were truly exceptional.

Just because he's a "physics scientist" doesn't mean anything. I took physics in college too.

Drew

PS: I found this gem on their overhyped, short on specifics website:

ADG® is dedicated to and has contributed to, the improvement of the fly-fishing industry over the decades. ADG® Titanium Fly Rods and other innovative products are designed, engineered, and distributed from our location in Denver, Colorado.

These are imports. Nothing wrong with that, just be aware you could do better for much less.

He has a titanium wire ribbon in the blank. Perhaps the idea is to increase hoop strength, but I think better means are at hand for that.

In short, it wouldn't be fair to say his product isn't good - he couldn't stay in business selling them for this long if that was the case. Obviously his rods have their fans. But, it seems reasonable that after 14 years it's not the second coming of the fly rod.

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Thanks for the input. Like I said, I was just checking this out and it surprised me that in 20 yrs of building I had not heard of them. I certainly had/have my suspicions and figured I have this great resource of builders to draw on (I not blowing smoke at you) and figured there had to be some input on this. I long ago learned I can build a quality rod from a top notch company without having to spend a fortune and give a product that will perform as well or nearly as well based on the customers experience or needs. I do appreciate the input.