Airflo super-dri River & Stream first impressions

[thenewlushlife]

A few days ago one of my local shop owners got a demo 5wt. Airflo super-dri River & Stream line (called Lake pro in the UK) he invited me to come down and try it on one of my 5 weights. I laced it up on my 9' 5 weight sage vxp, and took it down to a local stream. The line is a beautiful airflo pale mint green, with a hot orange "handling section".

Clearly there is a lot of marketing hype in the fishing industry, it has become a problem that many anglers are being frustrated by. Is the super-dri a product of marketing gimics and BS? Welp, my experience says, hell no.

This line made my vxp feel like a very different rod compared to its current GPX matching. If any of you fish spey rods and have casted the airflo scandi compact shooting head, then you already have an idea of how this river & stream line casts and feels. It has a 19ft front taper, and about a 16ft belly so it isnt quite a triangle taper, but has the pros that the triangle taper provides, such as amazing presentation both far and close.

The line loaded the vxp so well I couldnt believe it, its a heavy line given that the head is 40+ long. Overlining certainly not neccessary. The line picked up extremely well off the water as stated in the advertisements, it seems to have less adhesion to the water surface. The "silent" textured surface allowed me to shoot line considerably farther. The long front taper provided exceptional up close presentation. All in all it simply felt better to cast with, than any other line I have ever casted or fished, by a long shot.

If you were to ask me does this line live up to all the super-dri hype? my answer would be absolutely yes. So I went ahead and had him order me one that day, it was that much of a gamechanger for me.

 

[sweetandsalt]

Here is a variation on the above theme that intrigues me:

The "ridges" on these non-stretch lines run longitudinally so they reduce surface contact but quietly.

 

[royalcoach]

They both look like they would be great for short and long casts.

Wish I could find a shop and try all of the new Super Dry lines.

 

[eastfly66]

I spotted this old post while researching this line and the Elite. They are both on closeout at Gorge Fly for $49. Would anyone know what the line weight in grains are for the River and Stream and the Elite in WF4F ? I am looking for a line (closeout preferred) that is slightly less aggressive than the Gold regarding presentation ? I am using the WF4 as an example to reference , someone posted the grain wt. of the Gold being on the upper end of the AFTM standards thus 1.5 heavy. I read reviews the Gold is similar to the R&S and the Elite is compared to the Grand but it did not give weight only taper (As posted above).

Thanks
East

Also any comment on the "Textured " feature? (I avoid the SA) I have seen what it did to the guides (TT) on too many rods (luckily not mine). I did note they run along the line axis.

 

[james w 3 3]

Da** !
I paid 74.99 for my Elite line, oh yeah, for my Exceed line too!

I can't find the exact number right now, but the Elite is spot on in the weight range for 4wt (the one I own).
I'm told all the Super Dri lines are built to be spot on in weight except the Exceed, which is over by 1/2.
I have the Exceed also, on my Zenith 4wt 4 piece, and it's perfect, while the Elite on my one piece Zenith is a better combo. It's a curious situation to be sure, but oh my, do each of these combos cast well!
I greatly prefer the texture style of the Airflo lines, no noise shooting out, lifts off the water nicely.

Hope this helps.

 

[fireroad]

Da** !
I paid 74.99 for my Elite line, oh yeah, for my Exceed line too!

I can't find the exact number right now, but the Elite is spot on in the weight range for 4wt (the one I own).
I'm told all the Super Dri lines are built to be spot on in weight except the Exceed, which is over by 1/2.
I have the Exceed also, on my Zenith 4wt 4 piece, and it's perfect, while the Elite on my one piece Zenith is a better combo. It's a curious situation to be sure, but oh my, do each of these combos cast well!
I greatly prefer the texture style of the Airflo lines, no noise shooting out, lifts off the water nicely.

Hope this helps.

I can attest that the Super-Dri Mend is heavy for the line weight. As to how heavy I'm not sure but I've got an email into Rajeff Sports to get a better idea. I'm not a fan the short, heavy lines like a GPX...but the Mend is a completely different beast altogether. The 6wt version is 110ft total length with a 56ft head that has a pretty thick tip. If you have the rod to handle it, it will chuck big bugs, long distance mend, and roll cast like no other.

