Drag: The reel's drag features a cap with a rubber gasket to mitigate against water intrusion and inside, there are five drag washers (two carbon composite, two standard metal, and one keyed metal) all working together to provide very smooth drag performance. This reel can easily handle more than finesse techniques which is obviously the reason for a standard depth spool.

The reel's drag adjustment knob has an attractive carbon fiber pattern.

Power: Retrieve ratio on this reel is 6.2:1 which on the 30 size spool equates to faster than an 8.0:1 retrieve on a standard, bass sized casting reel. Calculations give us 25 inches per turn on a fully empty spool to 34.5 inches on a full spool. A Tatula SV TW delivers roughly 20 to 33 inches with each turn of the handle.

Underneath that weather sealed knob are 3 metal and 2 carbon composite drag washers for smooth, consistent operation.

The Revo4 Ike also comes with a handle of good length to give you plenty of leverage, so if you decide to spool up with heavier line, it should give you plenty of leverage for whatever you have in mind. For my finesse applications, this reel was more than sufficient.

Aiding with that smooth operation is this bearing along the spool support shaft.

Bail Operation: Setting up for a cast, the IKE spinning reel's bail snaps back with a very reassuring "click." That audible reinforcement is returned if you close the bail by hand after a cast. If you simply turn the handle to close the bail, there's an internal tripping mechanism that worked every time I tried this method closing the bail with an emphatic "thud."

Bail operation is very reliable.

Line Twist: Directing your line onto the spool is a line roller supported by two bearings. Because the rotor and bail wire are in constant motion when turning the handle, it's always difficult to actually see that line roller actually turning as it feeds line back onto the spinning reel spool, but I take it with a leap of faith this is happening. I can do this because line management with the IKE spinning reel is pretty good. Line twist was minimal.

As is the dual bearing supported line guide.

Design & Ergonomics: The 30 sized variant of Abu's IKE spinning reel tipped our scales at 7.2 ounces. That's pretty respectable for a spinning reel of this size and actually 0.2 ounces lighter than my Shimano Stella C3000MHG. The only thing I did not enjoy about this reel was that round, EVA foam knob at the end of the handle. I prefer the old fashioned I-Knobs on both my spinning and casting reel handles though I will take a round knob before the oversized T-Knobs any day.

The knobs are supported by bearings.

Price & Applications: Though my primary duty for just about any spinning reel in my arsenal is finesse applications, Abu Garcia's Revo4 IKE spinning reel can be used for any number of different techniques. This is especially true for the 30 size which I fished. The spool is plenty deep for a variety of line weights, and the drag is robust enough not just for any bass application, but any number of different species. Retail price of this little purple wonder is $229.99.

Abu Garcia's IKE SP30 gave me zero issues and that's what I want out of my spinning reels.

Conclusion: I think this reel had me at purple. It's difficult not to like a reel with this much moxy but it does fall short of winning an award from me because of that round knob and no shallow spool option.

Performance wise, to be honest, I never gave the Revo4 Ike spinning reel a second thought while I was fishing. I had to force myself to really zero in on each aspect of the reel while I was fishing and that's pretty much exactly what I look for in a rod and reel - something that allows me to concentrate on fishing rather than fiddling with my equipment to get the performance I need.

I want to be mindful of my surroundings and what the fish might be up to and not the difficulties my equipment is presenting me. Abu Garcia's IKE SP30 gave me zero issues and that's what I want from of my spinning reels.

Looking for as Abu Garcia Revo4 IKE Spinning Reel?

Try TackleWarehouse