Observations and
Notes from the Denver Fly Fishing Retailer Show
Cam Sigler
Does tieing a Bimini Twist leave your stomach in a knot? The Cam Sigler Bimini Twister Machine can help you out.
This device will allow you to tie an IGFA double bimini twist leader for fly- or conventional tackle in under a minute, once you get the hang of it. A customized Fin-Nor Ahab spinning is used to provide the twists, and a fly vise is used to secure the opposite end.
It comes with an instructional CD showing how to use the Bimini Twister. Made of marine mahogany, with brass fittings for years of use, it breaks down for storage or transport.
Reel-E-Good Products
The Reel E Good Winder immediately caught our eye. Not because of its design, which is pretty straightforward, but because of its cost. Line winders, for whatever reason, always seem to cost in triple digits, but the Reel E Good Winder has an MSRP of under $50.
It provides a clean way to quickly wind on/off fly lines and backing, and also will accommodate conventional and spinning reels. They sell an attachment which allows you to use a power drill or screwdriver to spin the handle of fly reels, making short work of most line-winding chores for fly gear. Spin and conventional reels still have to be wound by hand, but at least you have a stable base to work from.
One thing that we did not get a good feel for is the durability of the device. It looks to be more than adequate for fly reels, fly lines and dacron backing, but it may not be up to large offshore reels and heavy line.
Alpine Innovations
Spudz from Alpine Innovations is one of those products that you look at and say “Why didn’t I think of that?”
I like microfiber clothes for cleaning camera and sunglass lenses, but have always been plagued by losing them, getting them dirty, or getting them wet. Spudz takes care of these problems by attaching a microfiber lens cleaning cloth to a self-contained neoprene protective pouch with a clip.
Once you are done with the cloth, you just stuff it back into the little neoprene pouch. The pouch has a sewn flap that flips over to close off the end. Once tucked away, the whole thing is about the size of the end of your thumb. The pouch keeps the cloth handy, yet clean and dry. We’ve got one clipped to our camera case.
They also have a version of the Spudz which has an 18 percent grey-colored cloth. This is a bit of genius. An 18 percent grey card is commonly used by photographers to set exposure in difficult lighting conditions, but a cardboard or plastic grey card is a hassle to carry around. By offering the Spudz cloth in an 18 percent grey color, that problem is solved.
Alpine Innovations also offers a number of other useful products, such as digital camera covers, sunglass clips for car visors that are integrated with Spudz, a fly liner cleaner/stripping glove, and lens cleaning kits, but we like the 18 percent grey Spudz the best.
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