Over the past few years, Redington has grown from being considered a economy brand with "get what you pay for" products to being widely recognized as producer of high quality rods, reels, waders and more that typically offer a premium at their attractive prices. Now, it appears Redington is focusing squarely on innovation, announcing three new rod families, each of which is a break from not only Redington's norm, but from industry norms as well.

In it's new Vapen family, Redington is introducing two entirely new technologies. The rods feature X-Wrap technology, which Redington explains is a "new construction method [that[ involves wrapping one layer of super-high density carbon ribbon inside the blank and another counter-wrapped on the exterior surface. X-Wrap construction provides surprising power with little effort. The technology is so distinct you will actually see the difference in the blank."

The Redington Vapen Red's new PowerGrip.

If X-Wrap doesn't catch the eye of browsing anglers, there's little doubt Redington's new PowerGrip technology will. Working with Winn Grips, a company renowned for making grips for golf clubs, Redington has developed an entirely new, non-cork grip for the Vapen Red rods. This new grip is described as an "advanced polymer grip that won’t slip when wet, feels soft in the hand and reduces fatigue. It also cleans easily, doesn’t chip and helps amplify casting power." And, if you're wondering about the name, Redington explains that Vapen means "weapon", adding that "you don't cast the Vapen, you fire it."

With debates raging across the United States about whether or not to remove dams that were built at a staggering rate on countless American rivers over the last 50-60 years, dams that are now widely recognized as responsible for severe habitat and ecosystem destruction and are largely considered more economically costly than beneficial, it is hard to imagine that the residents of perhaps the most pristine and intact natural ecosystem on the planet are facing a heated debate about whether to construct dams on the rivers which are the lifeblood of their region. In Patagonia however, on the shores of the Baker and Pascua Rivers, that is exactly what is happening.

There is little debate amongst the people of Patagonia on whether the dams should be built. In fact, almost 75% of Patagonians are opposed to the construction of these dams. Unfortunately, as a result of the fact that a former Chilean dictator sold off Patagonia's water rights to multinational corporations before being deposed, the citizens of Patagonia have no formal say in whether hydroelectric construction will take place.