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Event Article:
2005 ICAST Reel Coverage |
ICAST Coverage Day 1 - Exciting Reels all across the show floor
 Zebco/Quantum:
After the exciting preview that we published a few weeks ago on the new upcoming
2006 products we bring you more exciting news from ICAST. After speaking to the
President of Zebco, Jeff Pontius, and Director of Marketing, John Kushnerick, we
have collected more information to share with everyone. First of all the Quantum
PT freshwater line of reels have totally been redone not because they weren’t
selling or had any problems, but Quantum wanted to make them even better. The
company's design, test, and production curve is accelerating so quickly that it
makes sense to evolve the new reel designs sooner rather than later.
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Jeff
Pontius, President of Zebco, explains the newly redesigned freshwater
spinning reels to JIP |
The new reels now have
better ergonomics and other features that make them perform better. One such
example is the new Infinite ACS cast control system on the new PT baitcasters.
The all new cast control system isn’t like the previous version where you only
had four brake settings, instead the Infinite ACS system allows you to increase
from Free to full braking in minute increments.
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The new
Energy PTi sports a thinner and more aggressive frame |
Performance Tuned Spinning:
Redesigned for 2006, the Energy PTi, Catalyst PTi, and Kinetic PTi make use of
the improved TiMAG III titanium bail with magnetic bail trip mechanism. This
system has more powerful magnets for greater performance along with sure
reliability. New to these popular spinning reels is the Line Management System
(LMS) which contains Quantum's Rocket Roller and Pocket Rotor which controls and
eliminates the hassles associated with traditional line rollers and bail
designs, ultimately translating into reduced line twists and smoother casts.
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John
Kushnerick, Marketing Director, shows off the new Tour Edition PT that
houses the new Infinite ACS cast control system |
Tour Edition PT:
Next we witnessed the new
Tour Edition PT reels where one of the two reels in this series boasts a
super-fast 7.1:1 gear ratio! Why did Quantum decided to design a reel with this
super speed retrieve? Quantum brought all their pro-staff team to the tables and
asked them what’s something they all want to see in a reel that isn’t there
right now. Every one of them came up with one answer, speed. Every pro-staff
agreed that with a high gear ratio reel they can always slow down the retrieve
and the high speed will allow them to power fish easier. Most of these Quantum
reels will be available this coming Fall in both right and left hand models.
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Captain
Craig Cantelmo and Micah Jones of Van Staal show off the new spinning reel
that now has a robust titanium bail wire |
Van Staal:
After Van Staal joined the Zebco family no one knew what was coming... until
now. Van Staal is and will be kept separate from Zebco/Quantum. They have their
own team that deals with product development all the way through the business
side. Now that the manufacturing plant has completely moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma
they are now beginning to fabricate limited amounts of reels again, much like
they were doing in the past. The quality of these reels have been heavily tested
in both the lab and in the field with excellent results. In fact we saw tests
that indicate the reliability and quality is actually better than before.
Now with a new team on
hand Van Staal is back on the drawing board to design and introduce new high end
products to the market. This year at ICAST we learned of a new spinning reel
that comes with a manual trip Titanium bail wire. This Titanium bail wire will
match perfectly with the durability and performance enthusiast have come to
expect of the Van Staal brand name. Another component that changed dramatically
in this new model is the clutch. The old Van Staal reels were placed near the
handle, which was great but made it very difficult for any angler to maintain
the reel. They have now moved it right below the rotor and are able to increase
the size for enhanced power and control.
Next
Section: Tica, Abu Garcia, Okuma, Pflueger
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