at the risk of actually answering the question - i think a good choice for those applications would be the sage z axis 7136 - assuming his wife really loves him
pairing the right line and reel with the rod is really the most important thing. for a newbie (and for pretty much most people) i would recommend a rio skagit system with interchangeable tips - the best match for that rod is a 500 grain with a 5 foot cheater. this will be the easiest to cast and will provide the greatest versatility for fishing different flies at different depths. for a more traditional approach, go for the windcutter or powerspey. you can see all the line recos for pretty much every two handed rod if you click on the spey line recommendations here:
http://www...ts.com/page.php?recKey=9
in terms of reels, just keep in mind that spey lines are typically much fatter and longer than traditional overhand casting lines - and that since the rods are much longer it requires a larger reel to balance well. for a 7 weight two hander, you're looking at reels typically designed to match with 10 weight single handers. a good source for seeing which reels match best with which rods can be found here:
http://www...s/large-arbor-reels.html
there are less expensive options out there for sure, and some of the others mentioned earlier in this post would be just fine for a newbie - if the newbie is a good single handed caster then picking up the two hander should come relatively easy -
oh, one more thing - and sorry in advance for being a little technical - but "spey" is a type of cast, not a type of rod. a spey cast can be done with any type of rod - in fact, once you learn the spey cast you'll find yourself using it with all types of single and two handed rods.
if your buddy really wants to accelerate the learning curve, tell him to ask his wife to include some instruction from a certified casting instructor with the rod - i can recommend one or two here in CA who might know some people closer to you...
hope this helps.
oh, and pass along this link to your buddy:
http://www.speypages.com/speyclave/
a very good spey forum and source for info.
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