The Vapen Red Revolution comes to GAC!

The Vapen Red has arrived @ GAC!

Fly rods have cork handles, that's the rules right? Wrong. For the last few months we have been playing with an amazing rod with a new handle material - and it's awesome! The Vapen Red from Redington features a unique grip, developed in conjunction with Winn Grips of Golf fame, and it is set to start a revolution!

We have used the Vapen Red for a while now - it's awesome!

In the last few years you may have noticed a decline in the quality of cork grips on all types of rods, and although in fact it may not be as bad a situation as some would have you believe, it is getting harder to find top quality cork at a reasonable price. The reason for this is simple. The cork oak tree is first harvested when the tree is around 20 years old, and then every 9 or 10 years after that. The best quality cork isn't produced until the 5th or 6th harvesting and for some trees the best quality isn't until the 8th or 9th harvest! The very best cork always goes to the wine trade and this combined with poor growing conditions over several seasons means there is a lot less quality cork to go around!

The new PowerGrip comes in traditional handle styles

So in an ever expanding fly fishing market, rod designers have been looking at other materials for fly rod handles with mixed success, the most popular so far being the cork composite type grips where real cork granules are mixed with a high density rubber compound, like the handle on the new Greys GR10 range. These handle are durable and grippy even when wet but can be heavy compared to natural cork - not necessarily a bad thing at the thick end of a rod but on paper it can make rod weights look high and put buyers off a little. However this type of handle material is getting lighter all the time and is probably here to stay for now.

Could this be a rival to the time served cork handle?

The PowerGrip featured on the Vapen Red is the latest incarnation of this move away from traditional cork.
To create the Vapen Red’s custom unique grip, Redington collaborated with renowned golf club grip company, Winn Grips. Together they developed an advanced polymer grip that won't slip when wet, feels soft in the hand and reduces fatigue. It also cleans easily, doesn’t chip and helps amplify casting power. You need to try this grip to believe it - it may be a bit 'Marmite' but we love it! But enough about the handle, what about the rod itself?

GAC's Dougie Loughridge bashing some fry feeders with the Vapen Red

The word Vapen means weapon, and as Redington say, you don't cast this rod, you fire it! We were a little worried that the flashy red handle would grab all the attention while the blank would be forgotten about but once you cast the Vapen you will instantly notice that it is a little bit special. Redington’s new X-Wrap construction method involves wrapping one layer of super-high density carbon ribbon inside the blank and another counter-wrapped on the exterior surface. This new X-Wrap construction method provides surprising power with little effort. The technology is so distinct you will actually see the difference in the blank. And the best part? Anglers have the option of combining this X-Wrap technology with the entirely new PowerGrip as the Redington Vapen Red or a traditional cork handle as the Redington Vapen, meaning you can benefit from the new blank technology whatever your handle preference!

The Vapen is also available with a cork handle!

The Redington Vapen and Vapen Red series of rods is available to purchase from Glasgow Angling Centre now both online and instore or why not drop by and try one out on our casting pool to see what all the fuss is about for yourself! Click here to see the range now!