The EPICabulous BANDIT

This is a fly rod kit from Swift fly fishing company NZ.

EPIC  Bandit

Recommended line weight: #10
Length: 7' 9"
Pieces: 3
Action: Progressive / Fast
Taper: Fast
Butt Diameter: 12.85mm
Tip Diameter: 2.29mm
Blank Weight: 74 gm - 2.61oz 

All components that you need to build this rod are in the package ready for installation 

Anyone can build this rod. They even provide step by step rod building instruction which is easy for follow, except that the guide spacing you have to get it online in their website.

Full wells cork grip with black aluminum EPIC reel seat and the fighting butt with rubberized cork for durability.

SiC stripping guides from ALPS. This photo is taken after the first epoxy coating.

Photos of the completed rod.

Completing the ROD

Weaving the rod (decoration) is one thing, completing it , is another thing...

Upon completing the weaving, then the reel seat comes in.

After a few layers of epoxy coating... I do not want to elaborate on the epoxy and sanding process. 

Then the guides.

I am trying a new brand of guides for this rod. Nice and cheap guides from China with SiC rings for a fraction of the price of Fuji guides.  I guess no harm trying it on ultralight rod.

Dark brown wrapping with light brown trim complimenting the colors of the rod weaving.

After epoxy.

Done, KR concept guide ultralight spinning rod.

Rod Weaving.. not something new

I did my 1st rod weaving project 8 years ago with little guidance from the internet. It was very hard to find any step by step instructions. The easiest weaving or rather rod wrapping I did was dragon scale wrapping. It was pretty straight forward compared the cross wrapping.

Cross wrapping with intended design is complicated. The positioning , the colors and the wrapping direction plays a very important part in the out come of the design.

Rod weaving is not what I like to do, but just to get the kick of it I tried doing one recently.

Weaving is still bearable, it's the epoxy part that kill the fun. Epoxy.. epoxy.. sanding down... epoxy.. sanding down... epoxy... repeat until you are satisfied with the flatness of the epoxy coating.

Here's a weaving pattern I tried last weekend.

Credit to Ademir Romano.

A very detail illustration stey-by-step , I would say it is like " ROD WEAVING FOR DUMMIES ". It is easy to follow and you can never go wrong if you follow the instruction. 

Some photos taken during the weaving. At a very beginning stage.

When it is done.

I used brown thread to match the timber insert of the reel seat.

Both sides.

And... after many coating of epoxy.

There!! That's it.. The outcome is really close to the intended design shown in the illustration.

Not that difficult to do after all...

NOW EVERYBODY CAN WEAVE...

:)