Kalstan Engineering are not a name that most specimen anglers will be aware of, but they are the driving force behind some of the most innovative metalware that is available to the specimen angler. Kalstan Engineering established themselves back in 1968, manufacturing high quality precision components and products from medical instruments through to parts for the aerospace industry. The company has many years of design and manufacturing experience and it was through one of the company’s staff, who has over 20 years of angling experience behind him, put forward an idea that could benefit anglers in more ways than one. He pointed out that the weight of the many items of metalware that he was carrying with him on a session was getting too much to bear. With this concept in mind, and with over a year of testing, Interlok Angling was born with a new concept in bankstick’s and buzzer bars at the forefront. Using an aluminium alloy, Interlok found that a dramatic decrease in weight could be made of up to 300% compared to stainless steel in the equivalent item! The most challenging problem that Interlok faced was adaptability, and the modular basis of the buzzer bars was born.
With such an adaptable system that Interlok have designed and manufactured, it is difficult to know where to start, so we will start with the buzzer bars and explain how the modular system offers every angler a solution without having to buy numerous complete kits to cover all rod support. 
The first thing that jumps out at you when you look at the buzzer bars is that they are not in the traditional format for adjustability. Almost every other adjustable buzzer bar has a multiple tube format to adjust the width, which because the traditional style adjustment requires one piece of tubing to slide in and out of another freely before being locked with a screw or collar, the small amount of space between the two pieces of tube can create unnecessary movement of the inner piece. Interlok have solved this problem by using a single solid machined piece of aluminium alloy that has grooves machined along the outer ends of the bar. This allows for the threaded head to be moved along the bar and locked up solid with no movement whatsoever. The machined groove also ensures that the threaded heads are always square to the bar meaning that everything lines up and cannot twist due to the perfect fit between the threaded head thumbscrew and the groove. In the exact centre of the bar is a single machined “dot” that allows a single threaded head to be locked solid with no movement.
Last but also very importantly, unlike other coloured or coated bankstick’s, Interlok have solved the problem of any colouring or coating being scratched or removed from their products, by cleverly integrating the colours directly into the aluminium alloy rather than simply surface coating to save money. This costs more in both manufacturing and materials but gives the angler a long lasting durable finish that a wipe down with a damp cloth will restore the item back to it’s brand new state. One little touch that UKMA liked, was that the company name and “Made in England” are machine engraved into the buzzer bar main bar and bankstick’s. This is much better than a small sticker that can peel off in the elements that anglers face, and due to the material used, will not rub away be of cause for corrosion due to the finish of the product. To give the reader an idea of how many products are in the range, UKMA have included a table of existing products with options and pricing for each below.
To say that the UKMA team were impressed with the products from Interlok is an understatement completely. UKMA can honestly say that the products are as close to perfection as we have seen anywhere – in both design and quality - and will literally last the angler a lifetime. When we asked Interlok directly how many returns of faulty manufactured products they had had, the response was zero, and in the couple of isolated cases where the angler had been at fault, Interlok replaced the products without any hesitation at the companies cost! If that is not customer service, then UKMA do not know what is! UKMA are honoured to have been given the opportunity to review the Interlok range, and are also proud to give Interlok a well deserved place in the UKMA “Best of British” Hall of Fame. |
UKMA recently visited Interlok to find out more regarding the products that they manufacture, and when the chance to put their products to the test presented itself, the offer was immediately accepted with great enthusiasm to see if the claims ticked all the boxes when on the bank. UKMA were also shown around the factory and shown the hi-tech machinery that is used to manufacture the range, and it was a very impressive setup indeed with computer aided machines costing in the millions of pounds used to precisely machine the components to strict tolerances. We are not permitted to show how the products are manufactured (nor were we shown), and we can understand why Interlok wish to guard their manufacturing process given the quality of the finished products.
The threaded heads or uprights, are fully interchangeable amongst the whole range, and are available as standard female threaded only for use with single stick setups or as use for remote transmitters, as well as having both a male and female thread for use as a goalpost setup or the centre rod on a 3 rod single stick setup. These are machined from the same type of aluminium alloy as the rest of the range and from a solid block of the material. Interlok also offer a service to drill and tap the heads to attach your indicator chains or cords to. The heads are all drilled and tapped to take a knurled thumbscrew that has a unique ball end to locate securely in the machined groove or hole on the main bar for perfect alignment with no need to over tighten. Because the modular system that the buzzer bar setup uses, the alarms do not need to be removed from the heads if you wish to fish single bankstick setups if the male & female threaded head is used. 
The bankstick’s are not simply a copy of everyone else’s products either. As Interlok wanted to improve on the traditional design, a blank canvas was presented for ideas on how the perfect bankstick should be constructed and still perform without the angler being let down.
Also available is an aluminium alloy stage stand, in both black and natural colourations and either Slimline or Chunky hole size to match the anglers desired choice of bankstick’s. The stage stands impressed UKMA with regards to the weight and the amount of grip on the bankstick inserted by the nylon tipped thumbscrew (so not to damage the outer shaft of the bankstick) compared to others available, but the smaller footprint made them slightly less stable than others when screwed down onto a slightly uneven surface – in our case a piece of chicken wire placed over the wood - although the rod system was not going anywhere due to being screwed down into the wooden platform. When the stage stand was screwed directly onto a flat level surface, any stability issues were removed. Our tests were carried out with the 12” length bankstick, and we feel that with a shorter 9” or 5” stick, any instability’s would have been minimised due to the lesser leverage.
Interlok also manufacture a plastic pod foot that slides onto the bankstick’s in the same way as the stage stand, but have a flared base for additional stability. These are primarily designed to be used with the complete pod system that Interlok also manufacture (UKMA review to follow once we obtain one for testing) to hold secure on soft ground via the 3 straight pegs supplied. One of the UKMA team used one of the pod feet as a rear stage stand, and found that there was no movement at all on the setup when used on the rear bankstick (which was extended also) that is supporting the weight of the reels. If these could be made available using the aluminium alloy, then Interlok would have the PERFECT all round stage stand.