I bought a first generation Abu REVO STX brand new back around 2009 or so and fished it for a bit and tucked it away as I explored other reels. I recently dug it out and put it back in service on a cranking rig and realized what a smooth tank of a reel these really were. Certainly not the lightest or most sophisticated brake system but damn it just feels solidWish I had bought a couple more …
Ranting incoherently
I've got several Gen1 and Gen2 Premiers, they are great reels except for the easily dinged exteriors. They look like crap, but still function well.
They are built like a tank and weigh nearly as much as one too!
Yeppers I recall fishing the pre-released versions circa 2007 with a good fishing buddy of mine who was a Pure Fishing rep at the time. The Abu Revo was a sign that OEM products and the fishing industry would forever change moving forward.
Sometimes older is just better. They knew how to make reels smooth when they were 8+oz. I have a weird early 2000s Daiwa TD-S that I bought as a novelty but it was so smooth and 34mm Daiwa spools dropped right in that I put a spare TD-Z R+ spool in it and paired it to a similar vintage BPS Crankin Stick for smaller cranks in the 1/4 to 3/8 oz range. Its been super fun tossing cranks on this speedy spool paired to such a smooth reel. I also got another TD Zillion instead of a modern Zillion. There wasn't a huge price difference between this used Zillion and a new JDM Zillion but the old reel just has soul and is matches the new St Croix LTB rods I want to pair it with. I was also really curious about the fixed inductor PE special spool. Another more recent purchase was this old lefty "flipping frame" Daiwa back before they had mirrored left hand reels. The thinking was that if you are going to have a left hand reel then you are flipping or pitching and don't wan to move your hand between casting then palming so they shaped the whole reel around being able to cast while being palmed. Its an old idea and this is one of the last examples of this. It's a JDM TD-X. The aluminum version of the magnesium TD-Z lefty flipping frame reels. Its old on an old telescopic spiral wrapped Destroyer oft tip flipping stick but the setup doesn't look or feel too old IMO.
Last edited by LowRange; 06-14-2022 at 03:20 PM.
That flippin reel is awesome!
Sapphire Blue/Black Bottom Vexus AVX 1980, Mercury 150 Pro XS
The gen 2 revo is my favorite reel that abu has made. I have 4 and I can’t destroy them lol. The gen 3 revos I had were problematic to say the least and I switched to daiwa with the occasional shimano. But those gen 2 revos are still used often and they are still great
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