Sage ONE Review

A few weeks ago I acquired a Sage ONE 590-4.  Most of our waters here in East Tennessee have been blown out with all the rains we've had and I had not been able to test drive the ONE(other than yard casting) and it was driving me crazy.
I had been in the market for some time searching for my next "all around" fly rod.  Sage does a great job marketing and has created quite the buzz for their new flagship fly rod.  When I found out Sage was calling their new rod the "ONE", I felt like it was a bit cheesy and gimmicky.  After thinking about it and knowing Sage's reputation, I knew they had to be very proud of this rod in order to name it the "ONE".  I had done my research and after getting to cast the "ONE" I knew it was really nice.

Last weekend I finally got to give it the ultimate test and actually fish it.  I had yard cast it, but wasn't going to get too overly excited until I had the chance to hook up with some fish and give it a true test.

I paired my Sage ONE with a Bauer M2SL and a Rio Gold line.  The Bauer Reel gave the rod great balance and the Rio Gold seemed to match up and cast very well through the ONE.

Visual: The Sage ONE comes in a sleek looking black tube with black rod sock.  One of the first things I noticed was the thin profile of the rod and the black stealth bomber look.  I like that fact that its not overly flashy.

Casting:  I can honestly say this thing does indeed make me a better caster.  I'm nowhere near a great caster, but even I could notice the straightness in which the line was laying down on the water.  I even felt like I was getting good distance with the rod once I began to get the feel of the sweet spot.  I also found myself false casting A LOT less than I normally have had to with other rods.  Medium casting ranges were nearly effortless for me.

I threw a variety of flies and rigs to see how it would cast.  I threw #20 midges, double nymph rigs with indicator, and even a chunky wooly bugger.  It handled every rig very well and I feel comfortable casting every fly in my box without hesitation. 

Many rods on the market today claim to get great distance, but I have never seen casting accuracy highlighted in a marketing campaign.  The Konnetic technology limits the wobble when compared to traditional rods.  This is illustrated by Sage in this photo:

About Konnetic™ Technology:
Sage's Konnetic technology is here, premiering in the Sage ONE fly rod. Konnetic Technology is the most recent and significant evolution in fly rod innovation and uses new materials combined with pioneering manufacturing methods and processes. This technology incorporates an optimized ratio of Sage’s proprietary resin to exclusive high modulus aerospace-grade carbon fiber.

Summary:
Sage has done a remarkable job with this rod.  I am super happy with my purchase and look forward to many great days on the river fishing the ONE.  The one question I have is where does Sage go from here?  They've already created the "ONE".  What else should they need to sell us?!  :)