Bass Fishing Forums > Reels
Switching Up My Reels
Curt:
During the last several months I have sold off many of my Shimano baitcasting reels and bought Abu Garcia reels to replace them.
But A few weeks back I replaced another one with a reel that I found on Amazon. It's called KastKing Royale
This reel caught my eye because it has a really good rating in the Amazon reviews, despite the budget price. And with 11 Ball Bearings it was worth trying for what they wanted for it.
I got it a couple weeks back but haven't had the chance to try it on the water yet. It does feel pretty smooth with those 11 bearings.
What I found intriguing about it, though, is the braking system. It actually has a dual braking system, using both a magnetic brake and a centrifugal brake. This is the first reel I've had with that kind of brakes, so I'm curious to see how it handles casts with various sizes and weights of lures.
Kastking Royale
Once I've had the chance to give it an on the water workout, I'll post back here and let you know how it works out.
frugalangler:
This one appears to be an import model since it's available on AliBaba and DHGate and some other import sites. It appears Amazon has made a bulk order because their price beats what I see it direct from overseas sellers. It doesn't have dual adjustable, just dual brakes, and there are a few BPS (and others) that have that design. I've got a couple branded JohnyMorris BPS that work great also. If you read close, it says '4 pin long standing centrifugal brake' which is the Shimano (and others) centrifugal system where you must remove side cover and pop mag collars to adjust, and the magnetic brake is what is adjustable external on the dial.
I've tried a few of these low dollar imports, and they work pretty good, but seem to not last as well, but for the price it might be a reasonable deal to just replace all every so often. I've got some high $$ reels that are years and years old and still cast like new, they get cared for yearly though. If I were guiding and providing equipment, this might be a good alternative, you could expense the cost of replacing reels yearly and clients would be using 'new' gear every year!
I'm interested to hear how it performs, get it on some water or a parking lot and beat on it and let us know. Heck, I may just order one and find out myself.
EDIT-just did some searching and found on eBay for about $35 each in qty of 2 (extra 5% discount)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291504395145?var=590574302551
Curt:
--- Quote from: frugalangler on December 05, 2016, 11:39:45 AM ---This one appears to be an import model since it's available on AliBaba and DHGate and some other import sites. It appears Amazon has made a bulk order because their price beats what I see it direct from overseas sellers. It doesn't have dual adjustable, just dual brakes, and there are a few BPS (and others) that have that design. I've got a couple branded JohnyMorris BPS that work great also. If you read close, it says '4 pin long standing centrifugal brake' which is the Shimano (and others) centrifugal system where you must remove side cover and pop mag collars to adjust, and the magnetic brake is what is adjustable external on the dial.
I've tried a few of these low dollar imports, and they work pretty good, but seem to not last as well, but for the price it might be a reasonable deal to just replace all every so often. I've got some high $$ reels that are years and years old and still cast like new, they get cared for yearly though. If I were guiding and providing equipment, this might be a good alternative, you could expense the cost of replacing reels yearly and clients would be using 'new' gear every year!
I'm interested to hear how it performs, get it on some water or a parking lot and beat on it and let us know. Heck, I may just order one and find out myself.
EDIT-just did some searching and found on eBay for about $35 each in qty of 2 (extra 5% discount)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291504395145?var=590574302551
--- End quote ---
@frugalangler I've also seen them with the 5% discount for purchases of two or more. And you're right. They would make great reels for my clients to use if they turn out to be decent for the price.
As for the centrifugal brake, it is very similar to what Shimano uses. And it is actually adjustable by removing the side cover and sliding any of them to the on or off position.
I had my Curados for 5-7 years (or a bit longer) and really liked them overall, but they had one nagging problem that finally caused me to sell them. The Abu reels that I bought aren't as well made as the Curados, but they also cost about 1/3 the price. And when I ship them to Abu for service, they turn them around in a week or so and I don't pay a penny except what it costs me to ship them to their service center. :thumbup:
Like I said, I'll definitely follow up here to let everyone know how they work once I spool some line on them
JackJ:
What kind of problems were you having with the Curdaos?
frugalangler:
--- Quote from: Curt on December 05, 2016, 03:08:44 PM ---As for the centrifugal brake, it is very similar to what Shimano uses. And it is actually adjustable by removing the side cover and sliding any of them to the on or off position.
--- End quote ---
What I meant was they were not EXTERNALLY adjustable centrifugal, where BPS Carbonlite and Browning (apparently now discontinued) were actually externally adjustable (I have some of both).
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