Lamiglas is making waves again on the surf scene. Generations of surfcasters have relied on Lamiglas to be on the cutting edge when it comes to designing surf rods to fit the needs of casters along the Striper Coast. The latest introduction to their extensive surf rod lineup, first introduced at the ICAST Show back in July, is the Infinity Series.
Infinity was designed to meet the demand for an even lighter, stronger and more powerful rod than their widely accepted Super Surf Series. They have accomplished that with a revolutionary new technology that incorporates 3M Powerlux Resins into the blank building process. The resin consists of highly concentrated silica nanoparticles that are uniformly dispersed throughout the graphite composite blank. The Powerlux composite material is made up of 40 percent of these nanoparticles which are densely packed throughout the resin. As a result of this process, less resin is required, making for a lighter but considerably stronger blank.
According to Josh Cooper, Head of Rod Design and Product Manager at Lamiglas, in addition to being lighter and more durable, Infinity Surf rods are about seven percent stiffer than the typical graphite composite blank so you might consider a lighter weight and action than you normally would. The rods also feature a slightly faster action than the parabolic action typical of most Lamiglas surf rods, according to Josh. He added that field tests conducted by Lamiglas staff, matching up similar GSB (Graphite Surf Blank) and Super Surf models to the Infinity, resulted in longer casts by the Infinity. I did not have the opportunity to do comparison tests with the rod due to the limited time available to put the rod through its paces, but I was impressed with it over the course of two August outings which consisted mostly of casting exercise.
Josh also sought to clear up some of the confusion over the content of carbon and graphite blanks. He pointed out that graphite is in fact a carbon fiber, but that in countries other than the United States, the blanks are referred to as carbon construction, rather than graphite.
The Infinity lineup consists of four new models for 2013, including a nine-foot medium/heavy action, two ten-foot models – a medium and a medium/heavy, and an 11-foot medium/heavy. All are two-piece construction, and as big a fan as I am of one-piece rods, even I have to admit that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between a one- and two-piece rod given the ferrule designs on high end rods like the Infinity Series.
Matching the high standards of these blanks, the rods are finished with Fuji K-Frame guides, Fuji counterbalanced reel seats and woven graphite handles. The starting MSRP on these rods is $460.
