A fly fishing rod is what you need if you’re planning an outing that would involve angling on small to medium-sized rivers or trout rivers. You need to catch fast, heavy fish, and most importantly – have fun! You equally want to build momentum with the weight of the fly line, the flexibility of the tip, and the thin build of the rod.
The Redington Butter Stick and the Echo Glass Fly Rod are some of the best fiberglass flyrods out there for these. So, which do you choose?
To help you close this case, my Redington Butter Stick vs Echo Glass Fly Rod comparison article will give you headway!
More About Redington Butter Stick: Reviews
The Redington Butter Stick is a family of cool, vintage-styled, and beautiful flyrods made out of fiberglass and aluminum. Having tested the flyrod myself, below, you’ll find the features and what I think about the Redington Butter Stick Fly Rod.
Features
The Redington Butter Stick is the pleasure of modernized fiberglass rods. It gives me the pleasure of a slow action to delicately present my fly with precision in the tightest places.
From materials to length, weight, and rod elements, below are some of the main features of the flyrod:
- Fly rod made of fiberglass
- Reel seat anodized with anodized aluminum
- It features a compartmentalized Cordura tube or case
- Includes a fly hook
- It’s equipped with a fighting butt at the bottom.
- The structure has alignment dots
- Models with 1wt to 5wt have unique cork handles and slide rings.
- The Butter Stick range includes the 1WT, 2WT, 3WT, 4WT, 5WT, 6WT, and 8WT versions.
- Likewise, the rod is available in 5’9″, 6′, 7′, 7’6″, and 8′ lengths.
Note: The description of the features of the Redington rod covers the first release of the Butter Stick and the 2.0 versions. Also, to the lighter-weight models of the Redington Butter Stick family have the traditional quark reel seat.
Design and construction
Redington designed this to have a superb vintage look that will set you apart at the edge of the water.
Overall, it has a great-looking finish, although not as beautifully finished as the Echo Glass Fly Rod. It has a vintage finish and the Butter Stick 2.0 versions have the Star Wars or Atari style font which is cool looking.
The fly rod is designed in a T-Glass style on the brand’s Heritage taper.
However, if you’re worried about a rod that might be brittle or fragile; don’t worry about it. This seems to be quite durable. On personal observations and having read reviews of verified customers, I’ve seen almost no breakage issues with these fiberglass rods from Reddington.
I think this is a stronger fly rod when you compare it with the Echo Glass Fly Rod. Also, the Redington Butter Stick comes with a lifetime warranty, which tells you just how sturdily built and reliable it is.
The feel and ease of use
The great thing about this rod is that you can catch fish and still have fun too. This rod does take me back to when rods had a lot more personality and flexibility.
If you take a look at this and you look at the flex it makes, you get to feel the spirit of this rod on every single cast and every single bite. You cannot expect a fast action with this, however. Rather, you’ll find out it’s gentle and slow.
The rod’s tip is very flexible. And what I don’t appreciate about this is that unless you’re very gentle with it, the rod always oscillates at the stroke’s end.
Due to the flexibility of the fiberglass and the weight of the line, a lot of users also feel it’s a bit hard to master. You wouldn’t be able to cast your line accurately more than 20 feet with consistency.
I also observed that due to the flexibility of the tip, you’ll experience wind knots more commonly if you mistime or overpower the casting.
But it’s one of the ways this rod differs from the Echo Glass Fly Rod. A professional angler will get the hang of this aspect much faster.
The price
There’s not much of a difference between the retail price of the Redington Butter Stick and the Echo Glass Fly Rod. However, this is much less expensive but is still within the $200 to $250 range. Still, most beginners in angling will find this too expensive as there are fiberglass flyrods that sell for $100 to $180 or less.
Note: There is a little bit difference in price between the Butter Stick I and II versions. The Butter Stick II is more expensive than the earlier version. However, both come with a lifetime warranty.
Application
The flyrod is a model for those who need to slow things out while fishing but enjoy their time out on the water. It’s a slow-action fiberglass rod but it delicately gives a fly even in very tight places.
By their action, these rods should be great to any fisherman, even a beginner who has the budget.
Pros – why you should get it!
- Anodized finish makes it ideal for saltwater
- Professional fly casters would appreciate this more
- Designed for lovers of vintage pieces
- Very flexible tip, but strong rod
- A lot of flyrod weight options
- In case you come across aggressive fish, this has a fighting butt
Cons – what could be better!
- Will be too expensive for some, especially the Butter Stick II
- Wind knot problems
More About Echo Glass Fly Rod: Reviews
I’ve mentioned a lot about the Redington Butter Stick Rod which is made of fiberglass. And it shouldn’t be surprising when I also say that the Echo Glass Fly Rod is made of fiberglass; which further complicates the effort of telling which is the better between the two. But, still, there are telling differences.
Below, you’ll find out descriptions of the features, design, and construction, and what I think of the fancy flyrod.
Features
The Echo Glass Fly Rod is a piece of rod specially designed for young anglers who love cool designs and want fun on their fishing trips. From materials to length, weight, and rod elements, below are some of the main features of the flyrod:
- It’s built with fiberglass.
- The flyrod also has anodized aluminum construction.
