|
|
|
PRODUCTTPREVIEW:
Quantum's new 150 Sized Reels Previewed Prior to Launch Tomorrow
|
Date: |
7/14/09 |
|
Tackle Type: |
Reels |
|
Manufacturer: |
Quantum |
|
Reviewer: |
Battisti |
Introduction:
As presented in
TackleTour’s preview a month ago, Quantum is poised to introduce a new line of
reels – dubbed their 150-sized reels – at ICAST this week. The design criteria
behind the development of these reels was to make a reel that had the same
profile as a 100 sized reel yet maintain the line capacity of a 200 sized reel.
Well, this week, the TackleTour staff had an opportunity to field test these
reels on Grand Lake, OK and see if all the hype behind this debut was all it
seemed to be.
Before tomorrow's official release
we preview Quantum's new 150 size baitcasters
Let me preface this review
by saying I have not thrown a Quantum reel since 1985 when the first Quantum
reels were introduced to the industry. Since then I have been a staunch Shimano
supporter (both Shimano USA and Shimano Japan) and own an embarrassing amount of
Shimano products. So, this was definitely going to be new ground I was testing.
Quantum's new Reax, Energy, and
KVD Tour are more compact than previous reels from the company
First Reaction:
I arrived at Grand
Lake Saturday afternoon and quickly met up with Joe Davis, the head of Quantum’s
R&D Laboratory. With the initial handshakes and pleasantries over, Joe commenced
into breaking out roughly 15 of the prototype reels. The reels covered the gamut
of all three series (Reax, Energy and KVD Tour) and all three gear ratios
(5.3:1, 6.6:1 and 7.3:1).
Mounted and ready to fish on
matching Quantum rods
My first reaction to the
reels was they looked and felt like a JDM product. The ergonomics of the reels
was comfortable when I was palming the reel and they balanced out very well when
placed on either the Quantum rods provided or on my Performance Tackle custom
sticks. As with any reel I pick up, the first thing I look at is the drag –
there’s nothing worse than a poorly designed drag system. So I backed off the
drag, held my thumb on the spool and cranked the handle a few times to free it
up. At that point I applied pressure to the drag system in small increments and
turned the handle as I held the spool with my thumb. The drag operated smoothly
through the entire range of the star drag. It passed the drag test – so far.
Quantum's clean looking Reax reel
is the most affordable in the lineup
Next I checked out the
biggest pet-peeve I have with nearly all reels manufactured today – no locking
mechanism on the spool tension knob. At the time I had the KVD Tour model reel
in my hand (the most expensive model they offer) and was pleasantly surprised to
find they had placed a clicker in the spool tension knob. As I did this, Joe
commented, “You’ll notice we’ve added a clicker to the spool tension knob on the
Energy and Reax models too.” Good job Quantum.
All three reels feature Quantum's
ACS3 external cast control system
The next part of my
initial look turned to the casting system. These reels all incorporate the ACS3
cast control system in them, which allows the angler to adjust the nine internal
centrifugal brakes without having to take off the side plate. The cast control
knob moved freely and is held in place by clicker.
Quantum's Energy reel features
titanium deposition coating highlights
As a side, it was
previously reported that only the Tour KVD series was offered in all three gear
ratios. The fact is all three series (Reax, Energy and Tour KVD) are offered in
all three gear ratios. The blistering fast High Speed Performance Tuned (HPT)
“Burner” (7.3:1), the Speed Performance Tuned (SPT) “Speed” (6.6:1) and the
Power Performance Tuned (PPT) “Power” (5.3:1).
Quantum's Tour KVD reel features
familiar red highlights and a carbon fiber handle
Next Section: On the water tests with all three
reels
|
|
|
|
