Retro Grey / Limited Edition
The all-new limited edition Retro Grey colorway, available in a select few models, is inspired by a pivotal period in Sage history - a time when long-brimmed hats, members only jackets, and eye-catching colors were all the rage. Based on the palette brought to Sage in the early 90’s with the SP family of rods, the Retro Grey R8 CORE features an iconic Teal silk screen and Jade trim wraps reminiscent of the SP blank color and tube accents. Set on the lighter grey blank, the colors pop with the same vibrancy as 90’s culture. Finished with a complimenting Ziricote wood reel seat and Silver Pine anodized aluminum hardware, the new Retro Grey R8 CORE offers a unique take on Sage’s expansive heritage.
MULTI-APPLICATION / FAST ACTION
For most of us, an idyllic day on the water is not when we’re thinking more, but when we’re thinking less. Finding that state of fishing in the moment, where instinct and experience bring us to an almost zen-like awareness of each
subtle motion and movement—that’s what R8 CORE is all about. It’s not a race or
a competition, but a state we all aim to reach out on the water. With R8 CORE we enhance that two-way connection from hand to fly and back for greater feel, flow and control. This Amplified Two-Way Feedback Loop, due to our new axial fiber formulation, allows you to feel when the power needs to be applied throughout the cast, presentation, and when applying the appropriate pressure to fish - ultimately giving you the angler Complete Control.
R8 CORE is focused on maximum versatility and applies new revolutionary material technology through our forward-thinking lens of what we’re seeing
out on the water, where one rod needs to show even greater range. At its core,
R8 CORE traces a direct lineage to Sage’s multi-application vision, one shaped by the fishing evolutions happening all around us—from habitats we stalk and waters we frequent, to the flies we fish and the diversity of species we now target.
COMPLETE CONTROL
• Effortless Energy Transfer and More Connected Feel • Maximized Versatility & Control
• Made to Fish, Not Just Cast
FEATURES
- Revolution 8 Technology
- Silver Pine blank color
- Dark Olive primary tread wraps with graduated White and Grey trim
- Fuji ceramic stripper guides with hard chromed snake guides and tip-top - Black rod bag with new cord lock for quicker, easier, and cleaner storage - Aluminium rod tube with Sage medallion
3wt - 6wt
- Sustainable Ziricote wood insert with anodized aluminum up-locking reel seat
- Super Plus snub-nose half-wells cork handle
5wt - 9wt
- Corrosion resistant anodized aluminum reel seat
- Super Plus full-wells cork handle with cork/EVA fighting butt
- Integrated “hidden” reel seat hook keeper
We’ve increased the purity of graphite in the rod for even more reactivity and sensitivity, shifting energy further down the blank and into the handle. This transfer of energy creates a more natural extension of your arm, ultimately resulting in less wasted effort and intuitive reactivity. Rather than dialing up parking lot distance, we’ve shifted the thinking back to the roots of rhythm and awareness—where you can experience the energy happening in each moment.
Effortless energy transfer and more connected feel, the amplified two-way feedback loop of R8 Technology, due to our new axial fiber formulation, allows you to feel when the power needs to be applied throughout the cast, presentation, and when applying the appropriate pressure to fish.
Whether it’s the mental chess of matching the hatch, the headspace of reading the water or the instinct putting a fly in exactly the right spot—our best days emerge when our mind is right. It always seems that when we’re not thinking about it is precisely when our fishing mind takes over—where every single moment feels almost automatic or instinctual. With immediate feedback from tip to hand, R8 is designed to facilitate that higher state of mental flow and focus when small decisions, thoughts, and actions line up effortlessly.
The advanced, leading-edge material behind R8 enables us to shape a rod with a stiffer, stronger backbone but a more sensitive tip and more connected feel. The secret is twofold. First, a proprietary aerospace composite with a greater hoop strength enables us to dimensionally grow taper diameter more quickly from the tip—while a nano-sintered resin application increases axial resilience and allows us to pack more fiber into the blank, resulting in that true two-way connection from hand to fly and back for greater feel, flow and control.
Elongated energy transfer shifts the sweet spot closer to the hand creating a more natural extension of your arm for greater range, quicker reactivity and less wasted effort.
Advanced nano-sintered resin application and a more resilient axial fiber allow us to re-profile the dimensional taper to get thicker quicker from tip to butt - resulting in better energy transfer and greater feel. Simply put - a better and more efficient "wiring" of energy.
Advanced hoop fibers hold blank in optimal cylindrical shape creating greater circumferential strength - continuously maintaining the inherent blank strength while actively engaged or under tension.
