Today we’re going to look at the Zen Tenkara Hachi Tenkara Rod. This is Zen Tenkara‘s small creek offering that for the most part has gone unnoticed by the greater tenkara community. Zen Tenkara is mostly known for their big fish rods, so the Hachi should be interesting to look at. Here we go!
Description
Zen Tenkara states, “The Zen Hachi Tenkara Rod is the little dynamo of our tenkara fly rod line-up. The Hachi just makes you smile – which is why around here, we call it the Happy Hachi. It’s the perfect small stream tenkara rod and is ideal for those tight, cramped, overgrown tiny creeks or waterways. At only 16” long collapsed, this telescoping rod will travel anywhere. It’s small but mighty. The Hachi Tenkara Rod is a mere 6′ 10″ long and has a 5:5 flex profile (we’re going to test that!), so it bends deep but due to its short length, still has a lot of backbone and “oomph” to guide and land fish in tight places. This rod has a 7.5″ EVA handle to reduce weight but still keep it feeling balanced. With an hourglass-type of contoured handle, you can pick your own sweet spot to grip.“
The Hachi comes in a hard rod tube and rod sleeve. Included is a spare T1 and 2 tip section. The overall coloration of the rod is black with a glossy finish. All but the T1 (tip) and T2 sections have two green and gold rings on their tip as an adornment.
The handle is black EVA foam and it has a slight double hump or hour-glass shape common to many tenkara rods. The overall diameter is quite thin with the thicker part at 2 cm and the waist at 1.7 cm.
The tip plug is metal with a cosmetic faux stone insert. The insertion post of the tip plug is nylon plastic. It fits snugly into the handle section and is unlikely to spontaneously fall out. The butt cap is blued metal. It has a coin slot and is knurled to aid removal. It also has a rubber bumper to quiet the chatter of nested segments.
The lilian is thick red material and is attached to the T1 segment with a micro swivel. The lilian is quite long and it has to be bend back on itself to allow the tip plug to be seated. The glue joint is too large to allow the T1 segment to pass through the T2 segment. Therefore complete disassembly of the rod for cleaning and drying is not possible.
Measurements
| Characteristic | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Sections | 7 |
| Extended | 211 cm (6 ft. 11 in.) |
| Nested (w tip plug) | 40.5 cm (16 in.) |
| Weight (w/o tip plug) | 42.2 g (1.5 oz.) |
| Handle | 18.3 cm (7.2 in.) |
| CCS | 13.5 pennies |
| RFI | 6.4 (Moderately Fast/Upper Mid Flex, 6:4) |
Performance
I don’t know about you, but I find casting really short tenkara rod difficult. Seven feet isn’t that short in the traditional fly fishing world, but it is short for a tenkara rod. Also, since I pretty much exclusively use fluorocarbon level lines, casting them with a short rod is even more difficult. That said, the Hachi did as expected. It performed overhead casts reasonably well, but it did modified roll and bow-and-arrow casts (sling-shot cast) very well.
Even though the handle is pretty small, I didn’t have issues with cramping of my hand muscles. I think this was due to how light the Hachi is. A relaxed grip is all that is needed to control the rod when casting or playing a fish.
While I prefer to categorize rods by the Rod Flex Index and 10 Penny Bend Profile, Zen uses the FRAE (Fly Rod Approximate Equivalency) rating. In a nut shell, this system compares the action of a Zen tenkara rod to a conventional western fly rod. In the case of the Hachi, Zen states that it compares in action to a 2 or 3-weight fly rod.
The Hachi is advertised as a 5:5 rod, and while its 10 Penny Bend Profile does show that it begins to bend near the midsections of the rod, its RFI is more in line with a 6:4 rod. This illustrates that short rods have a classification all there own and don’t follow the conventions that longer rods do. Short rods bend differently than longer rods.
I used the Hachi on one of my local creeks that has a tight canopy. It’s the kind of creek that requires a short rod and equally short line. On this creek I used a seven foot #3 fluorocarbon level line. Most of the fish I caught were browns. None of them were very large, but they were fun, nonetheless. And that’s what the Hachi is all about, having fun!
Here is a video of my outing:
Conclusion
The Zen Hachi is a fun rod for those that like to fish small streams and creeks. It has a responsive action, and it performs well in the environment it was designed for. The Hachi is compact enough to fit into a pack, making it a candidate for hikers/bikers or a car rod for those spontaneous fishing adventures. It also would be a great rod for children, although it’s a little expensive for a child’s rod ($211 USD at the time of this writing). For that price, it’s nice that it comes with a rod tube, sleeve and extra tip sections.
So, if you are looking for a small creek rod, or a rod for those really tight locations, check out the Zen Tenkara Hachi. It just might be the rod you need!
Disclaimer: My opinion regarding this rod is just that, my opinion. Your opinion may differ. Also, your rod may not have the same length, issues, or functionality as my rod. There are variations between rods, even in the same production run. No description can fully tell you how a rod feels or fishes. For this, you must personally hold, cast, and fish the rod then make up your own mind. I was sent the rod by the Zen Tenkara to review. I have no formal affiliation with Zen Tenkara and there was no expectation of a positive review.
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