# Allen Azimuth Review (Pic Heavy)



## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

So, I just bought the 10' 7wt. (I have no 7wt and have wanted one). 

$154.50 with an additional 10% off if you signup for newsletter (marketing BS). Coupon code = SM10 if you don't want to signup to get it.

http://www.allenflyfishing.com/azimuth-rod-series/

Heard decent things here and there, but never seen/cast/touched the rod, or read anything that I would consider a thorough review. It is supposed to be a fast rod, and the pics looked fairly decent. Allen says you can return for full refund if you don't like it and the plastic is still on the cork. So relatively low risk if it sucks.

Anyone have experience with this rod, that can give input? Or link to a decent review? I will cast and review, once I receive the rod, just looking for any thoughts/opinions in the meantime.

LH


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Crickets.......

125 views and not a single opinion, most rod/reel talk threads get down right exhausting. I hope this thing isn't a dud.....


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I have been very tempted to try a 6wt Allen rod and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

Sorry, no experience with that one. Interested to hear your review.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

They're normally over 300 and they cut them 50% so hopefully it's decent. It should be in today so hopefully I'll get some pics and comments up soon. Is there a way to change the title of a thread?


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## CaptainRob (Mar 11, 2007)

A friend of mine had one a while back and I got to cast it a few times. Seemed a little stiff to me. Almost as if their 8 would have been better as a 9, if that makes sense. 

Overall though, the rod seemed built well and held up well in saltwater. 

Let us know what you think once you get to use it a bit.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

*Allen Azimuth 10' 7wt.*

I was delayed reviewing and casting for a while due to work and a long overdue short afternoon of fishing.

Received the rod on time, shipping was prompt and packaged well. 

Long story short the rod is a good buy @ $155 and I like the way it casts (only lawn casts so far) BUT!! in my opinion it is not a $310 rod as it was originally offered. I would not be happy at all with this rod, @ that price point. Allen will let you return the rod if it does not meet expectations, as long as the plastic is still intact on the grip/butt. Plastic has been left on during review and photos, and will be kept until I'm certain I'm keeping the rod.

*Packaging*
Rod comes in a decent nylon covered plastic triangle shaped rod case embroidered with Make Model and rod flavor info. Foam inside each end like most to prevent damage. Also a nice rod sock 

































*Grip & Seat*
Cork all looks very nice (rubberized accent rings on grip and fighting butt), as does the burl wood reel seat (double up-locking reel seat). Plastic wasn't removed 


































*Guides and Wraps*
Standard rod info, nothing special, no trim bands, dark orange color. The biggest negative on this stick is the epoxy application and the guide wrapping. Some of the guide wraps had very small gaps, the epoxy application was clear and smooth without bubbles. The other issue was a drip of epoxy on one of the snake guides (shown below) I will try to remove with a little heat and blade. I will report back on how that goes. 

















Small gaps shown on left side guide wraps here.

























Rod info used for line-up indexing marks. 









*Rod blank* was straight, when all guides were lined up. 










*THE BLOB!!* This is the epoxy blob mentioned earlier, I will keep the plastic on the rod until this is successfully removed with no ill effects. I was really surprised by this, how do you miss that as a QC...?


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

*Casting*
Disclaimer..to me this rod isn't a traditional 7wt, stiff and fast with lots of backbone. Feels like a 7.5wt.
Rod feels light in the hand and the swing weight feels minimal. With the 10' length I actually expected it to feel tip heavy. I didn't have any 7wt line to use so I used Abel 3N I had setup with 8wt Wulff Bermuda TT. The 3N isn't the lightest reel, with this reel the rod felt a little tail heavy and unbalanced. That was until I got the line out of the rod tip and started casting...that's when this rod really woke up and felt balanced. The WTT 8wt is a little too much line for this rod for serious distance casting but with the head out of the rod tip one backcast (double haul) yielded approx 55+ feet of line shooting out with very little effort. I think this would have actually been better if I had taken the time to straighten the line. It was not shooting very well from some serious memory due to the smaller arbor of the 3N combined with not being used in way too long.

Pics with reel mounted.









































In closing I think the finish of this rod does not do the action justice, the action of this rod is awesome (for my casting). Simple things and a little better QC would really make this rod worth the original asking price. *At $150*, I think it is an *Excellent rod for the money*, and will serve my intended purpose well, (beater to leave in the boat or truck, and not fuss over other than a rinse here and there). If any of you guys have any specific questions just let me know and I'll try to accommodate. I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

LH


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

That size and weight is really designed to get out and wade the flats. The extra foot helps to keep flyline up off the water when you are in knee deep of water. That's also the preferred rod for steelheaders up north for the same reasons, but including mending and other tricks needed to cast and manage line on fast moving rivers.

So for down here, you basically have a rod for those areas you want to get out of the skiff and wade for trout and reds. It doesn't have a real advantage when you are up on the deck on your skiff.


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## THTSARUMR (Apr 13, 2016)

Great report. Only experience with 10 footers I have was using them as nymph rods Czech nymphing but I could see the advantage fishing grass flats when in the taller grass or having to cast over a creek bank with taller grass on its edges.


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## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

I have a 5 wt and an 8 wt Azimuth. It's a great rod especially in the wind when you need to turn over.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Nice report LH, 

It is the end of July...have you been out steelheading?

I might be up that way in a couple weeks.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

DuckNut said:


> Nice report LH,
> 
> It is the end of July...have you been out steelheading?
> 
> I might be up that way in a couple weeks.


No sir, I tried going for some smallmouth up at Rock Creek in the Kankakee state park Sunday morning. I hadn't considered all the rain we had the couple days before and when I got there, there were 1' rollers in the creek and the water looked like chocolate milk. I just turned around..... Hoping I can get out on the St. Joe river before I leave, if work schedule allows. I should be done up here by the end of August.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Nice report. I am with Ted. A 10', to me, is actually a bit of a disadvantage on a boat....just harder to get land the fish. But I love using a 10' rod when I am steelheading or wade fishing a lake.


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