Creature Fever : ZBone in the AmaZon (continued)

Power: If there's one area where this stick really excels it's in the power department. Our trip with Kistler Custom Rods to Falcon Lake, Texas several years ago instilled us with great confidence in the ability of these sticks to hold up to the rigors of setting, fighting, and yes, even swinging fish into the boat. The latter is not a practice I advocate because of the added stress it puts on the fish, but I know people do it. On this trip, we continually hooked into trees and brush and on countless occasions we pulled up what lie beneath thanks both to the braided line we were using, but also, the power in these ZBone blanks.

But of course, battling with our North American Bass is a little different than the species residing in the waters of the Amazon River and while you can anticipate how a piece of equipment is going to perform, you never really know until you put it through the paces of a real world test.

Fig 1: This chart illustrates the deflection characteristics of the AVC70MHXF as compared to our Creature Fever baseline rod, the MBR844C GLX from G.Loomis. As you can see from the chart above, if the MBR844C is considered a prototypical "Heavy" powered rod, the ZBLE-5H is more of an extra heavy stick yet the way it behaved for us out on the water showed it is a very versatile stick.

The ZBLE-5H did little to disappoint down in the Amazon with the biggest prize being a thirteen pound Peacock Bass caught on a modified Megabass Limber Lamber. This fish slammed the bait, peeled off a good amount of line on our Revo MGX, but still succumbed to the power of our ZBLE-5H.

Case in point? This hefty thirteen pounder caught on a modified Megabass Limber Lamber.

Design/Ergonomics: Our ZBone LE suited the purpose for which we had it intended perfectly fine and that has a lot to do with the fact we were able to customize just about every component on the rod during the ordering process. We're unaware of any other large manufacturer that offers the flexibility in ordering Kistler does with their ZBone sticks. The only way to get a fit that's better is to go with a true, small shop, custom builder, but the ordering process through a custom builder is a longer, more drawn out process and turn around time can often be a great deal longer.

We spec'd this rod with titanium framed SiC micros by Fuji spiraled around the blank.

Make that K-Series Micros of course.

One feature we did select for our Search For One rod but not this one was the pre-installed balancing kit. Again, the goal for this stick was to make it as light as possible and not concern ourselves with balance or tip weight hence the skewed numbers to that regard in the lab results matrix above.

A look at Kistler's new hook hangar. It's quite a bit more substantial than their previous hangar but just about as easy to use.

We also chose the integrated Eva foregrip and lockring for a cleaner look and a bit more comfort when holding the combo.

Availability: ZBone sticks are available now both as fully built up stock rods or through their online custom ordering system. Typical turn around time on a custom order is roughly 4 weeks depending upon the complexity of your design, availability of materials, and manufacturer backlogs. We get word from the factory that for 2013, Kistler Custom Rods plans to roll out a few more stock models of the ZBone as well as expand on their popular MagnesiumTS and Helium lines.

This stick was designed for the Amazon, but we also fished it back home for black bass on Clear Lake, CA.

Warranty: To ensure your rod is covered by Kistler's warranty program, each ZBone must be registered by its original owner. There is an online form through which to complete registration and from there you are covered for full replacement under manufacturer defects or component failure. After the one year period is up, Kistler offers a tiered replacement program depending up on the age of your rod. There is no official replacement program for failures do to misuse or other accidents and each warranty claim is subject to inspection. For further details, please visit the manufacturer's website or contact them directly.

Whether it's ripping wood choppers of Vision 110's, the ZBLE-5H is surprisingly versatile.

Ratings:

Pluses and Minuses: