# New NRX+ Review



## FLmatt (Dec 11, 2017)

Thanks for the review. I’m looking to add a new 10wt and the NRX+ is on my short list. Good to hear it feels like a hybrid of the Meridian and old NRX as I have both and really enjoy casting and fishing them.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

JBH said:


> Just a quick review on my NRX+ 8wt that was a replacement for my old gen-1 NRX. This rod feels noticeably lighter in hand than the previous version and feels like it flexes a bit deeper into the blank. Still has the power of the original but seems to require less effort to access it. It almost feels like a hybrid between Meridian and original NRX. Best 8wt I’ve cast to this point, but I haven’t cast them all. Has me wondering how the 10wt would stack up.


I've thrown the NRX+ in the 8wt and really like it. I definitely like the feel of it in the 8 more so than the older NRX and I agree, it feels lighter in-hand, faster over-all and on the swing and faster in the tip. But they start getting stiffer as you go up in rod weights, like the old NRX's do, which I don't know why Loomis does that to their rods. I through the 11wt in a casting distance competition and it felt stiff and heavy on the swing, but just sitting there, in-hand, felt very light weight. Ok, so I could bomb an entire fly line with it and some backing, but it was a LOT of work. At that point, I picked up a buddy's 11wt Sage X and played around with it before the competition and it felt like butter on the swing. I almost giggled when I was throwing it. He ended up winning the competition and I struggled with the NRX+ at that line weight class. So to get that same feel and action of the 8wt, you need to go to a softer rod in the 10wt and above. To me, the Sage X in a 10 or 11wt almost feels like a NRX+ in the 8wt. Funny tho, the Sage X feels much softer in the 8wt than the NRX+ does.

Someone said the Asquith doesn't get as stiff as you go up in rod weight. But I don't know since I've only thrown their 6 & 8wts, which I don't see what the big deal is in that rod. But maybe the higher line weights, from 9-12wt is a different story. Who knows.

So I recommend you try it out and then compare it to other rods in that line class weight before you pull the trigger. I've often told people this point, you'll be doing a lot of blind casting with an all around 10wt. Since they are physically heavier than your 8wt, as well as the line weight itself and the weight of the flies, you really need a rod that feels easier on the swing, instead of stiff and heavy on the swing, no matter how light the actual rod is. Otherwise, it'll wear you out in short order.

Ted


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## JBH (Jul 17, 2019)

Backwater said:


> I've thrown the NRX+ in the 8wt and really like it. I definitely like the feel of it in the 8 more so than the older NRX and I agree, it feels lighter in-hand, faster over-all and on the swing and faster in the tip. But they start getting stiffer as you go up in rod weights, like the old NRX's do, which I don't know why Loomis does that to their rods. I through the 11wt in a casting distance competition and it felt stiff and heavy on the swing, but just sitting there, in-hand, felt very light weight. Ok, so I could bomb an entire fly line with it and some backing, but it was a LOT of work. At that point, I picked up a buddy's 11wt Sage X and played around with it before the competition and it felt like butter on the swing. I almost giggled when I was throwing it. He ended up winning the competition and I struggled with the NRX+ at that line weight class. So to get that same feel and action of the 8wt, you need to go to a softer rod in the 10wt and above. To me, the Sage X in a 10 or 11wt almost feels like a NRX+ in the 8wt. Funny tho, the Sage X feels much softer in the 8wt than the NRX+ does.
> 
> Someone said the Asquith doesn't get as stiff as you go up in rod weight. But I don't know since I've only thrown their 6 & 8wts, which I don't see what the big deal is in that rod. But maybe the higher line weights, from 9-12wt is a different story. Who knows.
> 
> ...


Thanks Ted...I’ll have to check out the Sage X! I’ve actually seen multiple reports similar to yours about the upper weights in that rod.


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## Mike Geer (Nov 22, 2018)

The NRX+ and the Helios 3D are my favorite 8 wts.
Asquith is the best 9 wt I have ever fished.

mike


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## Mike Geer (Nov 22, 2018)

Both the NRX+ and the 3D load very quickly within 15-40 feet, but then they can both pull that off the water and then shoot an 80ft+ cast with only one back cast.
Most rod do not do that well.

mike


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## JBH (Jul 17, 2019)

Mike Geer said:


> Both the NRX+ and the 3D load very quickly within 15-40 feet, but then can both pull that off the water and then shoot an 80ft+ cast with only one back cast.
> Most rod do not do that well.
> 
> mike


Agree...I like the Helios as well. Although I haven’t throw it beside the NRX+ from memory they seem to have a lot of the same attributes. The 10wt h3d is pretty great as well.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Mike Geer said:


> Both the NRX+ and the 3D load very quickly within 15-40 feet, but then they can both pull that off the water and then shoot an 80ft+ cast with only one back cast.


Gotta have the ability to do both for reds around here.

Time to go look for an NRX+ that I can get some practice casts on...


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Is it still ugly? LOL


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## JBH (Jul 17, 2019)

It’s nothing special to look at that’s for sure. Black glossy blank and white NRX+decals.


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## tunataker (Jul 8, 2018)

I love Loomis but these have to be the ugliest rods I have ever seen.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

If the fly rod has to look good, buy the very pretty Epic glass rods with silk thread.


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## Mike Geer (Nov 22, 2018)

Cosmetics have always been an after thought to me.
The more time you get to fish the less time you spend looking at your rods.

mike


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