Hardy & Greys - Alnwick, England

Proaxis 1-Piece Top in 8-weight Shoot Out

26/07/2011

In a test meant for 4 piece rods, the one-piece #8 Hardy Proaxis wows the Yellowstone team; declaring it the best #8 they have ever cast. Gravity Redefined!
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Final Results

The Hardy One-piece takes the prize as the best 8-weight rod you can buy!
Total Performance Scores in all distances:

#1 - Hardy Proaxis 8'10" 1-pc .......62.5 points out of 66
#2 - G. Loomis NRX 9' #8 4-pc ......61.5 points out of 66
#3 - Sage Xi3 9' #8, 4-p .............. 59.0 points out of 66

George Anderson:
Alright, so we can't count it, but in my eyes this was the real winner. Although most anglers need to have a 4-piece rod, (especially if they are doing any traveling on the airlines), there are some anglers that can get by with a one-piece rod, especially saltwater fly fishermen that can keep a one-piece rod in their car or boat with little trouble. Even freshwater anglers can live with a one-piece rod as long as they have multi-piece rods they can take on a plane with them. Either that or they buy a Titanium Rod Vault which rides on top like a ski rack, giving you access to 3 pre-rigged, ready-to-go rods.

Thing is, this was the best 8-weight rod we've seen or tested. Guides and saltwater anglers that have their own skiffs will absolutely love this rod, and since we know they will appreciate this rod more than anyone, we felt it was in everyone's best interest to talk about our experience with this rod even though it cannot be part of our 4-pc. shootout results.

The 1 pc is unbelievably light. Casting with it feels like you're somehow managed to temporarily go to the moon where there is very little gravity. It is fun to cast up close, extremely accurate at mid distances, soars like a dragon, and will throw a 300 grain sinking line with ease. This rod goes beyond what I had expected from Hardy or any rod manufacturer! It goes beyond the laws of nature. This rod's performance is off the richter scale. I will sooner give Hardy my hard earned cash before I give them this rod back! Accolades galore on this one to all who work for Hardy; you just made my fishing year more fun, so thanks for that.

By the way, we had the opportunity to cast the 4 and 5 weight 1pc Zenith rods and we are pleased to report they are just as good if not better than the 8 weight version! I thought they made even the Zenith 4pc models feel bad. The game has been changed. Our advice - buy one now, you won't regret it!

Jamie Anderson:

The good news, is that the Hardy ProAxis 1pc was absolutely phenomenal, (in fact, the best 8 weight rod we've ever tested)

Robert Kovich:

This rod makes you want to go out and buy a new car with enough room that you can fit a one-piece rod inside for all of your fishing ventures. Although we are really comparing apples to oranges with this rod, I found this to be the best performing rod in our tests. If you are in an area where traveling with this rod from location to location is not an issue, or if you can keep it in your boat or skiff, this is my choice for the best 8-weight rod you can buy!