Sensitivity: All of the Edge rods seem to put a priority on both light weight and sensitivity, which really shouldn’t be a surprise as this is something Gary has historically obsessed over whenever designing new graphite blends, blanks, and finished rods. The key to the Edge Epitome’s very good sensitivity comes from a combination of two main elements, the quality lightweight blank and choice of Recoil guides.

The Abu Garcia Zenon soon became my go to reel for the Epitome. It just felt perfect

Using other lightweight components like a graphite reel seat and carbon fiber grips help make this one of the lightest rods on the market, and only add to the feeling of overall handling and sensitivity. If a rod feels heavy or unbalanced this can be distracting when fishing, something which I never found was the case with the Epitome.

The Epitome’s blank is made with Toray’s highest modulus fiber and combined with the same resin that Edge has used on previous X-Ray blanks, and then merged with an extremely lightweight bias material. The result is a very light and sensitive blank and I found it comparable to rods retailing for much more.

Under the sun you can see the carbon fiber that makes up the reel seat

Edge adds to that feeling of excellent vibration transfer with the choice of Recoil guides throughout, minus the tip top. As mentioned, these guides offer weight savings, and the transfer of energy is a plus, but some anglers have concerns about durability and how loud they are when fished with braided lines. When used as the primary guide train the Epitome felt extremely light and sensitive, with some strikes almost jarring, which on rods is a compliment.

Power: Paired with a lightweight magnesium reel the Epitome setup feels incredibly light, and after fishing with it a while it becomes a natural extension of your arm. I found that my favorite reel to pair the Epitome with was the Abu Garcia Zenon MG-LTX, which weighs only 4.7 ounces, giving the Epitome combo a total weight of only 7.42 ounces (with line spooled on). This setup, while geared towards finesse, felt so good that I started fishing it across a wider range of applications including pitching lighter rigs, cranking, and even throwing paddletails and ripbaits for striped bass.

The Epitome is rated Medium Heavy but is a little lighter and more moderate than you might expect. I call it Light Medium Heavy, some may even consider it Medium Light

The more fish I put through the Epitome the more I found the rod was a little more moderate than the specs might indicate with a heavy lure or weight of a fish on the end of the line. Rated as a medium heavy the Epitome leans towards the medium side under load, and this was something we verified on our RoD Wrack lab tests. So while Edge rates this Epitome rod as a Med-Heavy it may feel a little more moderate once there is a fish on the line. This is a good thing when you want to protect line or keep hooks pinned but it is something to consider when comparing rods of similar ratings.

Fig 1 : The chart above illustrates the deflection characteristics of our Edge Rods Epitome MBR725-1 against the historical averages of similarly powered rods we've tested over the past twenty years

We talked about this with Gary, and he drew some comparisons and explained “there is a meter stick in a vault in Paris, which defines how long a "meter" is. I wish we could do this for our industry. The closest that we have been able to do is the measurement "ERN" (Effective Rod Number – a measurement of the force required to load/deflect the tip of a rod one third of its overall length) and we use a range of 21-25 for a MH, and historically that has been due to the amount of fiber and resin contained in a roll of material varying. For example, 100 yards of pre-preg can contain a certain amount of fiber +/- 8% , the same with the resin content. This means when you run a "pattern" it can come out an inch and a half or so "stiffer" from batch to batch, this is the reason why a range was acceptable, the other was historical.”

While many rod manufacturers have their own interpretation of what is Medium or Medium Heavy from Gary’s perspective if an angler picks up a MH rated rod that he bought 25 years ago he wants it to have a very similar power/stiffness to the one he picks up today from NFC/Edge, and this is why they continue to utilize the historical ERN/curve.

In this regard the MBR725-1C rod does feel familiar to classic Mag Bass actions, and all the science aside it is a rod that is very fun to fish, and never feels overly stiff when casting or playing fish. If anything, I would best describe it is a Light Medium Heavy rod.

Loaded up my Hobie Kayak and went looking for some stripers to see how the Edge Epitome would handle these fish

Design and Ergonomics: The Epitome looks very much like other Edge rods, with a stealthy appearance with a focus on carbon fiber components. Though dark and simply styled at first glance there is a lot of detail in this rod, most notably the signature carbon fiber grips and extremely clean carbon fiber reel seat. Under the sun the weave in the reel seat really lights up and while the foam caps on the foregrip and reel grip are not as striking as the finishes on competing JDM rods I’m ok with that with the rod’s focus on ultimate light weight.

The Epitome was an extremely fun ripbait rod to fish

There is no hook hanger on the Epitome, which also is not a negative to me as I like using Fuji EX keepers on many of my rods, and this affordable option allows you to position the keeper in any direction and anywhere on the blank. There is a natural spot for this keeper on the Epitome above the small carbon foregrip and beneath the gloss covering the logo.

A look at the graphics on the Edge Epitome. Proud to be made in America

The thread and gloss work on the Epitome are pretty clean and I like the logos and information presented above the foregrip, all of which provide anglers with the key ratings information, just enough branding, and a reminder that this rod is proudly made in the USA. Overall, it reads very much like a rod with Gary’s signature DNA all over it.

Ergonomically this Epitome rod is excellent, the sculpted reel seat and small trigger feel comfortable to me, and I like the large open blank-through access. Though the high-density EVA caps on the foregrip and butt do not have as much character as many competing rods they are very comfortable. The best thing about the Epitome’s ergonomics is just how lightweight and balanced this rod feels in hand.

Ergonomics with the Zenon were excellent

This is a rod that will spoil you when it comes to weight, and I was surprised how quickly I started to take the light feel for granted. It is really eye opening switching to another rod after fishing with the Epitome for an extended period, and even rods that I previously considered “light” felt heavy in comparison. The lightweight handling and effortless swing of the Epitome MBR725-1 is definitely the top feature of this rod.

Notice the massive blank through window underneath. Positioning two fingers in a palm grip felt natural