2009 High Speed Reel Shootout : And the Winner Is... (continued)

Drag: Each of the four reels in our 2009 High Speed Shootout have smooth and consistent performing drags. It is becoming more and more the norm rather than the exception these days which is good. The real difference then, lies in the maximum drag we were able to measure in our labs and the actual drag stack within each reel and how significant they seem to be.

The Revo SX's drag stack.

As it turned out three of the four reels measured out at eleven pounds maximum drag and the lone standout, the Quantum Tour Edition PT, measured only one pound stronger at twelve pounds of maximum pressure.

The Chronarch D's drag stack - note the drag washer was already in a state of deterioration.

The Tour Edition PT's drag stack.

What was interesting was the way in which each reel provided drag pressure. For the Zillion SHS and Revo SX, this was achieved through a series of disc washers intricately placed within the reel's main gear. For the Chronarch D and Tour Edition PT, drag is achieved through the use of just two washers, one of which is a thick, small surface area washer nestled within the main gear - quite surprising really. The drag stack within the Zillion and Revo SX appeared to be much more significant and possibly longer lasting.

The Zillion 50th Anniversary Reel's drag stack.

Casting: We were very specific with these tests targeting only the lower range of each reel. After fishing them all for an extended period of time, it's obvious they can all handle normal sized baits and even baits that are larger than normal, but the real question and possible difference maker was how low could each reel go?

The Chronarch D really impressed us during field tests at El Novillo Lake in Mexico.

As it turned out, none of the four reels was very useful with baits below one quarter of an ounce try as I did with eighth ounce baits. There were some differences at this threshold, but not significant enough to be of any use in real world casting conditions. Realistically, under fishing conditions, one quarter ounce is about as low as any of these reels can really go.

The Revo SX was overmatched by the other three reels in this category.

At that weight, the Chronarch D is the easy winner casting to approximately forty five to fifty feet with ease and pitching to about twenty five or thirty feet. All reels were tested mounted on my Megabass F3.5-65GTC Hien Type-S fishing rod.

The Tour Edition PT impressed while casting, but was bested in pitching exercises by both the Zillion and Chronarch.

The Zillion SHS and Tour Edition PT traded places as runners up to the Chronarch D in both casting and pitching with the Tour Edition PT making the better casting reel at one quarter of an ounce while the Zillion SHS out pitched the Tour with this same weight lure. The Revo SX, while competent at this weight of lure, was out distanced and outperformed by the other three reels.

The Chronarch D ran away with this category.

Next Section: And The Winner Is...