Quantum Goes for the Gold

An skilled staff and renewed dedication to creating top-notch sort out breathes new life into the Quantum model.

We anglers have been listening to the title Quantum for 4 many years, however be ready to have your outdated expectations shattered. The corporate has corralled a brand new staff of cream-of-the-crop business veterans and got down to redefine its top-tier choices, whereas specializing in the saltwater market with new rods and reels that can quickly have the fish quaking of their boots.

“Quantum turns 40 years outdated this 12 months, and through the years, the model has had success in salt water however all the time pulled again for one purpose or one other,” says Quantum SVP Mike Rice. “We wished the business to see that we’re bringing a completely new playbook on this one, that there’s no pulling again this time. New branding, new naming, new headquarters, new merchandise and tooling, and most significantly, a brand new staff.

“Assembling the staff was straightforward,” he continues. “We knew who the rock stars have been, we pitched the plan, they usually joined the staff. There have been no job postings or interviews—the oldsters on this staff have been all hand-selected and introduced into the plan from the beginning. They’ve labored for a lot of the main manufacturers, and cumulatively symbolize over 150 years of expertise within the business.”

The web outcome? The primary new Quantum spinning reels to hit the bays and bayous are the Attempt and the Benchmark. Accessible in 2500 to 8000 sizes, these are designed to tackle heavy-hitting saltwater species from north to south spanning from stripers to snook. Their our bodies are totally sealed to IPX6 requirements through Quantum’s SEALOQ 6 design, locking out the brine and locking of their Sizzling Sauce lubrication. Drags incorporate the CFX200 carbon-fiber system to ship buttery-slick energy—and many it. Even the smallest Attempt (the SV2500) can crank out 20 kilos of max drag, and the SV8000 maxes out at a tarpon-stopping 40 kilos. Frames and facet plates are aluminum, and 4 stainless-steel bearings guarantee easy operation. The Benchmark brings Quantum’s GearTEQ machined gears into the combo, with precision-cut aluminum and brass plus a fifth ball bearing.

Quantum selected to develop these reels with new tooling and particular person components. Whereas many reel firms do quite a lot of components sharing between reels to save lots of on manufacturing prices, by designing and constructing particularly to every particular person mannequin, Quantum can ship the best ranges of precision and efficiency. Regardless of this further effort, nonetheless, they’ve nonetheless managed to maintain price in examine, and also you is perhaps shocked at simply how cheap the pricing is. The Attempt’s worth vary is $99.95 to $139.95, and the Benchmark begins at $149.95 and goes to $189.95. Be aware, nonetheless, that each are additionally accessible in a rod-and-reel combo type to ship most worth. The Attempt sequence combos vary from $129.99 to $169.99 and Benchmark combos from $189.99 to $229.99.

Within the rod division, prepare to satisfy the Delusion. Additionally specializing in the inshore saltwater area (and matching up superbly with the Attempt and Benchmark reels), Delusion rods are constructed with proprietary HSX30 high-modulus graphite for intense sensitivity. They’re constructed to final too, with Seaguide stainless-steel frames that can maintain as much as the brine for the long run. Handles are actual cork, and reel seats are the top-notch Fuji DPS selection. There are 10 rods within the lineup—a mixture of 7-foot, 7-foot-6-inch, and 7-foot-9-inch lengths from mild to extra-heavy motion. Line scores run from 6- to 65-pound-test, with lure scores from a quarter-ounce to six ounces. Pricing for the Delusion rods ranges from $129.95 to $169.95.

Whereas a brand new staff, new designs, high-quality parts, and a dose of the most recent fishing sort out tech is nice, that’s not even the largest story behind the Attempt, the Benchmark and the Delusion. Critically, Quantum has put this new gear by means of the wringer each within the lab and out in the true world. They prefer to say it’s “examined past limits,” which makes quite a lot of sense contemplating that the majority critical saltwater anglers push the boundaries of their gear every time they shove off the dock.

“We’ve examined these rods and reels past something I’ve ever seen earlier than,” Rice says. “Whether or not we meet our objectives continues to be to be decided, and like several high-performance staff, we’ll by no means be one hundred pc glad. However when our prospects inform us they’re proud of the merchandise they usually begin recommending Quantum to their buddies, we’ll know we’ve hit the mark.”