Angler’s Choice award winner was three years in the making
Pure Fishing’s PENN Authority is one of the hottest products to hit the fishing tackle market in the last 12 months and has got an enthusiastic thumbs up from both the trade and anglers alike.
It was first introduced at ICAST in Florida – the world’s largest tackle trade show – where it won Best Saltwater reel in the show’s product awards. It has subsequently completed a double achievement at the EFTTEX European tackle show, being voted top reel in its class by the trade and then repeating the feat in the first-ever EFTTEX Angler’s Choice online vote, organised by Tacklestream.
Top tackle developer and Pure Fishing EMEA Marketing Director Ralph Dijk has lifted the lid on the development of the PENN Authority – a reel three years in the making and one that has raised the bar to a totally new level for the brand.
In an exclusive interview, Dijk told Tacklestream: “To make a top-of-the-range reel for a brand like PENN you need to examine what saltwater anglers who cannot afford to fail really need from their fishing tackle.
“Sure, it has to look nice and – yes – it’s great if it has plenty of ball bearings (it’s 12+1 if you must know) but what matters more than anything is that it performs. Not just performs, but does the job so faultlessly that it almost becomes an extension of the angler themselves.
“How do you do that? You need to get into the core of what anglers need and then you raise those expectations to almost ridiculous heights.
“No saltwater reel really needs to be submerged under water for 30 minutes and not suffer any water ingress, but the PENN Authority can do that thanks to its IPX-8-rated sealed body.
“Do you really need a reel with a stainless steel gear train and pinion gear that’s CNC-cut? Maybe not, but the Authority brings that so it can withstand the most severe punishment and pressure, fishing trip after fishing trip.
“So, whether it’s long runs through heavy seas or battling through big surf, you are covered for countless trips of flawless performance out of your Authority.
“Those 13 stainless steel ball bearings might seem like overkill, but anglers who push their gear to the limit will be thankful when it means they get silky smooth retrieves years into owning an Authority.
“Even the Slammer Drag System and Dura Drag combination go above and beyond what the average angler would need, but these are the steps PENN deemed necessary to make a reel it is happy to call one of its greatest ever – and this reel isn’t just for average anglers.
“Hardly anything on the Authority is industry standard. Expensive, bespoke engineering helps set it apart from not just other brands, but also other PENN reels.
“Maybe the Authority does go beyond what is required in terms of keeping saltwater out and in its stopping power and longevity. But isn’t that what fishing is all about – hope? Maybe one day you will hook into the fish of a lifetime that will make you glad that you had the right tools for the battle. They didn’t name it Authority by accident.”
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