But enough with technical the details, the feel of this reel in hand is so much more fishable than the Revo SX and that’s primarily due to the Aurora’s weight of only six point nine (6.9) ounces. Though hardly a flyweight, the Aurora is in a very comfortable weight range and thanks to its all aluminum construction, it’s a very solid six point nine ounces as well.

The Elite Aurora could very well have participated in our High Speed Reel Shootout if it had only debuted at the beginning of the year instead of in the middle.

Having received this reel after completing the High Speed Reel Shootout, but amidst our Crankbait Rod Wars, I was left to fish it on one of our rod war contestants. The choice for this go around? a Dobyns Rods Champion 804CB.

The profile of this reel is the same as that of all the other Revos.

Remembering my difficulty casting the Revo SX out of the box, I paid extra close attention to the settings of my Elite Aurora before making that first cast. The Aurora shares the same brake system as the SX (linear magnets), so the likelihood of a professional overrun is high if you don’t take care to adjust your reel before that first cast. One big difference here though is the weight of their respective spools. Whereas the Revo SX’s spool comes in at twenty one (21) grams, the Aurora sports spool that weighs in at only eleven grams (11g)!

And so is access to the spool.

Translation? Easier startups on each cast with the Aurora, but this does not translate to an increase in casting distance. This is typical of spool upgrades when moving towards a lighter weight spool. It takes less force to get a lighter spool moving, but at the same time, they slow down more easily because there is less mass behind the spool to keep up the rotational momentum during a cast. The net result is similar distance with less effort.

Removing the sideplate reveals the infini spool 2.

Of course, a lot of this is moot if you dial the brakes back on any of your reels. Those with a superttuned, educated thumb can easily maximize casting distance by employing this strategy, but I don’t like spoiling twenty five to thirty dollar spools of fluorocarbon.

A mere 11 gram version of the same spool found in the Revo SX reviewed earlier this year.

Speaking of easy startups, though the Aurora makes an excellent pitching reel it does not perform as well as we had hoped with lighter offerings. In the reel’s defense, the lightest line we put on our Aurora was fourteen pound fluorocarbon, but even with that handicap, reels like the Shimano Chronarch D pitch quite well with baits down to about a quarter of an ounce. The Aurora can match that weight, but was not quite as fluid as I remember the Chronarch D being at that weight range.

The Revo Elite Aurora features the same HPCR sealed bearings found on all the Revo reels.

On the retrieve, the Revo Elite Aurora is buttery smooth. The use of the EVA foam knobs is quite intriguing and the result is a super comfortable knob to grasp. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that each knob has two bearings underneath for support. Unfortunately, the EVA material is prone to damage and can be easily dinged if you’re not careful when laying your rods down on the deck. One stray hook and that’s it for these beautiful knobs. While I haven’t noticed this problem with any of my rods, it seems the knobs on a handle of a reel are more exposed and susceptible to this type of damage.

As well as the same Linear Mag Brake system.