Pflueger’s
“Supreme” Baitcast Offering (continued)
Drag:
The Supreme fared well in
both casting and retrieve tests but when it came time to test the drag it was a
different story. The President delivered 5.5lbs of counter pressure which was
reasonable three years ago, but since that time full size reels, and even
magnesium ultralights have upped the ante in terms of drag pressure and
refinement. The Daiwa TD-A HSTA for example which retails for 159 dollars is
capable of coughing up 10lbs of pressure, the magnesium based Shimano Core can
deliver 8.8lbs, and the Abu Garcia STX is capable of an astonishing 24lbs! So
what did the Supreme yield in our tests, just 6.2lbs, enough for most fish but
we hoped for more in a modern day full sized baitcaster.
The sideplate slides downward...
No matter how far we
tightened the drag it simply would not deliver any more pressure. You could
still quite easily strip line away from the spool with just two fingers. The
drag proved to be smooth both in our lab and in the field, but with a big fish
on the reel yielded copious amounts of line with each and every run. While it is
unlikely that a fish will break off by over-tightening the drag, we would have
liked to have some more stopping power, especially when targeting fish like
striped bass.
...revealing the magnetic plate
and centrifugal brake weights in the dual cast control system
Ergonomics:
The Pflueger Supreme weighs in at 8.5oz which is right about average for a reel
of this size. There is some limited porting in the frame and handle of the reel
but some of the weight is made up with the solid base of the frame and generous
use of metal in the reel’s forged handle and drag star, not a bad thing at all.
A look under the sideplate and you
can see the actual magnets
When it comes to pure
ergonomics the Supreme is easy and comfortable to palm and the spool access is
quite good. One area that Pflueger did do a very good job is on the soft touch
sculpted knobs which feel just as grippy as Shimano Septon grips, and the same
material on the clutch button which feels excellent under your thumb. Also very
nice is the audible star and spool tension adjustment, making it easy to make
minute adjustments on the fly.
The Supreme is capable of winding
in 28 inches of line per handle turn, and does so smoothly and confidently due
to quality metal components in and out
It is in the area of
ergonomics that Pflueger seems to have made the most strides. While many of the
company’s reels in the past performed in the major areas that counted they
always seemed to have something lacking when it came to refinement and
comfortable ergonomics. That trend ends with the Supreme which ergonomically has
what it takes to compete with even higher priced Tier-1 offerings. We expect
that the new Summit and Patriarch will probably take Pflueger ergonomics to a
level far beyond what we have seen from the company to date.
A titanium line guide able to
handle all types of line
Next
Section: Durability, Price & Conclusion
