ICAST 2011 | Shimano Lightens Things Up
Posted by Jason Sealock on Thu, Jul 14, 2011 @ 08:01 AM
White and light seems to be a theme at Shimano this year. The new Chronarch E, Citica G and Stratic FJ reels sport white cosmetic changes among other functional changes. The new rods are lighter and sport sleeker new looks as well. Shimano has long been known for smooth casting and retrieving reels and they are stepping up their game with new X-Ship technologies in the spinning reels and Lo-Mass Spools and High Efficency Gearing in baitcasters.
The Chronarch is a 6 bearing reel with 1 AR-B bearing and 5 shielded SUS bearings, sizes 200 and 50 for right hand models and 201 and 51 for left handed models and gear ratios of 7.1. 6.5 and 5.5 to 1. The reels feature a lot of the same technologies on previous Shimano reels, like quick side plate access, roughly 7 ounce weights and Super Stopper. The reels are priced at $199.
The Citica G reels are 7.5 ounces, come in 7.1, 6.6 and 5.5 to 1 ratios, offer both left and right hand models and feature SUS and AR-B bearings again. However these reels are slightly less at $129.
The Stradic FJ spinning reels come in 7 different model sizes and 6:1 gear ratios however the big draw is in the X-Ship double bearing supported pinion gear with two S A-RB shielded bearings that eliminate pinion gear twist and rotor flex when fighting fish. The reels range in price from $179.99 to $379.99 depending on the size you choose.
The new Curado G reels are 4 bearing reels with the standard Curado craftsmanship that fans of Curados have come to love. They still feature the green styling but it's the HEG, VBS and quality bearings that make this reel perform well. The new G line of reels will come in three sizes in left and right hand options with 7.1, 6.5 and 5.5 to 1 gear ratio options. The reels will retail for $159.99.
They extended their Clarus, Compre and Crucial rod series to cover a ton of bass techniques and increased the quality of the blanks in their lineups. These rods are priced based on rod blank quality mostly with the Clarus having IM-8 blanks and starting at $79.99. The Compre rods feature IM-9 blanks and start at around $109.99 and the Crucial rods feature IM-10 blanks and start at around $149.99.
Shimano extended several of their existing lines, created some new branches to those lines and put better components and technologies into those new extensions for a good mix of new product.