Hemingway created the "Old Man," Santiago. Pulled him out of thin air and the deep blue sea. The ultimate figment of fishing imagination. A control freak caught up in the harsh environment of saltwater, where there is no such thing as control.
But don't tell Quantum engineers he's make-believe. They know him from a personal relationship. They've designed product for him. They are him. They, like Santiago, believe there is nothing insurmountable. The mother of all fishes lives in salt. Too big. Too powerful. Too fast. But still catchable when all is right. Today might be the day. Surely tomorrow.
Quantum engineers understand relentless pursuit isn't a race. Nor is there ever a finish line. Success doesn't breed satisfaction. Just more challenges, and higher goals. That's why it took Quantum's best, a full three years, to develop a freshwater product line worthy of the name Performance Tuned. And it's good product. So good, in fact, that it found its way into saltwater on its own merits. But when word got to Quantum that PT had made it to salt, "obsession" became the catchword. Again.
"If fresh is tough, salt is ludicrous," a Quantum engineer sighed. He likened a regular reel to a slug. Pour salt on it and it wants to stop moving. Intruders in that environment live on borrowed time. However, with the perfect saltwater reel, time as we know it ceases to exist. The possibilities become infinite.
So, back to work they went, to the research lab teeming with white smocks and one-upmanship. They performed autopsy after autopsy as casualties came in, each revealing the horrid details, the realities of corrosion and environmental extreme. Nasty business, saltwater.
The sign over the door reads R&D. Research and Development. At Quantum, it's more like Reel and Deal. These guys love to fish. They get it, and "so-so" isn't an option. To every challenge comes a solution. Quantum saltwater PT is proof. Those who best know fishing - and fishermen - have changed the game as a result of their relentless pursuit. Quantum salutes Santiago, a timeless survivor of the salt. Were he not a figment, he'd be among our most prized field-testers.
Quantum Saltwater PT Series