How is Quantum still alive?

[ABU is overpriced]

Since KVD left, i am not too sure how they're surviving. They don't offer any interesting reels and their prices aren't neccessary lower than the lower end from daiwa, shimano and lews. Who even buys them nowadays? In the early 2000's, at least they had some reels such as the Energy PT that was interesting, but you look at their lineup now, and its straight up Walmart grade shovelware. Then you look at their Smoke line going for $200, the reel that i've heard the most praise for, and i am reminded that a 21 JDM Zillion cost this much. Surprising to see 13fishing being acquired by Rapala faster than Quantum.

[MN Fisher]

9 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Surprising to see 13fishing being acquired by Rapala faster than Quantum.

Considering that Rather Outdoors bought Zebco/Quantum back in 2021, hard for Rapala to grab them

 

And they're being 'supported' by the two flagship brands that Rather owns - Strike King and Lews.

[ABU is overpriced]

10 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Considering that Rather Outdoors bought Zebco/Quantum back in 2021, hard for Rapala to grab them

 

And they're being 'supported' by the two flagship brands that Rather owns - Strike King and Lews.

Ah so they've been acquired eh, didn't hear that one. It is kinda weird to me that they own Lews, a similar company to Quantum, but one that i imagine is much more popular in NA, and now offers pretty high end reels as well.

[Tennessee Boy]

I can’t say for sure with Quantum but in most cases like this “they” are not still alive, “it” is still alive.  By “it” I mean the brand.  There may not be a single person that is employed by a company named Quantum but the company that owns the brand can still sell products with the Quantum brand and capitalize on any remaining brand recognition.  Rather bought the Lew’s brand many years after the original company was sold to Browning and several years after Browning stopped selling any products with the Lew’s brand.  It’s cheaper to buy a known brand than to develop your own.  Would you buy a Rather reel?  Probably not,  but a Lew’s reel sold by Rather,  yeah that’s a name you can trust.🙂

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Remember, hard core anglers like us here on the forum are a small fraction of the overall tackle purchasing market. Quantum and Zebco are recognized brands by the public at large for whom a $30 reel is sufficient. 

[WRB]

Quantum was owned by Zebco,

Lew’s never a manufacturing company always out sourced their products.

Hard to know today who manufactures what both Daiwa and Shimano out source parts some reels.

Tom

[newapti5]

54 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Remember, hard core anglers like us here on the forum are a small fraction of the overall tackle purchasing market. Quantum and Zebco are recognized brands by the public at large for whom a $30 reel is sufficient. 

 

EXACTLY

[rangerjockey]

8 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I can’t say for sure with Quantum but in most cases like this “they” are not still alive, “it” is still alive.  By “it” I mean the brand.  There may not be a single person that is employed by a company named Quantum but the company that owns the brand can still sell products with the Quantum brand and capitalize on any remaining brand recognition.  Rather bought the Lew’s brand many years after the original company was sold to Browning and several years after Browning stopped selling any products with the Lew’s brand.  It’s cheaper to buy a known brand than to develop your own.  Would you buy a Rather reel?  Probably not,  but a Lew’s reel sold by Rather,  yeah that’s a name you can trust.🙂

I remember the Browning branded reels and rods in BPS. In particular the Fritts crankbait rod.

If memory serves Quantum was once a stand alone brand that was acquired by Zebco.

[ironbjorn]

I would say that the vast majority of fishermen do not spend nearly as much on equipment as the vast majority of the people who post here. I know several bass fishermen and none of them justify spending what I spend on the sport, and I'm very modest compared to most here, usually spending $100-$150 for reels and $150-$200 for rods. That's nothing for so many of you, but makes the eyeballs pop out of the heads of the men I know, and they're all better off than I am. Any time I'm on the banks and can see what others are using, it's almost always what most here would consider cheap.

[Tennessee Boy]

A little research has revealed that Quantum and Zebco still have a facility in Tulsa and their own phone number so they appear to be more than a brand at least for now.  Can’t say the same for Strike King.   Rather closed their offices in Memphis and the Strike King address is the same as Lew’s address in South Carolina.

[Bankc]

40 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

A little research has revealed that Quantum and Zebco still have a facility in Tulsa and their own phone number so they appear to be more than a brand at least for now.  Can’t say the same for Strike King.   Rather closed their offices in Memphis and the Strike King address is the same as Lew’s address in South Carolina.

I believe their Tulsa location is just a headquarters now.  They closed down the old factory and moved to a small building about the size of a large house.  I wouldn't think they have more than 20 employees there, if that.  They still have a large distribution center in Claremore, OK, I believe.  But I think it's just a shipping and recieving hub.  

[bowhunter63]

Don’t know if they’re still kicking But I miss their Pro 3 and Pro 4.  Caught a lot of em back in the day 

[AboveAverageAngler]

All 3 baitcasters I’ve bought in the past year are quantum. And 5 of the 6 casting rods are quantum graphex. They are very inexpensive, and I love them! I will always buy the cheapest, yet quality enough rods/reels. I’m sure the expensive stuff is great! Just can’t justify spending that kind of money, when my cheaper equipment has treated me so well over the years.

[new2BC4bass]

16 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

I would say that the vast majority of fishermen do not spend nearly as much on equipment as the vast majority of the people who post here. I know several bass fishermen and none of them justify spending what I spend on the sport, and I'm very modest compared to most here, usually spending $100-$150 for reels and $150-$200 for rods. That's nothing for so many of you, but makes the eyeballs pop out of the heads of the men I know, and they're all better off than I am. Any time I'm on the banks and can see what others are using, it's almost always what most here would consider cheap.

A brother-in-law fishes with combos less than $100.  Spinning only.  I got him a combo over that price for his birthday one year.  He gave the rod to a young boy (teenager, I think).  Guess he wasn't used to a rod that didn't flex into the handle.

[zell_pop1]

Doesn't Quantum still sponsor Bill Dance? He is just as popular as ever so that helps the brand get a few sales.

[MediumMouthBass]

My local shop sells Quantum products, they are on sale alot recently, either half off or free with a certain rod purchase. (Mainly the cheaper offerings from them)

Ive always just walked past them and really didnt pay any attention to them.

Whenever i think about buying a rod or reel i dont think ive ever even thought about Quantum or their products, mainly just Lews, Daiwa, and Shimano.

 

I spend alot of time in different tackle shops, here, tons of other fishing websites, and watch alot of Youtube fishing videos, as well as talk to alot of people at the lakes, ponds, and creeks nearby and i rarely ever hear anything about Quantum.

Ive been fishing my whole life but only started taking it serious the past few years so even tho it might've been a big brand in the past it seems it popularity has been pushed aside in recent years.

 

Honestly i think i only heard of the brand last season, only because TW was having a sale on a few of their reels.

 

What im trying to say and the point im trying to make is that they have a severely almost non existent marketing or advertisments.

 

People that have been fishing for a long time think of Quantum as a brand thats been around while and had some great professionals using their gear. Others can think of them as a trusted long time brand that they can count on and used alot.

 

But for people like me (younger or newer to fishing) we think about Quantum as something new (even tho old) and arent familar with. Because they dont have any ads, marketing, etc to get their brand out in the current times.

And from a quick glance on Tackle Warehouse the prices atleast on their casting reels are very similar to the pricing of reels from Daiwa, Shimano, and Lews (these companies have been around a long time too, but they have done alot and spent a ton of money to keep themselves relevant in todays current modern day, whether new technology, sponsorships, media/social media, advertising, Youtube, etc...)

 

Even if Quantum was a great brand 20 years ago, or even today they might make fantastic reels but from not hearing about them much, combine that with a quick google search and i can barely even find reviews for most of their products it makes me very leery of them, because if i were to buy a new reel for $150-200 i would feel much better buying a Daiwa or Shimano, just from knowing their company very well and being able to find hundreds of reviews within seconds vs a company that seems to be stuck in 2010 that i know very little about. And i doubt im the only person that has had that thought.

