The 13 Fishing
Concept Z is billed
as the first reel to
be made without
ball bearings.
ZEROED OUT
IS ELIMINATING BEARINGS THE FUTURE OF REEL DESIGN?
By Chad Love
44
On a fundamental level, the argu-
ment could be made that modern
baitcasting reel design hasn’t
changed much since the first
Ambassadeur 5000 was introduced in
1954, and that, with a few exceptions
(the introduction of magnetic cast
control and low-profile frames, for
example), the history of reel design is
more a function of refinement rather
than revolution.
Spool, frame, handle, gears and
the bearings upon which the whole
thing rolls – that’s pretty much every-
thing there is to a reel, right? In fact, in
recent years the number of bearings
in any given reel has become a sort of
measuring stick for its alleged per-
formance and/or quality. This bearing
arms race has gotten to the point that
some reels have so many bearings
you have to wonder where they fit.
Maybe that’s why 13 Fishing decid-
ed to stand the entire notion on its
head with the Concept Z. Billed as the
“first-ever high-performance casting
reel manufactured with zero ball
bearings,” the Concept Z does away
with t