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That is a great rod. Ironically "glass-like" graphite has always been around, at first in inexpensive rods, and nowadays, by comparison with the much higher modulus graphite typical of today, even in some mid-range products of the graphite development era. On the first type, "composite" rods, usually about 90% graphite and the rest 'glass, used to be frowned upon. Yet, if their design was half-way decent, they had moderate, progressive actions that were relaxed to cast, and they had good fishability. They felt soft by comparison to the latest and greatest graphite, and part of their low price was achieved by simpler fittings. They had better dampening than run-of-the-mill glass, felt "stiff" by comparison, but not much. These days such rods are still around, one of the best being the Scientific Anglers mass market models, for about $20 at Walmart. If somebody jazzed up the fittings and wrote some good advertising copy, they could get $150 for them. In between these right along have been the "starter" rods in the $50 to $100 range, usually made of "low-modulus" graphite, which used to be called "high modulus," because it was stiff relative to glass.

That get's us to the development era. I have a couple Sci Angler System 5 graphites from the late '70s that I still fish regularly. SA never got the actions perfected on these (I built them fom two slightly different blanks), but they feel more 'glass like than graphite-like relative to today's graphites. Even more surprising to me whenever I use it is my Fenwick HMG 7 1/2. "HMG" stood for high-modulus graphite, this before the developmet of IM 3, 6, 8 or whatever number they're up to now. So these were "stiff" for their time and would have felt so compared to a Fenwick 'glass. Yet this rod feels positively "soft" or "'glass-like" compared to a Sage 7 1/2 graphite I built from a blank in the late '80s. The Sage, too, feels "glass like" compared to many more contemporary graphites. I like both rods. I think the smart design choice in the '70s HMG was to make a 7 1/2' model that was comparable in feel to what could be achieved in a 7' 'glass rod. The early Scott graphites, too, had amazing feel that, through today's lens, I'd call the feel of 8-foot 'glass in a 9-foot rod.

Meanwhile, in this development era, the best fiberglass ever was developed and refined--Fisher and the British variant Sceptres being among the best examples. By fiber orientation and choice and improved resin systems and manufacturing, the finest progressive action 'glass rods were produced, lacking the sluggishness or "whippy" traits of earlier 'glass, and with better dampening, partly to compete with the dampening gains in graphite that were evident even in the early graphite composite rods.

Also at this time E-glass was developed (by Lamiglas, I think)) and then S-glass, partly in the competive mode to sing the "high-modulus" tune of graphite rods. A side benefit of these types was, again, better resins and continuity of action, thus better dampening.

Adding to the irony, today we have Hardy marketing and rediscovering the fishability of 'glass. The blanks, actually, are composites with a small percentage of graphite, inverse of the type from early in the graphite era. I think Lamiglas has the same type in one of their fiberglass lines (for all I know, they supply the blanks to Hardy.) I think when my younger daughter graduates from college and lands her first job in a couple years, the Hardy will be on my birthday present list.

Meantime, if you want glass like feel in a graphite rod, get a cheap graphite or graphite composite, or a "vintage" graphite such as that nifty one shown here. That long-tapered grip and transition to the hook-keeper looks very much like the way I built my first SA graphite grip (I rebuilt it since or I'd plunk in a photo), so you have me wondering if I saw ads for that model and mimicked its grip design.