|
Making
the Cut? The Ardent Rigger Tool
| Date: |
2/5/14 |
| Tackle type: |
Tools |
| Manufacturer: |
Ardent |
| Reviewer: |
Wolbugger |
Total Score: 4.91 -
SUB PAR
Introduction:
Ardent
is widely known for their domestic lineup of bass reels, but many people may be
unfamiliar with the fact that they make several other types of rods as well as
fishing accessories like the Smart Cull system which we awarded an Editor’s
Choice to a few seasons ago. Among the accessory items in their product lineup
is also a tool called the Ardent Rigger. Designed as a compact yet versatile
tool, it promises to be a handy little item that will supposedly make your
fishing day a little easier. Is this a gadget you'll always want to remember to
bring with you, or is it one that's easily forgettable?
Ardent Rigger
Tool Specifications |
|
Material |
Plastic and
stainless steel |
|
Length |
4
inches |
|
Features |
Line clippers,
line cutter,
hook sharpener,
jig-eye cleaner,
belt hook, line
threader |
|
MSRP |
$9.99 |
The Ardent Rigger is packaged with a handy lanyard.
Impressions:
The
Ardent Rigger is a compact tool measuring about four inches long. It features a
stealthy, non-glare black plastic housing and is adorned with the signature
Ardent logo. The Rigger is lightweight and slim, and remains low-profile when
clipped to a belt. It also easily fits into a small pocket or can be tossed into
a tackle bag taking up minimal space. While not designed to do everything an
angler might need during the course of a fishing day, the Ardent Rigger is a
convenience item that will allow you to consolidate several tools into one handy
little unit.
The familiar Ardent logo is displayed on the clipper lever.
Features/Operation:
The included
line clipper is basically a standard nail clipper inside of the black plastic
housing. On our test unit, the cutting jaws didn't line up perfectly straight.
Obviously, this caused some problems when trying to cut mono line. The clippers
would also cut braid, but not very well.
Tough to see here, but the left side of the jaws are closer together than the
right side. This crooked spacing caused for inconsistent cuts.
Next to the
cutting jaws is the eyelet for the lanyard to hook into. The positioning of this
eyelet is terrible, as it interferes with the functionality of the clippers and
forces you to make certain cuts from an angle. Unfortunately, my line clipping
tests didn’t last the complete extent of the field tests, in fact it broke on
the first day! While I was applying modest force to snip some heavy
fluorocarbon, the lever on the clippers snapped clean off! It was actually not a
huge surprise since the clippers had a weak feel to them from the start. They
exhibited a loose feel during use, and the plastic housing even flexed
noticeably when a cut was made. Got a good pair of scissors? Use those instead.
Here you can see how the clipper lever broke clean off.
The line cutter
is a small blade on the very end of the housing unit designed to shear braided
line quickly and cleanly. This end of the tool has a curved “hook” shape to not
only aid in cutting the braid, but also protect the user from cuts! Thankfully,
the cutting blade works really well and cuts braid without an issue.
The small line cutter slices braid without a problem.
Next Section:
Making the cut?
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