Casting & Pitching: Quantum makes use of their proprietary Micro ACS braking system on the Tour Edition PT which is a centrifugal system. Quantum is very proud of the fact they are the only company offering an externally adjustable centrifugal brake system in the North American market and rightfully so. The system works well and is pretty simple to adjust.

It is compact and fits well in hand.

Pitching performance of this reel is very good especially when paired with the Phenix UltraMax 707H though the lowest I went with this reel was a three eighths of an ounce jig. The reel sits at a very low position on the rod making it very easy and comfortable to thumb the spool on these low trajectory, low speed presentations.

Well, except for the bulging sideplate.

Switching things up a bit with this reel and going full blown Enthusiast, I brought it with us on a series of trips to Clear Lake, California and mounted it on a Gancraft Scarface cranking stick. The pairing of these two products together while maybe a bit odd for some purists is the pure definition of Enthusiast appeal!

At times, this bulge makes palming the reel uncomfortable.

The Scarface from Gancraft is a cranking stick, so for cranking duties, I respooled the Tour Edition PT VI with thirteen pound Sunline Defier. With this new combo, casting large, shallow running cranks like Lucky Craft’s BDS3 and Custom Lures Unlimited’s Ikon with this combo was a breeze.

Since the brakes are adjustable via an external dial, access to the spool is only needed when lubing the reel or swapping spools. To open up the non-handle sideplate, just access this lever at the front of the reel.

Retrieve: The Tour Edition PT VI features two (2) bearings beneath each knob translating to very smooth performance on each turn of the handle. The gears are made of aluminum and through our two months of testing, showed no signs of premature wear or roughness of retrieve – characteristics sometimes associated with aluminum gearing.

And then pivot the sideplate off the frame.

Under extreme load of some deep diving cranks, the Tour Edition PT VI does feel a bit labored and equally so when trying to muscle in a fish. There is an obvious trade off in this reel with high speed retrieve versus torque or maybe this is a factor of the aluminum gears or a combination of both, but the power aspect of this reel could be a little better.

Voila, easy access to the spool.

Next Section: Drag performance