Colour Durabilty?

Have had someone on another forum and it has been brought up here as well as to the durability of ZipBaits colours, we know that Carmen Red in the Rigge models seems to come off the reason being that the body of the lure doesn't have too much Scale pattern for foil to adhere to.

The question is do you think that ZipBaits are as durable as any other lures available in particular the New Khamsin Tiny and or other models?.

Feedback from sponsored anglers is that they're fine and during testing they seemed reasonably durable to me, really want to put this one to bed once and for all and either brush it off as nonsense or try improve our finishes.

Your honest opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

[bender]

I think they are better than most but the foil colours suffer a tad .... I coat my mdr model carmens in clear before use and they last ages....when they are real bad i sand them back then paint them silver frost or chrome then when dry i dust coat them with burgundy red so that the silver still shows through .. This gives a candy apple look and then i add some clear then let them dry a full 2 days... Then i go smash bream on them again...if you want a truer carmen look just add more dust coats of red before the clear.... I have yet to really wear out a carmen tiny though... They seem really hard wearing

[breamN2wheels]

Personally, i think as far as paint durability on them goes they are smack bang in the middle of the field - there is some colours that peel more than others in the bunch (Carman red being one).

However, i think before things are blown out of perspective, consider other lures SX40's for example peel just the same if not worse IMO, Halco Scorpian/Laser pro's peel and i think there is hardly a Bream lure that doesn't (the little Bream can have some tough teeth!).

One thing that i would not want to see affected should Zipbait try to fix the body work to hold colour better is the finish - it kicks butt and in my opinion would be dissapointing to see lost.

[crusty]

I guess I am relatively new to success on hardbodies with only about 18 months where I have acheived any significant numbers of bream on hardbodies.

My carmen red khamsin is scratched but not peeling, for the number of fish caught I would rate the wear as normal. My favourite khamsin being olive back translucent white belly is scratched heaps but is still catching fish. It has worn well.

I'm comparing to Jackal chubbies and SX40's. The red in the sx40 is no better or worse finish than the zipbaits. The gold halco's peel badly in my experience.

It'd be really annoying if you had a lure fish couldn't scratch. Battle scars are good.

[Mark M]

Originally Posted by bender

..I think they are better than most but the foil colours suffer a tad ....

Gotta agree with you about the foils Szarn (shoot, did I just say that?) although it isn't that the finish just rubs off in water, actually takes quite a bit of abrading first

Remember this pic Mark? I retired this lure after a couple of hours on the Moore with Frank. It was still getting hammered, and is still my favourite dirty water minnow lure, fresh and salt

If this is finish failure then I want all my lures to be this bad

[Hooked]

l think you have to address any issue with a lure if it is failing in some regard...l know lots of lure company's don't but this does not make it acceptable given the current price of said lure and others.
To just accept the finish is a little defeatist in my opinion.Research and development of the finish would indeed keep people loyal to the product lm sure.
Average Joe who isn't interested in numbers caught in a session or comp situation would more than likely feel ripped if his lure finish only lasted a few medium sized fish before showing the signs of finish distress.R2Sea had similar problems with gold finishes in the shad range but was a little more tolerable given they were half the price.JMO anyways.

Steve

Thanks for feedback and the purpose it to find out if we need to improve, some colours and models ie Rigge & Carmen Red is a choice between the way the lure has been designed "Side Flash Design" or more clear coat and loss of the "Side Flash Design" but will most certainly try to get it right.

very much appreciate your honesty and suggestions everyone

Mark

[Mark M]

Originally Posted by Hooked

......R2Sea had similar problems with gold finishes in the shad range .....

Yep, why is it that nobody throws gold/red lures any more? Maybe 'cos the colours rub off from all the breamskis chawin' down on them

Damn pesky fish

[bender]

as far as im concerned i think scratched bitten worn lures give the best bragging rights and i know lots of people just like myself that dread losing a good scratched up lure and having to wear in a new one... My mdr carmen that i used in walpole just got better and better the more paint it lost and its now a prized trophy

Just on a final note to avoid any speculation as brought up by an individual on this other forum who may believe otherwise, ZipBaits are Made in Japan from start to finish if they aren't it is clearly printed on packaging Made in China but all models we bring in are made in Nippon

All models are created from hand made prototypes from which a hand made Copper mold is created not simply CAD design is fed into a milling machine, there is no CAD design used unlike most lures on the market these days

Mark

[bender]

I wouldnt care if they where made in armadale (perth)....if a
lure works then i buy it....i have many things in my house and tool box made in china and i couldnt care one bit...if it works then use it

[hiltonlad]

Your a fiesty customer Mark.I believe the word was maybe.People can choose to buy what ever lure they please it wasnt my bagging of the finish I did that via pm if I remember correctly and not in a public forum.I kept your response just to remind me everytime I think I might buy another Zipbait lure I just read it and dont

[Crayfish]

I'll be purchasing quite a large number of Zipbaits soon including the Carmen Red one so i'll let you know how i go but all of my other lures with foil finishes wear off but it doesn't effect the fish catch-ability in my experience. Sure it would be nice if the colour stayed there (putting them in clear coat sounds like a good idea) but i really don't mind unless it is still catching me some nice breamskis.

As said above don't change the body shape just because a colour is flaking, they are still some of the best lures i've personally used hence why im buying a crapload more

Originally Posted by hiltonlad

Your a fiesty customer Mark.I believe the word was maybe.People can choose to buy what ever lure they please it wasnt my bagging of the finish I did that via pm if I remember correctly and not in a public forum.I kept your response just to remind me everytime I think I might buy another Zipbait lure I just read it and dont

Not quite the way you've explained it as today on your local forum you did complain publicly, I have not mentioned you by name in the post so cant see why you would take it so personally?

If you wish to be reminded of what you did post here it is for everyone to read http://www.breammaster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28708

And to quote you from today "If your referring to the paint loss, then yep. Thats why I love Jackals at the moment same foil finish with no paint loss. It seems some companys can't keep the quality up when they produce the product but they certainly can get the price up even when our dollar is strong. Maybe the product isn't been made in Japan anymore, maybe"

You did originally complain by PM but obviously didn't accept my explanation that foil finishes on lures do scratch off and that painted finishes were far more durable, I also said that there were no refunds available and that's fishing, so you then posted publicly as you have done today on the other forum.

I was more than helpfull with my reply to your original complaint.

Mark

[__MATT__]

As far as the khamsins go, the carmen red is my favourite colour and has been for the last 3 or 4 months. Really really rate it, especially the silent model.

Colour flaking? Hell yes. But so do almost all other foil finishes irrespective of the company. I reckon the biggest problem with Zipbaits at the moment is just tall poppy syndrome. Zippy's are great, and if they were another couple dollars cheaper then they really would be the most dominant brand of lures in my crankbait box (At the moment they account for about 1/3rd).


My only personal main criticism of zipbaits that I have used are that the 56f's are pretty thin walled and tend to crack fairly easily. That and that the sliding weight systems can be kinda sketchy in some as too hard a rip and they can sit head down, too little and they sit head up etc. Mag drive is definitely the way to go.

Anyway, a thin clear coat over the foil finished models would be awesome, and mean that for blokes like me I can get a while longer out of them (before bream inevitably steal them anyway).

Good on mark for actually making a thread asking for people to hate on his lures. Zippies are already amongst the best lures on the aus market. Giving critical feedback to the manufacturer to make them perform better in our waters is an awesome thing to be doing. Hopefully us fishos will reap the rewards.