In 1975, Orvis began building graphite fly rods, drawing on 120 years of rod-making experience. At the time, graphite was an unproven material, the industry didn’t yet trust it. Orvis did. They saw limitless potential.
Three generations of the Perkins family carried this vision forward, continually asking: what if rods could be lighter, stronger, more accurate, more intuitive in hand?
In 2008, the launch of Helios, the world’s lightest fly rod, marked a breakthrough moment. It ignited more than 15 years of refinement and innovation, a journey that continues today under the leadership of Simon Perkins.
A personal reflection from Charles Jardine, veteran angler and long-time friend of Orvis:
"Strange twists of fate. I was 24 when I received the summons. How could I possibly refuse… Dermot Wilson, the then owner of Nether Wallop Mill — later to become the HQ of Orvis UK — asked if I would be interested in joining the team, helping guide visitors on the rivers Test and Itchen, assisting in the game-changing mail order business (the brochures are still collected to this day) and, well, immersing myself in a world of fly fishing.
The rest is pretty much history, I guess. The business is long gone now, of course, but at that time to be surrounded by the epoch-making brands of their time was sublime. At the top of this scintillating list was Orvis… we stocked the British-made CFO and as beautiful now as it was back then… but the rods.
I was quick to use the new wave carbon rods of their time… but the Orvis graphite of 50 years ago was a breed apart – lithe, responsive and first choice then, indeed now, when fly fishing. Naturally, the Orvis graphite rods have echoed and absorbed the new materials, modules, and resins of their time. Now? The rods are so light, so responsive, so accurate, as to actually bear scant resemblance to those earlier passports of joy back in the day.
We often forget just how good we have it. And at costs prorated, have made them, by comparison, if anything cheaper. But what cost a rod? What cost a legacy? What cost R&D that would rival a finely tuned car? A rod is joy. It was then; it is now.
The fact that I have had fifty years of that singular graphite joy in playgrounds and rivers that transcend loveliness, casting at trout that have never failed to absorb, fascinate, or dumbfound me, is a mighty celebration in itself.
I would love to say, here’s to the next fifty years of Orvis innovation… I won’t see that… but you might. Celebrate every single cast, as though it were your last. Casting with graphite was revelation back then; it is an obsession now, still."
2025 marks 50 years of Orvis transforming raw graphite into the world’s finest fly rods. Rods that combine precision, performance, and the joy of the cast.
Because when one family stays focused on one mission for 50 years, they don’t wait for change. They create it.