- The flyrod has a square rod case and sock covered in fabric.
- The rod has a down-locking reel seat. It has a cork spacer and standard anodized aluminum.
- Only available in three weight variants – the 2WT, 4WT, and 5WT.
- The rod also has versions measuring 6’9″, 7’6″, 8′, and 8’6″ in length
Note: The longer the rod is, the more the weight. For example, the 6’9″ version has 2WT while the 8’6″ one has 5WT.
Design and construction
The Echo Fly Rod is a piece specially made from fiberglass with a fancy paint color. It’s not just a one-of-a-kind design. Echo has been making glass rods for a while and glass is also very popular with fishing flyrods these days.
Starting from the bottom is a kind of a funky decision from Echo with an S-glass construction. What’s great about it is the bright fluorescent teal blank combined with white wraps. The product is available in two designs: Carmel and Glacier.
Like all River Glass rods, the product is built and painted by hand. So, the rod you get may have some color and construction variances. However, what’s great with this is that each rod is an art piece that is uniquely designed from each other.
I think the design is very cool and the components are matching. It has a traditional hard chrome stripping guide and a hard chrome snake guide.
The fly rod has a little bit more mass on the tip than you’d be used to on a graphite rod. But it is still a lot of fun when you use it to cast.
The feel and ease of use
Asides from the cool design and its handmade construction, the question is, why should you grab a fiberglass rod like this one when you’re fly-fishing and what are its applications?
Well, first, it’s a lot of fun. Secondly, there’s a certain amount of feedback or soul that a fiberglass rod gives you that doesn’t exist in today’s modern fast-action graphite fly rods.
When a rod flexes, conventional lightweight rods recover so quickly that you lose some of that vibration. And that vibration normally translates into a little more feel. However, you might even learn quicker and better with a rod like this flyrod.
It vibrates more. That vibration translates into an understanding of how hard you hit the cast or whether you’re punching it too soon. And so, besides just being fun to cast with, there is one thing that people like in fiberglass and glass flyrods like this one from the Echo brand. This is simply that the fibers help you fish well than when you’re fishing with a rod made of carbon fiber.
This rod offers easy casting. It’s not super sloppy in the bottom of the rod and too soft like you’d expect from your grandfather’s old glass rods. So, they’re a well-performing rod that matches a big range of casting styles.
However, what I didn’t like about this rod is that it is not customizable at all. It’s made in China and it’s not as reliable as the Redington model, even though they’re both made with almost the same materials. However, the Echo lifetime warranty should suffice to instill confidence in its reliability.
I also found out that finding accurate casts at around 20 to 30 feet away is a bit difficult. But why should you always stay that farther away from your cast area?
Price
Like the Redington Butter Stick, this model costs under $250. However, it’s still much more at the high-end for fiberglass flyrods; this is more so since its overall build quality cannot be compared with those from the premium range. For example, the fiberglass Drifter Series from Moonshine which belongs to the Echo Glass range is about $50 less expensive and is also highly chosen by fly casters.
Application
Echo has built this funky little rod in a hot color. It is going to appeal to the younger angler who’s looking for an option that’s going to be a little bit more fun on smaller to bigger fish.
But still, I would place it in the category of lower-end fiberglass rods, despite the price. However, it is the perfect rod for a beginner who’s not generating a ton of line speed. It’s also a great rod for guys who are looking to have a little bit more fun in their small stream fishing.
Overall, this is a little glass rod that will get the job done. But don’t expect it to do everything and be everything.
So, should you get this or simply keep your money or instead opt to spend the money shopping for fish? Well, I’m going to tell you something; If you like pan fishing or fishing in small to medium size trout rivers, you should choose this glass rod!
Pros – why you should get it!
- Hot, funky, and artistic design
- It’s designed for young anglers seeking fun
- Gives me a lot of feedback
- Built and painted by hand, it’s a unique piece of art
- A warranty that lasts a lifetime
Cons – what could be better!
- It’s unreasonable high price still not giving it the premium tag
- Could be more accurate for long distant casts
Redington Butter Stick vs Echo Glass Fly Rod: a Side-by-Side-by-Side Comparison
Below is a side-by-side table chart analysis explaining how both products compare, using criteria such as the material quality, price, ease of use, durability, and who it is meant for.
Final Verdict
Fiberglass rods have become ‘trendy’ again in recent years for anglers looking for different and strong sensations. But unlike the Echo Glass Fly Rod, the Redington rod has a simple, but vintage design. The Echo Glass Fly Rod has a fanciful design, both in the Glacier and Carmel finish.
The slow-action Redington rod is well suited to short and medium-range fishing for trout and medium-sized fish. It offers flexibility, fishing pleasure, and strong combat sensations. The Echo Glass Fly Rod is ideal for small stream fishing, pan fishing, or fishing in small to medium size trout rivers.
However, overall, it’s a tough call. Both are priced similarly, have similar constructions which include fiberglass and anodized aluminum materials, and come with a lifetime warranty. Hence, declaring an overall winner may be rather unfair to the second. But I think the Echo Glass Fly Rod is ideal for young, fun-seeking, fishing enthusiasts while the Redington Butter Stick would be ideal for professionals and lovers of everything vintage.