Abu Garcia Revo4 Rocket Product Review

Reel Review

Abu Garcia Begins the Countdown to Liftoff with the 10.1:1 Revo4 Rocket (continued)

Power: The Revo4 Rocket comes with a nice, 90mm carbon fiber swept handle finished with bearing supported, contoured, EVA foam knobs. It's a very comfortable handle design giving you good leverage against the oversized brass gear. The Gen 3 Rocket had an aluminum gear that after 3 years of use, finally began to feel a little rough. This new brass gear delivers smooth performance that should hold up over extended use.

Underneath each knob are two bearings

But even with that large handle and oversized brass gear, the law of diminishing returns seems to finally hit at 10.1:1. While the new Rocket is perfectly suitable for most applications, it does lack a bit of torque when there's something hard pulling at the other end of the line. Granted, I didn't have any difficulties fighting fish, but did occasionally feel it was more difficult than usual retrieving moving baits like a vibrating jig through the water.

The Rocket is upgraded in Gen4 to a brass gear and Abu's new Power Stack Carbon Matrix Drag system

Drag: Rated at 18lbs of max drag pressure, Abu Garcia outfits the Revo4 Rocket with the same drag stack found in the model SX and above - their Power Stack Carbon Matrix Drag system consisting of two keyed carbon drag washers and one metal washer. The result is a drag that delivers smooth and consistent performance in the new Rocket.

The levelwind worm gear has one bearing at each end for smooth performance.

Design & Ergonomics: The Revo4 low profile platform is very comfortable to palm with the Rocket specifically coming in with a weight of 7.3 ounces on our scale. The 90mm swept, carbon handle is a nice touch but probably our favorite thing about this reel is its new, sort of matte red finish. Or maybe it's better described as eggshell because it has a definite sheen, but it's not glossy. What's more it feels more like an anodization or powder coat that it does actual paint. It has a very positive, tactile sensation which is a big part of why I've enjoyed fishing this reel.

The Revo4 Rocket comes with an MSRP of $299.99

Price & Applications: As mentioned earlier, the Revo4 Rocket comes with an MSRP of $299.99. Like any supertuned version of a car, you're going to pay a premium to go faster. However, I'd feel better about it if the braking system was the same as the $199 STX rather than the $159.99 SX.

Ratings:

Abu Garcia Revo4 Rocket Ratings (?/10)
Construction/Quality	A very solid reel with a cool, kind of eggshell red finish	9.5
Performance	Good caster, smooth on retrieve, but lacking in torque/power	7.5
Price	Given the upgrades to the entire Revo lineup, this feels like a souped up SX rather than STX	6.5
Features	10.1:1 Gear Ratio... wow!	8
Design (Ergonomics)	The Revo4 platform fits my hand well and I like the stock carbon handle	8
Application	How fast is too fast? Great for a reel to pitch your bait into a spot and get it back quickly for another pitch or cast	7.5
Total Score		7.83
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
+ When you feel the need for speed	- If only it had IVCB6L
+ Comfortable profile	- Lacking a little in the power department
+ Nice finish
+ Brass gears

In the end, I like the generation 4 upgrades to the Rocket, I just wish it had the IVCB6L brakes too

Conclusion: Abu Garcia's Revo4 Rocket is one of those reels, that if I reviewed on pure emotion, would score high and I think it mostly has to do with its unique finish paired with that swept, carbon handle. The reel feels super sleek and efficient in hand, but is not without its shortcomings namely the braking system and occasionally, torque. At 10.1:1 in retrieve, it certainly sparked the question my mind of how fast is too fast or when will this race for speed end? I thought a retrieve ratio in the 8s was excessive and now we're really looking at 10? I'm pretty stoked about the upgrade in drag and gear material too but this is pretty part and parcel throughout the Revo4 refresh. So in the end, objectively speaking, where I really liked the Revo4 STX, and felt the SX was good, but not great, the new Rocket is also a good reel, just not over the top good.

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