HOME | TACKLETOUR FORUMS  | EDITOR'S CHOICE | REVIEW ARCHIVE | ABOUT US | 

Reels | Rods | Lures | SwimbaitsBFS Lines | Term. Tackle | Tools | Storage | Apparel | Enthusiast | Watercraft | Interviews | Events | Autopsy


 


 

 


Reel Review


 

Shallow Only in Capacity, Abu Garcia's Revo5 SX SS (Shallow Spool)

 

Date: 11/27/24
Tackle Type: Reel
Manufacturer: Abu Garcia
Reviewer: Cal






Total Score: 8.50 - GREAT

Introduction:
At ICAST 2023, Abu Garcia introduced a variant of their popular Revo5 SX, that admittedly, I misunderstood. I saw the shallow spool and thought this was just another reel for BFS, but upon closer inspection, I had an "aha" moment. You see, shallow spooled casting reels don't always have to be about finesse. Anglers who spend the majority of their time probing close quarter targets can certainly benefit too, and that's what Abu Garcia's Revo5 SX SS is all about, so I acquired one for a closer look.

 

Abu Garcia Revo5 SX SS Specifications

Line Capacity - Rated 30lb Braid/55yds : 12lb/55yds
Line Capacity - Spool Volume 6.3 cm3
Retrieve Ratio
8.1:1
Inches Per Turn (IPT) - calculated
28 - 34
Weight 7.6 oz
Spool Weight 16 g
Handle Length 90 mm
Bearings 9+1
Bearings per Knob 2 bearings
Levelwind Bearings 1
Rated Max Drag ~22lbs
Origin Made in Korea
MSRP $189.95

 

Impressions: It really wasn't that long ago when the mid-depth spools of today's casting reels were considered shallow. As more and more anglers realize one hundred yards (100yds) or more of line on your reel can actually be wasteful, manufacturers are responding with options for more technique appropriate spools. The idea of a reel for close quarter fishing is nothing new. There are countless reels out there that have come and gone but most address the unique line play element of flipping where the angler needs to peel line out on free spool, but then immediately re-engage that spool while one hand is occupied by holding the combo and the other holding the slack line. It is an all together awkward yet poetic presentation.

 


Introducing Abu Garcia's Revo5 SX SS

 

The mechanism that makes this presentation just a little less awkward, the flipping switch, is less than poetic and as a result is just about dead and gone. For whatever reason, the longterm mechanical difficulties of that switch outweigh the advantages, so there are now very few reels that allow the one hand dis-engage and re-engagement of the spool. Abu Garcia's Revo5 SX SS does not have a flipping switch, so it's not really a flipping reel. Instead, the manufacturer has chosen to address the needs of close quarter, shallow water anglers by giving them a reel that holds just enough line to accomplish their presentation. As far as I can tell, that's the only difference between this and a standard SX.


It's a shallow spool reel intended for close quarters presentations

So why the shallow spool? As a reel built for close quarter fishing, I can think of two advantages. First, with less line on your spool, start up with low speed presentations like pitching should be easier. To test this idea, I borrowed from recent BFS reviews and conducted a peel test between the standard SX and this new shallow spool edition. I discovered that the shallower spool in the SX SS did indeed have a lower peel weight than that of the mid-depth spool on the SX, but the difference was only a tenth of a gram. I thought there'd be a bigger difference, so I'm still not certain this peel test really tells us anything. In the meantime, I've listed the difference in spool weight and capacity, along with the peel weights in the following table. I added a test with the deep spool Winch for kicks.

 

Peel Weight Spool Test (Lined w/ Spro Finesse Braid PE #0.8)

Make/Model
Spool Type
Spool Capacity (CM3)
Spool Wt (grams)
Peel Weight (grams)
Abu Garcia Revo5 SX SS
Shallow
6.3

16

0.3
Abu Garcia Revo5 SX
Mid-Depth
15.2
20
0.4
Abu Garcia Revo5 Winch
Deep
17.5
18
0.4

 

The second advantage is, if you're using braided line, with less line on your spool, the potential for line dig is reduced because you don't have those layers of unused line serving as a constricting pillow when everything is suddenly put in tension. Fortunately, I've not experienced line dig a lot, but I've experienced it enough times to have it spoil a combo at the most inopportune times.


Mid depth spool from the Revo5 SX (left), Revo5 SX SS spool (center), Revo5 Winch deep spool (right)

Real World Tests: So with all of that in mind, my primary curiosity was to see how the Revo5 SX SS's easier startup would translate out on the water. I set it up as a pitching combo paired with Fenwick's new World Class WLDB73MH-XFC. For line, I decided on Varivas's Monster PE Si-X in PE #4. This is an eight strand braid that Varivas makes with some kind of heat resistant material they refer to as Si-X. Together with their fluororesin coating, this line is supposed to have improved resistance to abrasion and be less susceptible to water absorption. The #4 Goh is roughly equivalent to a 0.330mm diameter line which, depending on the brand, is roughly equivalent to twelve pound test (12lb).


Paired with a Fenwick World Class WLDB73MH-XFC and ready for action

Pitching: By the reel's own specification, that means I was able to get somewhere around fifty yards (50yds) of line on the spool. Remember when I suggested 100 yards of line was excessive? If I'm pitching around docks or other visible structure, 50 yards is plenty for me. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I can hold my own pitching and can comfortably hit targets about thirty to thirty five, maybe forty feet away depending on my setup. That's somewhere between ten to thirteen yards of line, so even if you can pitch cast twice that distance, unless you're targeting steelhead, there's still plenty of line on the spool to deal with feisty biters.


Monster PE Si-X is an eight strand braid from Varivas that's quickly becoming a favorite of mine

The Revo5 SX SS performs very well in pitching presentations but it doesn't feel any different to me than the regular SX. Granted, I didn't try pitching lighter than average baits. Nevertheless, this tells me the strategy of a shallow spool in a reel like this is more about line management than presentation. You simply don't need 100yds of line on your reel for close quarter presentations, so why waste money on all that extra line and risk the occurrence of line dig if you're using braid?


Cosmetically, the Revo5 SX SS's handle is a different color (all black) than the standard SX, but the handles' lengths are identical as are the knobs

Next Section: Revo5 SS skipping performance...

 

   

Google
  Web
  TackleTour

 

 

 
 





 

 



Copyright 2000-2024 TackleTour LLC All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy information