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Reel Review


Does Quantum's Tour KVD Have the Power to Win Us Over? (continued)

 

Brakes: The Tour KVD reels feature centrifugal brakes with an external dial on the non-handle sideplate. Adjustment of the brakes is pretty straight forward in the range of half a turn. The dial is ratcheted so it's easy to lock in your setting and it doesn't have the habit of changing on you either during the course of fishing.


The bulging non-handle sideplate made palming difficult.

Features: Of the list of features we typically check in a low profile baitcasting reel, we already mentioned the Tour KVD comes with an externally adjustable braking system. It also features one bearing on the levelwind worm gear, two knobs per bearing, and micro-click adjustments on both the dragstar and spool tension knob. The reel does not come with a cover, but does ship with oil in the box.

 

Features Ratings for Quantum Tour KVD 151HPT

Ext Brake Adjust? (1-2)
Levelwind Bearing (1-2)
Knob Bearings (1-3)
Micro Clicks (1-3)
Reel Cover (1-2)
Oil (1-2)
Total
Possible
Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
2
2
3
3
1
2
13
14
9.26

 

Design & Ergonomics: While the Tour KVD overall, is a rather compact reel, its shape is a little difficult to palm because the non-handle sideplate really bulges out from the side and impacts the way I tend to hold a reel. The impact of the reel's shape will vary from person to person depending on how you hold your reel while fishing, so it's something we recommend checking out at your local tackle shop if you are afforded this convenience.


This one last screw made disassembly very difficult.

Otherwise, the handle length on this reel is very comfortable as are the knobs. I'm not usually a fan of EVA foam knobs on casting reels, but the shape of these knobs is very thin and they're very comfortable to grasp. The reel could be a tad lighter and breakdown of the reel for maintenance was difficult due to one screw that requires you to disassemble the front of the reel to access.

 

Design & Ergonomics Ratings for Quantum Tour KVD 151HPT

Handle Length (1-5)
Knobs (1-5)
Palming (1-5)
Overall Weight (1-5)
Ease of Breakdown (1-5)
Total
Possible
Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
5
5
3
3
2
18
25
7.2

 

Application: Scoring in this section of the product's review will apply towards the entire suite of Tour KVD reels and take into account the three different retrieve ratios offered. These scores are all made erring on the side of caution due to my experience with the 7.3:1's performance in our power tests. Had the reel performed better in this area, I'd have no trouble recommending the 5.3:1 version, for example, in heavy cranking situations, but since I haven't actually fished this version, all I can do is assume it will do better. Lower gear ratio reels always perform better in terms of power, than their high speed counterparts.

 

Application Ratings for Quantum Tour KVD 151HPT

Horizontal (1-5)
Vertical (1-5)
Finesse (1-5)
Big Baits (1-5)
Topwater (1-5)
Total
Possible
Rating (= Tot/Pos * 10)
3
4
2
2
4
15
25
6.0

 


That is, until we figured out you're supposed to remove the front plate first.

So having said all that, I rate this suite of reels average in terms of horizontal bait presentation (diving cranks, spinnerbaits, lipless cranks), and above average for vertical bait presentations (jigs, soft plastics, etc). They are not tuned for finesse tactics and while line capacity is decent for big baits, I'd be wary of their use for this technique because of their lack of power. Topwater techniques with these reels should be a lot of fun.

 

Ratings:

Quantum Tour KVD 151HPT Ratings (?/10)

Construction/Quality Put together well but could have a more durable finish 8.0
Performance A little above average and would have scored better if not for the apparent lack of power 6.4
Price Not a bad price point, but a very hotly contested market 7.0
Features The Tour KVD scores well across our features check list 9.26
Design (Ergonomics) I little wide in my hand due to the bulging sideplate 7.2
Application A good reel for many different applications, but not great for outside of the tackle box techniques (finesse and big baits) 6.0

Total Score

7.31
Ratings Key: 1 = terrible : 2 = poor : 3 = lacking : 4 = sub par : 5 = mediocre : 6 = fair : 7 = good : 8 = great : 9 = excellent : 10 = unbelievable!
For More Details of the updated rating system visit our explanation here

 

Pluses and Minuses:

Plus

Minus
+ Very good line capacity - Difficult to palm
+ Nice, long handle with comfortable knobs - More power please
+ External brake adjustment  

 

Conclusion: At its current price point, the Quantum Tour KVD has the difficult task of competing with the likes of Abu Garcia's Revo STX, Lew's BB-1 Speed Spool, Shimano Curado I, and Daiwa's Tatula Type-R casting reels among others. All but one of these reels is lighter than the Tour KVD, three out of four are much easier to palm, and all four, technically are less expensive. Heck, $40 more moves you into the Quantum EXO 200 PT and for $20 more you can take home an EXO 100PT!

 


The Tour KVD 151HPT is a good reel, but it's priced in a very hotly contested market.

 

The Tour KVD 151HPT is a good reel if you're not asking it to do too much out of its own comfort zone. Fished for its designed purpose and it will serve you well, the trouble is, in today's bass fishing landscape, most anglers are looking for tools that can suit multiple purposes from deep cranking to finesse tactics. This might sound unreasonable to some, but the options do already exist to some extent.

 

Looking for the QUantum Tour KVD Baitcaster? Try Tackle Warehouse


 

   

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