Abu Garcia Abumatic 170 Spincast Reel Product Review

Reel Review

Worth a Spin - The Abumatic 170

Date:	4/27/17
Tackle Type:	Reel
Manufacturer:	Abu Garcia
Reviewer:	Cal

Total Score: 6.83 - FAIR

Introduction: Continuing on our journey into the world of spincast fishing, today we take a look at one of Abu Garcia's interpretation of this hybrid reel. Abumatic is to their spincast lineup as Revo is to their low profile baitcasting reels. In fact, Abu Garcia makes an Abumatic S, SX, and STX mimicking the same model numbers found in Revo and Orra. Our interest today, however, is in a model number aberration - the Abumatic 170.

Introducing the Abumatic 170 by Abu Garcia.

Abu Garcia Abumatic 170 Specifications
Capacity	12lb/140yds
Retrieve Ratio (IPT)	3.9:1 / 25"
Weight	12.6 oz
Handle Length	50 mm
Bearings	4
Origin	Made in China
MSRP	$49

Taking a spin with yet another spincast reel.

Impressions: We were introduced to the Abumatic 170 during ICAST 2015 and took interest for the fact this is the only spincast reel of which we're aware that has a dragstar on the handle like a traditional casting reel. Not only that, it's a clicking dragstar. It's also less bulky than a traditional spincast reel with more of a spinning reel body capped with the traditional metal dome.

The Abumatic 170 is decidedly less bulky than a traditional spincast reel.

Unfortunately, the Abumatic 170's handle is not interchangeable to the left and right side, and the reel is only available in left hand retrieve. It does come pre-spooled with twelve pound (12lb) Trilene XL nylon monofilament, so it's literally ready to go out of the box.

The interesting about this reel is it has an external, clicking dragstar.

Real World Tests: I paired the Abumatic 170 with a rod from our Best Value Award winning Phenix Rods Recon line the PHX-C683. The PHX-683 is a six foot, eight inch (6'-8") medium powered rod suitable for a variety of applications, so it's a good choice to put the Abumatic 170 through the paces.

The thumb bar is located at the very back and extended out beyond the body of the reel.

Casting: As I shared in our review of the Zebco 33 spincast reels, I have some sort of mental block when it comes to operating a spincast reel. The mechanics are as simple as they come. When ready to cast, depress the thumb bar, go through your casting motion, and release the bar when you're ready to let your bait fly. Simple, right? Not for me. For whatever reason, I have to really think this through when using these reels and Zander gets a kick out of it each time.

Casting performance is very good.

Once the mechanics are sorted out, the Abumatic 170 performs flawlessly. I did find the ergonomics of the casting lever a bit odd though. It's located at the very back, extended out beyond the body of the reel. This forced me to move my hand a little further back on the fishing rod creating a bit of an uncomfortable balance during the cast.

The comfortable knob attached to the end of the single sided handle.

Next Section: Not the smoothest...