It is okay to get excited about the little things in life. A good parking spot. An  onion ring mixed in with your french fries. A nice sunset on your evening commute. Inconsequential, yes. But no one is going to fault you for smiling about it. If all that holds true, then it is absolutely okay to get excited about the little things in fly fishing.

One of the smallest things in fly fishing is the zinger. A zinger, or gear retractor if you prefer, is the button-shaped spring-loaded gadget that holds your most essential tools. It holds them out of the way when you’re not using them. With a simple pull, it allows you to hold them where you need them when you need them. Simple and convenient, but not life changing. No zinger is going to catch you more fish. No zinger is going to make or break your day on the water.

But a good zinger is okay to get a little excited about.

I can say this because I’m a little excited about the Loon Rogue Zinger. I’ve had it for a few months now, and it has made an impression. Here are a few reasons why:

It doesn’t pin or clip. Most zingers I’ve owned over the years have either pinned onto a surface or used a tension clip. The tension clip never made much sense. The whole idea of a zinger is that you pull. You might even pull the wire to its extreme end. What happens at this point to a clip? If not perfectly secured, you have a loose projectile hurdling along the trajectory of the wire cord (towards your fingers). Pins are more secure. But you have to pin it to something. That is all fine and good with cotton or heavy nylon, but all of the modern lightweight fabrics don’t take kindly to piercing. The Rogue uses a small Nite Ize S-Biner to clip to any D-ring, zipper pull, or miscellaneous loop you might have. It is a solid connection. It is quick to place, remove, and reposition. If you have a nice tool that you want to keep at hand, regardless of which storage solution you’re using that day, this is important.

It is solid. I own some of those premium, fancy, probably way too expensive nippers. They, too, bring me a little excitement. They, like most fancy and too expensive nippers came on a necklace. I don’t wear necklaces. I do wear a few different sling packs. I don’t want any of my tools, let alone my nippers, haphazardly clipped to my pack. The Rogue Zinger feels solid. It isn’t heavy, but it doesn’t feel cheap. The mechanism applying tension to the steel cable doesn’t hitch or catch. The Rogue is $12. That is only $5 more than bargain-basement, department store zingers. I don’t know if I’d put my nice nippers on some of those.

That’s a few reasons, as promised. After years of cheap, chintzy, and otherwise sub-par zingers I’ve been happy to put the Rogue Zinger through its paces and see it perform. Might this seem like a meaningless study in minutiae? Could this be considered a waste of words that should otherwise be spent on quality angling prose? Maybe. Or, it could be that something small, inexpensive, and helpful makes a difference because you aren’t thinking about it. Also, it may very well be that you’re looking for a new zinger and my pointed thoughts help you spend a few bucks to find something that works just a little bit better.

After all, it’s the little things. And in fly fishing, you really can’t get littler than a zinger.

---

You know you want one. You can get one for yourself.

All you’ve got to do is click here.