I have no experience with the Blue Halo but I do own the Echo BAG Quickshot rods in 6/7/8. I ordered them sight unseen and was a tad concerned about how they'd cast. Like the OP, there weren't any on shelves locally for me to try before making the leap. Prior to the Echo BAG 8' rods, the only "modern" glass rods I'd cast were rods by Epic (NZ). The 6wt Echo BAG Quickshot, in my impression, is maybe a bit faster than the Epic 686, I'm not sure how much of that is due to the 6" difference in length but I can easily cast a good bit further with the Echo rod than I can with the Epic rod of the same line weight.
The 8' B.A.G. rods seem to fish best with appropriate sized lines, I tried overlining them and (for me) that was a mistake. I also have found the BAG rods to be more sensitive to reel weight/balance than a similar line-weighted graphite rod which surprised me as I'd have expected the opposite. In ounces, the glass rods obviously weigh more than graphite rods but these still need to be balanced or they tend to cause fatigue. This is probably an obvious observation but I would have thought I could fudge the balance a bit on these and get away with it in terms of cast/feel but that wasn't the case. When I first got the rods I was in a hurry so I grabbed a Galvan "Grip" 8 reel that had a 7wt Rio Bonefish line on it and strung it up on the BAG 780. That reel on a fast 7wt graphite rod doesn't seem too heavy but it felt wildly wrong on the 7wt glass rod, almost like the base of the glass rod had an anchor on it. With an appropriate weight reel, I don't notice any more fatigue with fishing these glass rods than I would a graphite rod.
If I was on a plane headed to a windy bonefish/permit destination and the only rod I could bring was the 8wt BAG Quickshot, I'd be 100% totally happy as that being the only stick on the trip. I've tried my 6/7/8wt BAG's with various lines and they seem a bit happier for me when throwing lines with normal to long heads on them - the short headed lines just didn't cast well for me (I have not had a chance to try the actual Airflo lines that Echo recommends for the rods). This could entirely be a symptom of my casting style but the lines designed for quick short presentations (like a Rio Outbound Short for instance) feel really strange on glass rods....to me.
Now that I've moved away from the coast, I tend to use the three BAG 8' rods I have to cast big streamers for trout or in the summer months for carp. I've fished the 6wt BAG with tiny dries for really small trout but I think that was more a case of "let's see if I can do this" than it being a proper tool for the job - which it isn't. While I realize the original post is from six months ago, maybe someone else will come along who is considering the Echo BAG Quickshot. I was on the verge of getting several Epic glass rods but having fished these Echo rods, I won't be sending any dollars to NZ for a rod. I've been very happy with the Echo rods.
