The Orvis Helios 2 Fly Rods Are Finally Here!

The day many of us have been waiting for is finally here: Helios 2 Launch Day! The first models of this ground-breaking rod are now for sale online at orvis.com, and the folks at our Vermont rod shop are cranking them out as fast as they can. (They will be filtering into stores over the next few weeks.) This is the culmination of an immense amount of work by our product-development team, which has been designing, building prototypes, testing, and tweaking for more than two years to build a rod that represents a great leap forward. We would not replace our popular and industry-leading Helios rods unless we had something special, and we do.

But don’t take our word for it; here are some of the unedited comments made by those guides, editors, writers, and lodge owners who have been lucky enough to try the Helios 2 over the past six months:

• I took it to the pond by my house last night after I opened the box, and I threw an entire 90-foot line. Which, of course, is meaningless in a real fishing context, but since I am not a distance caster by trade, I found that fun and interesting. Cast… oh cool… strip out a little more… wow… strip out some more… holy sh*t!

• That is the finest casting tool I have ever used. It is just unreal how the tip doesn’t jump no matter how much line or how hard I threw it. It dampens superbly. Loads effortlessly.

• Turns over almost any rig with ease. Unbelievable! Still my favorite trout rod EVER in over 31 years of fly angling.

• Spent a week at Andros South bonefish lodge in early May. Took 4 rods, but fished the 8 wt Helios 2 rod every day. What a great rod! A lot of backbone. I didn’t fish anything else.

• I think the thing that continues to stand out for me the more I fish the 908 H2 is the sensitivity all the way down the blank.

• No bs damn thing is like Casting with a lazer pointer.

Click here to visit the Helios 2 product page on Orvis.com.

I went up to the rod shop in Manchester, Vermont, with rod designer Shawn Combs yesterday, and it was very cool to see the new Helios 2s getting ready for shipment. As we stood there before a bunch of finished blanks, Shawn turned to me with a smile on his face and said, “Feels good, doesn’t it?” Below are few pictures from our visit, offering a sneak peak of what’s to come.

Seeing all these new rods lined up and ready to be fished made the whole thing real: The Helios 2 is finally here. photo by Phil Monahan

I believe that there is one of these 9-foot 5-weights in my future. photo by Phil Monahan

Shawn proudly shows off the new rod sock. photo by Phil Monahan

How cool can a rod tube really be? Answer: wicked cool. photo by Phil Monahan

Irene Jaworski at the Manchester rod shop slides a Helios 2 into its tube to prepare it for shipment. photo by Phil Monahan