Watch
out! Make room for the new Abu Garcia Revo STX low profile baitcast reel (continued)
Drag:
The drag system of
the Revo STX was the most impressive I’ve fished to date in such a small reel.
In the lab, our Revo STX produced a killer 24 POUNDS of drag pressure when
locked down. That's right!!! 24 lbs of drag pressure! At first the 12 pound line on the reel kept on snapping
in the middle of the line during the test. We finally spoolled up some 20 pound line and that
still snapped
half of the time. So we had to up the line test one more time before we got the final
result. After we tested out the 24 pounds of drag force, we thought our scale
was going bad, so we replaced it with a spare and we were simply amazed by what the Abu
Garcia can achieve. This incredible drag force can easily pull in saltwater game
fish!! When it reached maximum drag power we were surprised that the drag
pressure was still smooth and let out line consistently! We then proceeded to
take apart the reel to see what’s behind this powerful drag force. This Abu
Garcia baitcast reel incorporates their Carbon Matrix™ Drag System which
consists of a set of carbon fiber washers. We also found something else inside.
Underneath the main gear there is a washer typical of other reels, but what was
surprising was its material. It appears to be a heat resistant composite
material very similar to Quantum’s ceramic drag washer – a composition that has
produced very positive results Quantum.
The Revo STX
produces 24 POUNDS of force through these carbon fiber washers
In the field we tested the
drag throughout its range by adjusting the clicking drag star. At each setting,
the performed as expected – smooth and consistent with no hesitation. Cranked
down, the drag can easily haul in big bass or put a dead-stop to big stripers on
the run.
Palming is easy and comfortable
thanks to the low profile design
Ergonomics:
From the first time
we held the reel at ICAST to our field tests, we found the ergonomics of the
Revo STX quite good. The reel weighs only 8.75 ounces and feels well balanced
with the rods we paired it up with. No matter how you hold the entire setup,
either from the trigger or palming the reel, the low profile design is easy and
comfortable to hold. The only thing that we found here that might bother some
anglers is in the levelwind area. Depending on how you palm the reel you might
find your index finger situated directly in front of the levelwind hitting the pawl
cap screw. If you rest your index finger is on the rod, then this poses as no issue.
In addition to the weight and low profile design, the Revo STX makes use of
bearing supported, rubber handle knobs that are quite welcoming when retrieving
large crankbaits or ripping an entire day.
The guts of
the Revo STX
Durability:
Though the time
frame of our tests were only a month, we’ve put the Revo STX through quite a
bit. It went through many fish, many hands, and a lot of stress from continuous
use. Though it did receive minimal boat rash everything else passed our
durability test. Of course, from a durability perspective, only time will tell,
but today the reel still cranks very smoothly, the anti-reverse still shows no
backplay, and it continuous to perform fish after fish thanks to a solid overall
design.
A rugged
aluminum chassis is designed to take on loads from the field
A Titanium
Nitride wormshaft increases the longevity of the reel
In addition Abu Garcia has
incorporated some premium spool bearings to the Revo STX. The HPCR™
(High Performance Corrosion Resistant) bearings are made in Germany and instead
of treating them with a rust resistant substance after the bearings have been
fabricated, these high quality bearings are actually made from a rust resistant
material. The end result is that these
HPCR™
bearings can handle more stress, have a better dry-running behavior, can handle
higher RPM, and if contaminated, they will still continue to run better than a standard bearing.
A closer look
at the spool
Application:
Built for bass
anglers, the new Abu Garcia Revo STX can handle other freshwater species as
well. The Revo STX is a good reel to cast many size lures from hardbaits to
soft-plastics. The model we reviewed has a gear ratio of 6.4:1 and is a great
all-around speed. Price wise, the STX is the top end of the series, and is
priced to move at $199.99.
Though the Revo STX was designed
for bass it can easily handle other freshwater species such as this landlocked
striped bass
