Product Spotlight: Orvis Hydros Limited Edition Purple Fly Reels
Updated: Nov 1, 2021
For a gear nut like myself, there are so many tempting rod and reel choices today that making a decision can be tough. I'll often weigh the pros and cons of an item for a few days before finally pulling the trigger! However, sometimes impulse takes over and I'm clicking "buy" within mere minutes. I was actually guilty of this just a few days ago when I found the new Orvis Limited Edition purple Hydros.
I had previously reviewed one of the new 2020 Hydros reels in the standard black color right here. It might lack a bit of the refinement of, say, a Mirage or Mirage LT, but the Hydros still proved to be a very good reel and honestly all you really need much of the time. Despite me having positive firsthand experience with the reel, the standard black and silver colors weren't really exciting enough for me to buy one. This purple, though? Yep!
In addition to a resizing and restructuring of the available models, some of the features of these newly-revised Hydros reels include updated drag seals, a radiused (rounded off) reel foot for safely wrapping a leader around, a machined Delrin handle with tighter tolerances, lighter overall weight, a "rib" (channel) in the spool for integrity and better seating of the backing knot, and a new drag knob design that takes less turns to go from minimum to maximum. I also noticed that between my tests of the discontinued and new versions of the Hydros, the new one doesn't have as strong a drag system. But, for a light rod this is of no concern to me whatsoever because even with less power it's still way more than I will use.
Sometimes purple works and sometimes it doesn't, but Orvis nailed it here. It's a nice tone and has more of a low-shine/matte look rather than being super shiny. I feel like it gives the reel more of a refined, less-glitzy look that works really well. Paired up with some purple backing, it looks outstanding mounted on my Helios 3D 4 weight.
Purple Hydros reels were introduced around early May 2020 and seem to be moving really well. Despite being late to the party, I was thankfully still able to get my hands on a Hydros II model. The best part is, the pricing is exactly the same as the silver and black models which ranges from $178–$279 depending on model size chosen (the smallest Hydros I model doesn't appear to be available in purple).
This is one impulse buy I'm very happy with!
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