when a rod tip is referred to as soft is that the same thing as like extra fast... basically what im asking is: is the faster the action the softer the tip?

Nope other way.  Slow rod = soft tip. Called Moderate by St Croix. It will have more "give" to it.  A fast or xtra-fast has little to it.  

Ern

I have found it depends on the actual rod and company that makes the rod.  You can buy a mod action rod that has a fairly firm tip and on the other hand I have a St. Croix legend elite 68mxf (extra fast) that has a nice soft tip to it so it is hard to make a generalization about it either way.  This is why it is hard to buy a rod from a catalog that you can't physically give a shake.

Unfortunately this is an area that is so misunderstood and mis-spoken about that it's almost not worth going into over.

Actually by definition... the faster the action the closer to the tip it bends. So the faster the action the softer the tip is in relation to the rest of the rod. If you look at a moderate action rod with a little bend in it, the tip flexes very little while the mid section is actually doing the bending.

In a fast or extra fast, the rod starts to flex more near the tip so it is actually the "softer" tip. What you feel in fighting a fish or setting a hook is NOT the tip, it's the mid and butt sections. And the tip of a rod never ripped out a treble hook, it's the mid and butt sections. Which is why a mod or mod-fast is so popular with treble hooked lures. (it's also less fatiguing to the angler since there is less effective leverage on the lure's resistance)

*** So when most people around here talk about a soft tip they are usually talking about a moderate action.

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