The new Concept Z baitcasting reel is poised to shake up the fishing world. With no ball bearings, it's quiet as a mouse and casts a country mile.
13 Fishing is about to release a new baitcasting reel that's already getting anglers excited. The Concept Z is a baitcaster that contains no ball bearings.
You heard right, no ball bearings. And by all accounts thus far, the reel performs at least as well if not better than conventional ball bearing component reels.
In place of traditional bearings, the company has developed a polymer disk bearing. The polymer bearing resists corrosion and in many ways outperforms ball bearings for a smoother, quieter and highly castable reel.
The trouble with baitcasters with ball bearing components is that they begin to diminish in performance with use. The CZB (Concept Zero Bearings) technology means that the reel's performance doesn't diminish with extended use. It will cast just as smoothly on the 10,000th cast as it did on the first.
13 Fishing's Product Development Manager Matt Baldwin said, "We think this is very, very different. We're confident in the product and technology. I know zero ball bearings sounds crazy, but give it three casts and you'll be a believer."
The company has engaged in an extensive marketing campaign to introduce the new reel to the public. They released at least four brief videos with well-known anglers trying the Concept Z for the first time. Their reactions appear unscripted and genuine - and very surprised.
Here's a minute with Elite Series Angler Brandon Coulter's giddy reaction to casting the Concept Z for the first time:
They also did reaction videos with Stetson Blaylock and Dave Lefebre, who said, "I knew instantly it was different. You can't hear it. It's a different sound. It's a different feeling. I was like, 'Okay, what's the deal? Did they add 17 ball bearings?'"
In the fourth of four promo videos, Baldwin and other anglers talk specifically about the development and performance of the zero ball bearings baitcaster:
I'm definitely getting one of these reels... at least one of them.
SPECIFICATIONS of the CONCEPT Z
- MSRP $200.00
- CZB - Concept Zero Bearing Technology engineered and manufactured in the USA
- 6.1 Ounces
- Ocean Armor 2 Saltwater protection Process
- 22lbs Bulldog Drag
- 13 Tech EVA Handle Knobs
- 6 Way Centrifugal Braking System
- Arrowhead Line Guide
- Beetle Wing Rapid Access Side Plate
- Dead Stop Anti-Reverse
- Japanese Hamai Cut Gearing
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NEXT: 6 Things You Didn't Know About the Fishing Reel
