13 Fishing Concept Z-first impressions/out of box review.

Like the title states, this is more of an out of box review.. I just got the reel a few days ago and have only cast it around at a few ponds in the area. Here's the deal..

13 Fishing was very accurate on their advertisement. The reel is EXTREMELY quiet. Quiet enough where all you can hear is the line going through the guides on the rod. Very quiet... They also weren't lying on how effortless it is to cast this reel. No joke, just a little sling in the wrist will send the lure a crazy distance. By that I mean, I'd have to put a pretty good deal of force in my other reels to cast as far as the Concept Z with just a little sling. Crazy smooth, casts amazing, light, CRAZY quiet.

Again, this was just tossing it around at some ponds. I fish saltwater as well, so I'm interested to see how well it takes on the salt environment. So far, if any of y'all have had thought about getting the reel, by all means I'd say go get it. The hype is real. I got mine at Fishing Tackle Unlimited here in Pearland.. As far as I know, all the FTU stores got them. The only problem is that there may be none left.. But for those of you that have thought about it,go get it! Sweet reel!!!

Yep. I want some. And when they polymer disk is available as a part I’ll convert my concept A’s to zero bearings as well. Stoked!

I would be more likely to consider it if it came in another color option besides that orangey red.

I'm not too big on orange either, but it is a beautiful reel. They did a great job on the paint

I have one ordered

I currently have a Daiwa Tatula CT in the cart at Tackle Warehouse but I might have to change it over to the Concept Z.
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Also not a fan of the orange but oh well...

Why make it in such a color that many will not buy it fir that fact alone?

I just ordered one ... I've been looking for a reason to build a new custom rod. A black and orange themed. I got just the thread for it.

https://voodoorods.com/products/voodoo-variegated-poly-sheen-select-v153

I like the color just in that it’s a cool looning real BUT I’m not all that excited about it sticking out like a sore thumb. I just really want to grab a couple in order to get better distance on those finesse applications like a shaky head or weightless worm.

I ordered one for my son for Christmas..he cannot wait till it comes in. He loves the color. Going to pair with his Favorite Balance rod.

Are the 13 Fishing feels pretty reliable now? My son and I bought about 12 of them initially and had the same issue with over half of them. I ended up returning all of them except the KP. Now it has issues so I’ve not had good luck with them at all. We really liked the reels initially but I spent a lot of money and they would lock up after about 6 months of use. These were the initial 13 Fishing reels.

I have switched over to them from abu... Huge difference in quality already since everyone has been hating on the revos lately. I have liked the fact that from the originals I had purchased that they attached the cap on the gear adjustment and I love that fact that it is hidden so that you can't bump change it while fishing. Honestly haven't had any real issues with mine whatsoever in the 2-3 years I have been fishing with them. I haven't tried their low end reels yet but I have heard nothing but great things. I am still curious if the Z is still a low spool line qty. The only issue I can think of is that I have to condition the line shortly before each use to keep from nesting it, due to the way the spool is designed. I haven't had any mechanical issues though and the grease they use is still not for sale through the 13. I have read that it is of high quality anti-corrosion chemicals and is probably why I haven't had to clean mine to keep performance up. I fish mostly C's and few A's

I believe we had the most trouble out of the C’s and E’s but had the same issue with an A also. We also had a couple of the updated C’s and didn’t have any issues with them so maybe the issue was resolved. My KP is really light, I like it a lot. I bought it on sale when they were discontuing it, got it at a great price. I think we just got a bad batch of them or something, they were all bought at about the same time. They repaired them but after about the 6th one broke I gave up.

Now, Shimano comes out with its Curado 200K and it gets a very solid and high rating from Tackletour.com with 8.46 points.

It is a bit cheaper than the Concept Z and, dang it, Shimano is just so very solid.

It is just great to see some fine reels hitting the market at < $200, priced from the get-go in the range a very large segment of the angling community likes to spend on reels.

The Z sounds particularly suited to salty angling.

Brad

I have 2 C's, a TX, an A, and now the Z of course..

I fish both fresh and salt, but being 20 miles from the bay and 80 miles from the nearest lake I fish saltwater more. I've used all these reels in saltwater and not a single issue. The TX is one SWEET reel. I love my C's too. The A isn't anything special to me.. Bout to sell it. Although I now have the Z, my fav reel is still the Concept TX. Complete workhorse of a reel