Seeking perfection, the Pinnacle “Perfecta” Tournament Class
rods
Date: |
2/02/11 |
Tackle type: |
Rod |
Manufacturer: |
Pinnacle |
Reviewer: |
Zander |
Total Score: 8.38 -
GREAT
Introduction: Pinnacle continues to gain momentum as they introduce
higher end rod and reel offerings that they describe are “Tournament Class.” The new
Perfecta rods are the highest end rods the company has
introduced to date and feature Fuji components combined with a new proprietary
blank design called DHC5. While the rods appear attractive at first
glance do they really have what it takes to warrant the name Perfecta?
Pinnacle
Perfecta
7'11"
Heavy
Casting
Rod
Specifications
|
Material |
DHC5 Graphite |
Length |
7'11" |
Line Wt. |
14 -
30lb |
Lure Wt. |
1/2 - 3oz. |
Pieces |
2
(Telescopic) |
Guides |
9
Guides + Tip
Top Fuji
Alconite New
Concept
Guides |
Power Rating |
Heavy |
Taper |
Fast |
Rod Weight |
6.5 oz |
MSRP |
$169.99 |
The Pinnacle Perfecta 7'11" rod is
designed for "heavy" applications
Impressions:
I’ve fished Pinnacle rods in the past but
they were all value rods, usually sold in combos at big box retailers. For many
anglers this is how they first learned about the brand, seeing the rods hoisted
over the aisles at retail and sporting goods stores. But Pinnacle has come a
long way in a short amount of time and invested greatly in bringing higher end
products to market.
The Calais DC looks right at home
on this rod with the rod's machined checks
Today the company’s Pro Staff includes some big
names including Dave Wolak, Paul Elias, Britt Myers, Grant Goldbeck and John
Crews. Last year the company had a major presence at ICAST and introduced a
range of higher end baitcasters that look much better than previous Pinnacle
baitcasters that we have fished when it comes to both specifications and design.
To match these new reels the company also upped the ante in their rod lineup and
introduced the Perfecta series of rods. These rods were designed to hold up to
the rigors of tournament fishing but remain reasonably priced for all anglers.
These machined checks are actually
double anodized, a very nice touch. Notice the open hook hanger design
positioned underneath the blank
To do this the company
went back to the drawing board and created a new proprietary blank design called DHC5.
DHC stands for “Double Helical Construction” which describes the actual
structure of this blank. Each Perfecta rod begins with high-density carbon tape
wrapped tightly around the length of a mandrel. Pinnacle then rolls layers of
high-modulus, uni-directional graphite prepreg, without glass scrim, over the
initial carbon wrap. Normally, eliminating scrim would make for too brittle a
rod, but Pinnacle addresses this by reinforcing the blank strength by rolling
another layer of high-density carbon tape on top of the layers of graphite
prepreg in the opposite direction of the first carbon tape layer. This
application of carbon tape wraps the elimination of scrim and the use of less
resin reduces rod weight and increases sensitivity, while helping retain
strength and durability.
Pinnacle makes use of proven Fuji
components including the ACS reel seat with a matte silver hood
While the company
designed their own blank they turned to Fuji for proven components. All
Perfecta™ rods feature Fuji® guides with Alconite™ rings and
diamond-polished stainless steel frames as well as Fuji ACS trigger reel seats.
In terms of styling the Perfecta rods feature a dark blue blank with machined
aluminum winding checks. The rods also employ a modern split grip design with
high quality cork handles. Overall the rods look very clean and felt lightweight
in hand.
Yes we would have loved SiC guides
but the Alconites do fine in this application and price point
Real World Tests:
While we have fished a total of three Perfecta rods during an entire season
there is one rod in particular that we found the most interesting, this is the
heaviest casting rod in the company’s lineup, the DHC5-7112CAHSB. This Heavy
powered rod is 7’11” in length and features a classic telescoping design and is
able to accommodate line weights between 14-30lbs. and lure weights from 1/2oz.
all the way to a whopping 3oz. In the lab we noted how powerful yet lightweight
this stick was for a heavy swimbait capable rod, weighing in at only 6.5oz.
The Perfecta rods feature a split
grip design and the rod's intended applications are listed on the blank
To test this Perfecta rod I employed it for
pitching and frogging on the California Delta and swimbaits on Clear Lake,
Pardee and a few local reservoirs. I paired it with a number of reels and used
both braided and fluorocarbon lines from Toray throughout the tests.
The rod is finished with an EVA
butt
Casting: Before
fishing the rod it is important to note that this is a two piece telescoping rod
that is able to collapse 13.5” inches making it possible to fit this rod inside
most boat lockers, a big plus for both tournament anglers and weekend warriors
alike. Inside the blank is a rubber strap which helps keep the rod compressed
when not in use, a very nice little detail. When deployed the rod is held in
place with nothing more than tension but is able to stay firmly in place both
when casting or fighting fish.
Comparing the heavier powered
7'11" rod to the 7' Med Heavy
Unlike many traditional flipping rods which
feature a telescoping design the Perfecta rod is not overly tip-heavy and balanced out
well with a variety of reels including our Shimano Calais DC. I found the rod
very good at pitching larger jigs and when it came to frogs I was able to cast
them as far as I wanted with a simple side or overhand cast. It is with swimbaits that I was actually the most impressed with this rod. In the “old”
days we used flipping rods to cast swimbaits, before there were rods
dedicated to these popular baits, and many of these rods while very good for
pitching proved to be underpowered for larger heavier swimbaits. The Perfecta 7’11”
feels right at home tossing big baits and I’d argue it even feels better lobbing
bigger heavier baits than smaller 1oz. lures. This bait has a cannon for a blank
and is able to rocket heavy soft bodied and hard swimbaits so far line capacity
may be an issue on shallow spooled reels. The blank features a very fast taper
and loads quickly to launch these baits.
Inside the rod is band which helps
the rod stay compressed rather than rattling around our sliding outward when not
in use