Bending curve in the last rod pic does remind me of the Finetail bending curve, another area trout rod. When you say the tip, you are referring to the last 6-12 inches of the rod, and from these pics it is difficult to see that tip bend and softness you speak of. I am assuming a video is forthcoming about this rod and a closer examination of the tip bending. Your channel and this website is where I go took look for and glean that kind of information. As for the trout you fish for with this rod, they should be more hungry and aggressive as say the hemmed up lip pierced fish of a pay area, hook sets should be automatic with sharp hooks and current flow of the river. Fun factor aside will there be any control with such a soft tip on the 14 inch KY Bass or Stocker Bow in a heavy flow? You also did not mention or compare the sensitivity of the tip, soft tip, to the Slow Taper or the other Trout rods. Again, just curious and while this rod and the Slow Taper do not exactly fit my style of fishing, I do enjoy research, knowledge and always keep an open mind when it comes to new equipment, technologies and techniques.