 

And to the people that say but some only like to spend a little on budget gear thats why they buy the cheaper offerings from Quantum. Well the Shimano Sienna for $30, Daiwa Aird X for $50 are just 2 examples of the huge amount of budget gear that works great that other companies are making today.

 

Regardless of how much people loved the brand in the past or how much they sold decades ago, they dont seem to be doing very well from what ive read above.

They better make some big changes soon, get out some new stuff, promote it heavily, spend some money on marketing, ads, sponorships. Along with getting with the modern era or they wont make it much longer. Brand loyalty from a small amount of customers from 2 decades ago can only pay their electric bill for so long.          I dont mean anyone that likes their brand any disrespect from this its just my own experience with them and what ive gathered about them

[MAN]

I may be wrong becouse my memory seems to be going downhill, but I think at last years ICAST i was told that they have hired a small team developers to begin working on the Quantum refresh/re-release. 

[Choporoz]

My half dozen Smoke PT's are right there with Zillion.  The Smoke S3's are not far below.

[Beam]

I wish they would bring back the EXO Tour Rods. They are great rods.🐟

[A-Jay]

33 minutes ago, Beam said:

I wish they would bring back the EXO Tour Rods. They are great rods.🐟

I became a big fan of the EXO reels just as they were on the way out. Light, strong, smooth, good consistant casters with great line capacity.   Managed to scoop up several both new & Used. 100 and 200 size. They have accounted for some great fish for m me.  Stiil going strong.

A-Jay

[Mojo Bass]

The smoke x reels are quite good in my opinion. You can pick them up for really good deals also when they’re on sale. Grabbed mine for 110-120$ Canadian. It’s a pretty darn solid reel no complaints. 

[Columbia Craw]

7 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I became a big fan of the EXO reels just as they were on the way out. Light, strong, smooth, good consistant casters with great line capacity.   Managed to scoop up several both new & Used. 100 and 200 size. They have accounted for some great fish for m me.  Stiil going strong.

A-Jay

Looks like a shot from your drone A Jay.👍

[Blaine Donders]

There is nothing wrong with the Smoke HD, the Smoke S3, the Tour S3, or the Vapor. I use them a lot. 
 

Great reels. I’ve never had a bad Banax. 

[new2BC4bass]

After reading several posts by PhishLI and a post or two by a couple other guys, I bought some Icons when they were being closed out at a steep discount.  Picked up a Tour S3 (used?), a KVD Smoke S3 and the KVD 101H.  This was after I basically was only getting out 2-3 times a year, so I used what gear was already set up.

 

Even after retiring and moving to Florida last year I was only able to get out a couple times due to life happening.  Hopefully things will be much better this year.

 

I picked up a used Smoke Inshore 7' MF.  This would make an excellent rod for kayak users that prefer short handles.  It's very short.  It's also a very light rod.  I also picked up a 7' MF and 6'10" HF Tour Edition when they were being closed out at around 60% or so off.  Also a 6'10" HF SuperLite.  The SuperLite was a bit more expensive than the Tour Edition.  However, I liked the Tour Edition so well that the SuperLite has only been used once or twice.  I haven't had the time to give the SuperLite a fair chance.

 

I hope Quantum continues to make gear that is in line with the quality of what I already have from them.  Would hate to see them only supply places like Wallyworld.

[406-mm]

I’m a little late to this thread, but I still had to post cause I am shocked at the forum’s collective memory and/or at how many really young guys we must have here (like younger than me @ 34). I’ve been out of the game for about 7-10 years till April/May of this year when I dusted off my Shimano Crucial rod and Stradic reel I bought around 2013-14 and only used for 2 seasons. The setup is still like new. 
 

Anywayssss, 10 years ago Quantum was regarded as being real high end equipment with every component costing at least twice as much as an equivalent component from pretty much most other top notch manufacturers. It was literally like Cadillac vs Chevy at least as far as pricing went. You’d see someone with any type of full Quantum setup that wasn’t some entry level combo from Walmart and you’d automatically think “wow, they’re balling out over here.” Sad to find out that they barely even exist only 10 years later…