A G.Loomis Rod Under 200 dollars? Meet the E6X Series

Introduction: G.Loomis has long been heralded by anglers as a premium brand and while their rods have found homes on the boats and rod racks of so many enthusiast anglers they have also been out of reach for many due to price. That is all about to change as G.Loomis prepares to introduce their most affordable rods to date, the new E6X Series, designed specifically for mainstream anglers.

G.Loomis is gearing up to introduce their most aggressively priced rods to date, the E6X Series

As is common in the tackle industry rumors have been swirling for weeks that G.Loomis was preparing to introduce a new series of rods. Some anglers discovered that G.Loomis had applied for a trademark back on September 26^th, 2014 for the name “E6X,” but beyond that there was little information available. This week I, along with a number of other industry writers, was invited to La Perla Ranch in Laredo, Texas, to not just see the new rods but to fish them and formulate our own opinions of the upcoming series.

Bruce Holt, PR and Communications at G.Loomis, points out the brightly green colored threading highlights that give this series a look all their own

The first thing that anglers will notice about the new E6X rods are the bright green threading and logos directly above the foregrip.  The green styling is striking and designed to stand out from not only competing rods but from other rods within the company’s own lineup. Personally I liked the styling immediately as it reminded me of the somewhat polarizing, but instantly recognizable, original blue NRX Series.

The E6X rods will come in both classic Mag Bass casting rod (sign me up for the 843C now!) and application specific actions

Let’s start with the name. Where did “E6X” come from? E6 is a play on the sixth element in the periodic table, carbon, and the “X” much like the other rods in the G.Loomis lineup represents “Technology.” E6X has a nice ring to it but these rods are much more than just a fancy name.

The E6X rods will make use of classic Fuji ECS reel seats

The E6X rods feature a proprietary new blank material that is a fusion of other high performance G.Loomis proven materials with low resin content, reduced scrim, and a greater ratio of high strain rate carbon fiber. All science aside this is designed to create a blank, and rod, which weighs less yet delivers higher overall strength.

Bruce lands a La Perla lunker with the E6X

The second that I picked up the rods at La Perla I could immediately tell they were noticeably lighter than the current GL2 series rods of similar size and action. Bruce Holt, PR & Communications at G.Loomis, described the rods as being around 10% lighter than the comparable GL2 Series rods. The E6X rods come with either split or full grips depending on their application. For example more traditional casting actions have a full grip, while some of the more application specific rods have a split grip to positively affect balance and how the rod feels when fishing a particular style.

Some of the split gripped rods feature a complete composite cork rear grip for better balance