Periodically new materials become available and Free Spirit are always keen to test these to understand their properties and potential benefits. Their philosophy is to thoroughly push these but they have to offer something special that will stand the test of time. Over the past 18 months or so Free Spirit have three new carbons and were very impressed with the performance and properties of a material with the code C626. This material enabled them to build very strong slim blanks, yet with very efficient recovery, reminiscent of their Hi-S range - they could even be called the 'baby Hi-S' but instead they settled for the name S Lite.
However don't be fooled that these aren't capable of extreme ranges as in testing they were casting huge distances, testament to the loading response and fast recovery this material lends to the blanks. The slimness of the blank helps with this but the carbon has to be high quality not to feel tip heavy.
As with all Free Spirit rods the finish has to be cosmetically attractive and different and the weave is quite stunning and as usual features Free Spirits 'Perdurable' finish. To compliment the 40t low resin ultra slim blank is a new Fuji reel seat - VSS17, which features open sides and they fit a carbon sleeve of the same material as the blank to help transmission through the seat to the hand. Guides feature black frames since the blank has a dark finish and all fittings are stainless steel for durability.
For the full cork version Free Spirit have developed a Clone seat with isotope slot from C626 carbon as this was cosmetically more appealing when fitted with 'A' grade cork both sides. Since the S-Lites can be custom built this seat can be used on abbreviated builds should you prefer this to the VSS17.
A word about casting versions of the S Lite range - Free Spirit have used the 'ive name for both the 12' and 13' rods which they don't do lightly! This was since the performance and feel was so close to that of the Hi-S'ives, which have become top sellers and offers great casting but with exceptional fish playing - S Lite'ives offer very similar performance at a significantly reduced price.
SKU: RSL574V