Rive 3.90 R Waggler Design Float Waggler Rod 13ft light

[mikench]

Does anyone own or know anything about this rod specifically or Rive Rods in general. I have been offered the above by the son in law of our French neighbours who is English and who bought it a year ago for his Dad. His Dad sadly died of Covid so it has never been used or transported to The West Midlands where he lived. It resides near Nice and I can buy it in pounds or euros at a very fair price to reflect advice I gave for free.
I have a feeling Sam Vîmes owns one and I’m curious as to what it’s like as I do not know the brand other than it being French. It is lighter than an Acolyte apparently.

 

[markcw]

Does anyone own or know anything about this rod specifically or Rive Rods in general. I have been offered the above by the son in law of our French neighbours who is English and who bought it a year ago for his Dad. His Dad sadly died of Covid so it has never been used or transported to The West Midlands where he lived. It resides near Nice and I can buy it in pounds or euros at a very fair price to reflect advice I gave for free.
I have a feeling Sam Vîmes owns one and I’m curious as to what it’s like as I do not know the brand other than it being French. It is lighter than an Acolyte apparently.

Buy it , good rods , if the price is right snatch his arm off .

 

[sam vimes]

Be very wary of the names given to Rive rods. As far as I'm aware, there are three or four different ranges with similar names. The one I have is a Rive R-Waggler 420 Light. Mine isn't quite as light as the specs might suggest, but it is light. However, the tip section is a touch short and I have suspicions that it's a tip section from a 13' rod fitted to a 14' butt and mid section. Even at 13'7" (414cm), it's lighter than my 13' Acolyte Ultra and Plus. At 140g, it's the same as my Browning Sphere 13' Match. The 13' version of the Rive R-Waggler is supposed to be 120g.

As far as I'm aware, the R-Waggler Design rod is a newer version which is not quite as light. I seem to recall specs putting it around 140g. The most I've seen of these are pictures on Facebook and Pecheur.com. It does appear to have an even higher RRP, but I'm not entirely sure I trust the Rive website, it's a bit haphazard. If you've got the name right, I'm fairly certain that the rod you've been offered will be the same as one currently on eBay for £235. The fact that this one has been listed on eBay for several months may tell a story. I very much doubt that it's a bad rod, but the market penetration and brand awareness (as far as rods go) in the UK are minimal.

As an aside, it would not surprise me in the slightest if the Rive rods and Drennan Acolytes (with the possibility of Browning Spheres and Maver Signature Pro Classics joining them) don't originate from the same factory. There are tiny detail similarities common to all of them when you get them side by side and closely examine them.

 

[mikench]

Thanks Chris.I won’t make a decision one way or the other until I get back to France in late November or the new year and can have a waggle.

 

[rob48]

Hi. I've got the Rive r-waggler light 13' (two of them actually) and it's a brilliant silvers rod with a crisp progressive mellow action that virtually avoids hook pulls. Even when winding in dace that are twisting in the current it's very rare for them to shed the hook, which is something they're normally good at doing when using barbless. It is probably the lightest 13' rod I've ever used and the nearest I've found to my old Milo New Era Super Lite which is just about my favourite roach rod ever.
I've handled but not fished with the Design rod which felt very similar to my R model, still lightweight but maybe a tiny little bit more powerful in the middle, though not very much. All the Rive rods I've seen have had lovely blanks and been extremely well finished. I don't know what the current prices are but I think I paid just over £200 each for mine. I bought the second one straight away after using the first and that would have been about five years ago.

 

[Golden Eagle]

As with previous advice, if the price is reasonable I’d definitely say worth a punt. Haven’t used or seen the rod but do own some Rive tackle and it is first class, oozes quality.