Stainless 2 Rod Metalware Comparison

Stainless steel metalware is the staple products for most serious specialist anglers, due to the robustness and reliability of the material compared to much cheaper products of similar nature. Because of the wide use of stainless metalware, we decided that we could not have a review section with out a comparison of the most widely used stainless available – two rod buzzer bars, banksticks and stabilisers – from three of the biggest names in metalware and rod support – Matrix Innovations, Solar and Reuben Heaton. The UKMA team used each setup from the manufacturers on different sessions, and put them all through the same test procedure to make it an even playing field.

Matrix Super Slinky Stainless

New for 2009, the guys down at Matrix Innovations have thought about what the current trend of anglers is looking for with regards to rod support.

With more and more anglers wishing to travel as light as possible for numerous reasons, there are times where a larger diameter stainless product adds extra weight that possibly cause the angler to be less inclined to move from one end of the lake to the other.

Constructed to the same high quality as the renowned Rock Solid stainless, but using a 12mm diameter outer instead of the original 16mm tube, the weight of each individual component has been drastically reduced without affecting the strength.

The workmanship of the Super Slinky stainless was top notch indeed, with no burrs or other blemishes found. The Super Slinky 2 rod stainless range consists of 3 different length extending banksticks (9”, 12” & 16”) as well as 2 rod fixed width buzzer bar sets (5” back + 5.5” front and 6.25” back + 6.75” front). A Super Slinky bankstick stabiliser is also available (and a necessity with single stick buzzer bar setups).

When we field testing the Super Slinky on a loose sand and gravel bank we did find that even with the stabiliser fitted, the slimmer profile of the banksticks in this particular type of bank made a buzzer bar setup a little unstable – to rectify this problem both UKMA & Matrix recommend the use of the Super Slinky Snag Bar or to make things even cheaper for you try the Super Slinky stainless as single banksticks, this will remove the instability completely.

The buzzer bars were perfectly made with identical distances between the centre stud to the outer studs. The threads on the upper studs, and also the centre lower stud, were all perfectly clean cut, with no rough edges. A worthy addition to the Matrix Innovations range, and well worth a good look at if you want stainless but not the total weight of thicker gear. We do suggest though that if to get the most out of a buzzer bar setup with the Super Slinky, it is advised to use the longest stick available with single stick bars or to use a goalpost setup.

Solar Supreme Stainless

When anglers think of stainless steel metalware, the first company that comes to mind to them is Solar. Solar were amongst the very first to have a dedicated range of stainless steel metalware on the main market, and 20 years later, they are still going from strength to strength. Since I last used Solar stainless, the company have made some slight modifications to some of the metalware. The most obvious is with the bankstick stabiliser. The older model had a straight stainless bar which made the stabiliser heavier when in transit, where as the newer version has a larger profile where the bankstick pushes through, and tapers over a shot distance to the outer piece that the stabilising spike slides through. The stabiliser spike had also been made slightly longer than the older version.

The banksticks themselves are identical to the older sticks, other than the Pozi-Loc collar at the thread, and also the point on the outer stick has a couple of deep grooves machined into it to allow easier insertion into the ground. Stability of the banksticks is slightly better than the Slinky Matrix, but in soft or gravelly ground, the stabiliser is needed to eliminate twisting with single stud buzzer bars. As with the Matrix bars, when assembled to the sticks, there was no hint of wobble at all, and all angles were true and square. The buzzer bars that were sent to UKMA for this article were of the traditional style (non-Pozi-Loc) and they have not changed since their inception all those years ago! This is testament to the build quality and design of the Solar metalware.

Solar’s range of stainless steel metalware is the largest around and they have a piece of metalware to suit every angling situation around.

Reuben Heaton

Reuben Heaton are a relative newcomer to the metalware market, but those that have read the review on the companies products on UKMA will know that the machining and quality is second to none. Reuben Heaton manufacture their stainless steel products in two diameters – 16mm and 22mm – and for this article, UKMA chose the 22mm diameter metalware as it was only fair to add a thicker diameter to the equation to show how much difference in stability there is.

For the article, we used the standard 2 rod 22mm buzzer bar kit that Reuben Heaton provide and a 12” 22mm bankstick (the same length that was used throughout the testing from all manufacturers). The thicker diameter tube was harder to push into the ground, but was the most stable and was rock solid even without a stabiliser. We struggled to move the stick sideways without a stabiliser, but when a Reuben Heaton stabiliser was fitted to the stick, the bankstick was literally like it was concreted into the ground!

The weight of the 22mm Reuben Heaton stainless is obviously heavier than the thinner stainless available, but it is bombproof and if stability is the most important part of the decision, then this should be checked out first.

Conclusion

Overall stainless products are down to personal preferences at the end of the day. Each angler is different , but it is apparent that a single set of stainless is not going to cover every single eventuality that the angler may encounter. Obviously the cost of the stainless is going to play a part and not all anglers are going to be able to afford to purchase a set of stainless from multiple manufacturers. UKMA recommends that if you are looking at purchasing a stainless setup, that you check out all options available before deciding on what you feel is right for the venues and styles of angling you will be doing.