Ever since I can remember I have been a Round Abu Garcia Reel man, I loved the tried and true design of the reels. Now don’t take that statement wrong. I still love and use my round Abu reels, especially my Abu Morrum’s but this is not about them, its about the new Abu Revo low profile baitcasters.
Not to long back, I believe it was around 2006 Abu Garcia introduced its new line of low profile baitcast reels. There is the Revo S, Revo SX, Revo STX, Revo Winch, Revo Skeet, Revo Premier, Revo Inshore and Revo Toro.
I personally think that Revo reels are kind of cool looking, and the specifications on them are pretty impressive as well. They all come with the following, an oversized main drive gear and X-CrafticTM aluminum alloy frame that provides corrosion resistance, which Abu says will stand up to salt water use. High Precision Corrosion Resistant ball bearings for smooth casting and retrieving and world renowned Carbon MatrixTM drag system which they claim will generates up to 24 lbs. of drag, precision machined DuragearTM brass gears for torque, and a six-pin centrifugal braking system. The STX series also adds a Linear Magnetic BrakeTM system. Most Revo models are available in either right or left hand retrieve depending on your needs. The High Precision Corrosion Resistant Stainless Steel ball bearings range from 6 in the Premier series up to 11 in several other series.
Another thing I love about the Revo reels is the way Abu stayed with its simplistic design making it easy to service yourself. Basic cleaning oiling and greasing is very straight forward if your even just slightly mechanically inclined. If you want to upgrade the ball bearings to say an ABEC 5 if your not comfortable doing it yourself you might want to consider having it professionally done.
I can only write a review on the Revo series reels that I currently own. As of the writing of this I have the STX, Skeet, Winch and Inshore versions, all of which I love. They all cast effortlessly, are smooth as silk in their cast ability as well as retrieve. The STX series reel which is silver and its close cousin the Skeet version, which is basically an STX in Yellow and Black with a few slight differences are a couple of my favorites. One very noticeable aspect of these reels is the ported gold spool which is kinda cool looking in my opinion. They added an oversized handle as well. Abu basically kept the same design of the tension knob and star drag, they just upgraded them somewhat. The STX is available in two different gear ratios, 6.4:1 and 7.1:1 whereas the Skeet is only available in a 6.4:1 ratio.
The Revo Winch has 11 ball bearings and is geared lower than other Revos, 5.4:1 which Abu says is designed for retrieving deep diving crankbaits as well as pulling big fish out of heavy cover. I like to flip jigs and Senkos with mine as well as throw crankbaits or slow roll spinnerbaits
Next is my In Shore version, it comes with 7 ball bearings and a 6.4:1 gear ratio and additional power handle for use in salt water applications. It also holds more line than the other Revos, I’m guessing this is for the times when you need more line because you hook into a big hard fighting fish that will pull the 24 pounds of drag pressure without much trouble. I like to use mine primarily when I go striped bass fishing and I’m doing the bait and wait thing with anchovies or throwing Hawg Raiser jigs at them.
The only negative things I have noticed about them is number 1, Abu seems to not oil and grease them very well when you buy them new, this is not really a big deal seeing how all you need to do is un-screw one thumb screw to remove the side cover and add some oil to the bearings and grease to the gears, which only takes a few minutes. Number 2 is the fact that they are no longer made in Sweden. While I have not personally noticed that they are an inferior product now that they are made in Korea instead of Sweden, I know that the older Swedish made Abu’s last forever, only time will tell with the Revos but I can say that I use mine a lot and they have shown no sigh of being inferior.
As I mentioned earlier I do like my Revo reels and I would recommend them to anyone looking to get a nice low profile reel.
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Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
I recently recieved a Abu Garcia Revo low profile baitcasting reel from a friend to test. When they say low profile they mean it. It is the smallest baitcasting reel that I have every used. They are extremely light and fits nicely in my hand. I have been using the revo for top water with monofiliament line. It allows you to cast light poppers or heavy spooks with ease. The drag system will all you to land whatever fresh water fish you are after as well. I would like to thank the author for such a nice write up. He hit it right on the head.