Winston Air?

[DavidFin]

Anyone see these advertisements??

Word is new rod, reel, and fly line? Think theyll package them together and sell them in k mart?

In all seriousness, if theyre broadening their production it will most likely cheapen the brand.

 

[moon1284]

Winston probably is not broadening their production. They recently bought bauer reels, so that is where the reel might be coming from. As for lines, I'd bet they are either made by sa, rio, or Cortland.

Winston really isn't making anything new, just branding items other than rods.

 

[krayfish2]

Korean made rods, bottom grade lines and reels made of some 'white metal's type of alloy. Sold in big chains.....if priced properly.......should expose some more people to the sport. Not a bad thing

 

[troutbert]

I Googled "Winston Air fly rods" and found nothing.

 

[PALongbow]

I am a huge Winston fan however this would not surprise me one bit if the information is true. IMO Winston really hasn't moved forward on anything exciting since the BIIIx introduction.

Ron

 

[Big-Bass]

I think its supposed to be an upper tiered model.

 

[pcray1231]

I Googled "Winston Air fly rods" and found nothing.

https://issuu.com/anglingtrade/docs/issue-35-low-res-final2/35?e=1621763/36923988

Right side ad. By the wording, they are positioning it as an upper tiered model.

 

[krayfish2]

Well, looks like I was wrong. According to their ad, it's the lightest and finest in the world. Don't expect to see the at Kmart

 

[DavidFin]

Yea, the k mart remark was a lame joke to insinuate that broadening their base will cheapen their name.

I dont know if this is fair to say, but i think the current state of ability in fly fishing is driving the market in an unnecessary direction. The Helios' and Ones sure cast great but are without a doubt the least fun to fish.

 

[afishinado]

I've been buying and building fly rods for a long time and I have never sold one (given a few of the early ones away, though). So, my garage and closets are full of rods. Some of the old rods were good, some clubby and broom-sticky some are spaghetti noodles...

I have a lot of rods to choose from...and I choose one of the new models to fish.... :-o :-o :-o Hands down...no doubt...cast them side-by-side with the back-in-the-day-rods I have. But that's me.

The fact is, if you do your research and due diligence, you can find a rod that works perfectly well for your casting and fishing. They are not all great rods, but just about every rod mfg has diversified their line of rods. There are now rods made with all kinds of actions from noodle to broomstick long to short heavy to light...blah, blah, blah. There were very few choices back-in-the-day compared to now.

Keep your older rods if you like them, but don't give me that all the BS that all the rods are too fast are too this or too that. You can find any kind of rod now that works for your casting and fishing...just look around.

Winston didn't even introduce their new line and no one's even seen or cast the rods yet it's being ridiculed...check out my avatar<

 

[moon1284]

I agree with above. I use older rods (and reels) but the development and tweaking of new gear is good for ffishing. I'd also agree that casting a newer rod side by side with an older one the newer one will outperform the older one. New rods = more options and that's a good thing.

 

[DavidFin]

Do things not reach their limits though? Why hasnt the fastball gotten faster in the past 30 years? Why cant they make a skateboard pop higher? You can only tune the wheel once its been invented.

This is especially polarizing when considering Winston and the Tom Morgan era. Those IM6 rods are incredible.

At the end of the day its a matter of opinion, a pissing match.

 

[Bamboozle]

When I see lines of people standing in queue to get the latest phone or other gadget, I realize that the “Latest & Greatest” generation were born to be exploited by manufacturers & marketers.

If your old gadget isn’t the latest version and you are “in”, the status quo is a dinosaur that MUST be replaced with something lighter, faster, thinner; able to leap tall buildings in a single bound because...

...if it is newer, it MUST be better even though that isn’t necessarily the driving force behind the urge to replace which always seems to be more about promotion & puffing versus performance.

On the other hand if you are happy with your gadget, (or don’t want to spend the money) you make endless snide comments saying how you can leap over tall buildings just fine with your current model and probably better than those standing in line...

...even though never laid eyes or hands on the newest. If you do try the newest, you will most likely say it is “too something” to justify your decision to not stand in line...even if it IS better at something.

It is no different with fishing stuff. We have all fell victim to it at one point or another or we’d be using war clubs from the 60’s with gut leaders & silk lines purchased from one or two manufacturers because the rest wouldn’t exist.

I like choices for what they bring to the table even though I don’t always take advantage...

...and fish with war clubs from the 60's and silk lines on occasion. ;-)

 

[pcray1231]

Fastballs HAVE gotten faster, and that's not even a product, it's the human arm. Skateboards HAVE gotten better as well, at least professional level ones have.

I'm not saying it's worth it to go out and buy every new gadget. From a cost benefit approach it's often a small benefit for a large cost. So it depends on your means and needs.

And yeah, some new things miss the mark.

I'm a materials scientist who makes new materials by trade. If I, for instance, made an alloy for a, let's say, bobsled, that could shave a few milliseconds off times while tripling the price, would that be worth it for a novice recreational bobsledder? Nope. For the Olympic team? Yup. And in 20 years, they've come up with even better stuff and suddenly my upgrade is at commodity status. Just like this Winston Air, if successful, the tech will someday be on modestly priced introductory rods that absolutely may be worth the upgrade. Till then, I'll let the competition types have at it.

^^^Thats picking the most random thing I could think of to make the point.

 

[CRB]

Just got the email:
"Introducing the Winston AIR. A new line of super premium, ultra-lightweight, all around fly rods which break boundaries in performance. These new Winston AIR rods feature new materials and a revolutionary new design. The combination of our new SuperSilica™ resin system with high modulus Boron means significantly less weight, more liveliness, an even wider casting range, and higher responsiveness for optimum presentation. These rods provide an amazingly smooth transition of power with any length of cast and incredible responsiveness and flex without feeling stiff.


We've added a new level of energy to our characteristically smooth Winston Progressive Action. The result: A true step forward in premium rods. Available in weights 3 through 6.


"Widen your sweet spot with the new Winston AIR."



HIGHLIGHTS
Advanced carbon fiber and new Supersilica™ resin system
New high energy yet smooth Winston Progressive Action
Incredibly accurate presentation
Boron III technology for enhanced power
FEATURES


Weights: 3wt. through 6wt.
Action: Medium Fast
Sections: 4
Guides: Hard chrome snake over-sized "Shooting Guides" with chrome nano-lite stripping guides
Reel Seat: Nickel silver with burled wood insert
Storage: Premium dark Winston green graphite rod tube with embroidered with logo rod sock
MSRP: $945 "

 

[CRB]

$1000 with PA sales tax.

 

[pcray1231]

SuperSilica™ resin system.

Stronger and tougher resin.

Science!

From there, it's in rod design. You could use that boost to thin out the the carbon fiber layer, without making it more prone to breakage. You'd get similar to existing actions although with a lighter rod.

Or you could leave the walls the same, and with the stiffer material, you can go with a thinner taper, and get weight savings that way as well as tailor action to your liking.

Or you could leave the walls and taper the same, end up at the same weight, but with a stiffer/faster rod overall.

Or any combination of the above.