St. Croix Radical Fishing Rod Evokes ‘Extreme’ Performance
OutdoorHub 07.11.14
To push the outer limits of what’s possible; to go well beyond the ordinary, usual or expected; to exist at the furthest ends of the universe.
Few words evoke such tantalizing and spine-tingling imagery as “extreme” – embodied by the “X”. Think ice climbing, base jumping, volcano boarding, kitesurfing, underwater hockey.
In angling, you can travel to the outer edges of the piscatorial planet; hunt golden dorado in Argentina; bare-knuckle noodle for giant catfish in a gnarly river; heck, even hand-line a 200-pound tarpon if the mood grabs you. Or, you can achieve a similar sort of nirvana, simply by clutching and casting one of St. Croix’s new Avid X fishing rods.
A seamless blend of innate fishability and avant-garde engineering, the Avid X derives its performance from St. Croix’s exclusive high-modulus / high-strain SCIII graphite blanks—the same feather-light material used in the classic original Avid Series. Built with Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC) tooling technology, these proprietary St. Croix blanks feature remarkably smooth actions with minimal heft, plus increased strength and sensitivity throughout.
Avid X blanks meld utmost performance with unparalleled value.
Equally key to the execution of the Avid X is St. Croix’s meticulous guide platform—a perfectly calibrated combination of Kigan® Z micro-guides that minimize weight and direct line flow efficiency. High-grade Z guides feature resilient zirconia rings with gunsmoke frames. Each is expertly wrapped with nylon thread and sealed with a double coat of Flex Coat slow-cure finish. From stripper guide to rod tip, each Z guide is placed at its optimal position on the blank.
“Avid X rods are perfectly balanced for incredible casting performance,” says Jeff Schluter, St. Croix V.P. of Brand Management. “The design features are dramatic and immediately beneficial to anglers—negligible line friction and zero slap, maximized casting and total smoothness throughout the blank.”
Further aiding comfort and leverage are all new counterbalanced split-grip handles. Crafted with lightweight, select-grade cork, these customized handles provide a handshake-like fit in your palm. Accoutrements include Fuji® reel seats with gunsmoke hoods, as well as a newly designed hook-keeper that secures a full spectrum of lures and hooks while eliminating line-wrap issues.
Designed and handcrafted in Park Falls, Wisconsin, the new Avid X series features 18 one- and two-piece spinning and casting models (all 2-piece models sport St. Croix’s exclusive slim-profile ferrules.) With lengths, actions and powers built for extreme bass and walleye anglers, every Avid X (MSRP $200 to $210) is protected by a 15-year transferrable warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service.
Schluter adds: “Wicked—it’s one word that fits the Avid X. As in, wicked good. Extreme? Yeah, but you don’t need to jump off a cliff or travel to the far reaches of the galaxy to grip one and grin.”