I've read some reviews of the River and Stream from across the pond and can not figure out what the target audience is for that line. My best guess is for stillwater anglers who use and floating line, but no clue as to what they have at the end of said line (chromonids, poppers, clousers?).

 

[thenewlushlife]

Yeah old post for sure. The "textured" surface on airflo lines is called ridge technology. It's a pretty decent system, I'm not a fan of textured lines personally but ridge I can deal with. However, one thing to consider is that ridges make the line thicker than usual pet line weight. A 5 weight super dri line is thicker in Dia compared to standard lines, the gaps in between the ridges maintain proper AFTTA standards I guess. Point is be careful, your reel capacity fills up fast with these lines, prepare to lose some backing on a classic trout reel. Like I said on first post I love this line on my VXP, the taper fits the vxp's progressive flex nicely, however, on my z-axis i dont like it, the elite super dri is more fitting.

Btw the reason the lines are on closeout is b/c airflo is making many changes for 2015, I got thier 2015 catalog w/ a recent order. For instance, the river & stream line will no longer have an orange handling section, it's getting changed to a grey handling section. They're adding the Kelly galloup series of lines like the "streamer float" 4.5ft front, 24ft belly, 10ft rear. Gunna be a great taper (SweetN'Salt this taper looks right up ur alley!) streamer max short, 2 new switch rod lines, and some other color changes that look good. Airflo makes awesome lines, arguably the best mainstream spey lines, however, like S&S said on another thread, the low stretch core found on all airflo lines, isn't always well suited for dry fly fishing. I used to be an airflo purist essentially, they make amazing lines, but sometimes other lines get the job done better for a given rod. Things to consider....

 

[sndmn11]

Some snippets from emails exchanged with Jamie Hixson at Rajeff sports regarding these lines when I asked about the ability to roll case, mend, and carry teams of nymphs:

"The Mend line is over lined, by about a ½ size, the River and stream is dead on.
While the River and Stream is a better roll casting line... The River and Stream line finishes at a small diameter at the tip, this along with the long front taper does not make it easy to turn over bigger/heavier nymph rigs, it is more for small dry fly presentation.
The Mend line is more what you are looking for the shorter more aggressive taper will be easier to turn over the rigs you are using, it still roll cast fairly well and the long rear taper is great for mending.
All of our lines have a 5 year no crack guarantee."
I got email replies within a few hours, even on weekends.

 

[fireroad]

Some snippets from emails exchanged with Jamie Hixson at Rajeff sports regarding these lines when I asked about the ability to roll case, mend, and carry teams of nymphs:

"The Mend line is over lined, by about a ½ size, the River and stream is dead on.
While the River and Stream is a better roll casting line... The River and Stream line finishes at a small diameter at the tip, this along with the long front taper does not make it easy to turn over bigger/heavier nymph rigs, it is more for small dry fly presentation.
The Mend line is more what you are looking for the shorter more aggressive taper will be easier to turn over the rigs you are using, it still roll cast fairly well and the long rear taper is great for mending.
All of our lines have a 5 year no crack guarantee."
I got email replies within a few hours, even on weekends.

I called Rajeff Sports earlier in the week to ask about the Mend, Distance Pro, and R/S. Jamie wasn't around but even the gal who answers the phone* is very knowledgeable about the lines. She confirmed as well that the Mend is a 1.5 line, and the distance pro, Elite, and R/S are true weight. I asked about the distance pro as an alternative to the Mend for rods that are true to line weight and was told it mends and roll casts very well with all but the largest bugs. Basically a line that falls right in the middle between the Mend and the Elite (dry fly/light nymph).

I'm surprised to hear the Mend described as a short, aggressive taper. Seems pretty big to me!

When I asked what the purpose of the R/S line was the answer was short and sweet: easy distance.

*I get the impression that everyone at Rajeff has more than one job and the all know the product line very well.