Gear Talk: Abu Garcia Revo Inshore

This is a tough reel --- at least in terms of corrosion resistance.  I bought it 2 years ago and still hasn't shown any hint of corrosion. It's safe to say that it is reliable in the salt but it has some problems. On its first few months, the titanium coated line guide pops out while casting. I had to put super glue to fix it. It has happened twice already. The first glue I used was a Super Glue from Mighty Bond. A month later, it popped out again while casting. I then used 2 part 5minute clear epoxy. So far so good. It's holding quite well. Another issue with the reel is the finish. It gets scratched easily compared with a Revo SX. Another issue is the Drag star, it's crappy. At first, the reel was steadily losing drag pressure. I noticed that the threads on the drag star was showing rounding. Then eventually, it gave out. Almost all the threads stripped. I noticed that the material was not suited for threads ---  it's susceptible to stripping. The hard part is getting parts for it. I had to email Purefishing to get the part. After a month, the reseller here contacted me to give me the prices of the parts. During that time, I already found a solution. I bought the star, spring washers, the base of the washers, and clicker from a thrashed Abu Garcia Silvermax. You will notice that the thread in Silvermax drag star is made from hardened stainless steel insert. It sure looks stronger than the stock drag star of the Revo Inshore. Currently, it's holding well and the drag pressure seems to be holding quite well. Just a note, it is not 24lbs as what the manufacturer claims. More like 15lbs at the most. If you have a Revo reel that is losing drag, check the drag star thread. I am sure that its slowly stripping away.

What do I like about the reel? It can withstand the salt even when I'm too lazy to wash it. The Revo SX doesn't have that resistance to Salt. Another thing, it has the line capacity needed for inshore fishing. The downside of that capacity is that it is not a great caster because of the deeper spool. But this can be fixed by replacing the spool bearings with Ceramic ABEC7 bearings. Another plus for the reel is the long handles for extra cranking speed and the power handle for extra torque in cranking.

A 7.7kg Barramundi caught on Revo Inshore. The lure I used was a Duel 3D 3inch Suspending Jerkbait.

Would I recommend this reel to anyone? Yes, but be prepared to replace the drag star. It will eventually strip.  I hope that Abu Garcia will upgrade the reel and replace the crappy drag star with a stronger metal insert to prevent stripping. They can also replace the main shaft with a shaft that has bigger threads for more power. They can also upgrade their drag star design to what Shimano has. And lastly, they can replace the housing of the line guide with aluminum. That plastic base is too crappy for a reel with this price.

Would I buy another reel from Abu Garcia? Yes, but only those reels that are made in Sweden. The same applies to Shimano and Daiwa reels. I will not buy a Shimano or Daiwa reel if it is not made in Japan.

Abu Garcia reels (Revo) or even Daiwa (Saltist, Apollo, Regal, etc) and Shimano (Technium, Alivio, etc)  that are made in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, or China, appears to have been made with poor materials. I agree that Quality control may not be a factor anymore because these Japanese or American companies probably have strict quality control for their products that are being made overseas. But the problem is the poor quality of materials that were used --- the metals, graphite, and plastics used to be specific. The aluminum frames, drag star, and side plates seem to be prone to stripping, cracking or warping. The "stainless" bearings, springs, and washers are prone to rusting. The plastic/graphite parts chip, crack, or suddenly compress. From experience, these things rarely happen on Japanese reels such as Daiwa Millionaire and Daiwa Sol or Swedish reels such as Abu Garcia Classic Inshore, 4601/5601C3.

Addition: Abu Garcia and Daiwa should talk to their outsourced manufacturers. They should insist that if the material is aluminum, as those in Drag Stars, they should use coarse threads instead of fine threads. Aluminum is an exception to rule that fine threads are stronger than coarse threads in nuts and bolts. A better solution is to use stronger metals instead of aluminum, such as brass or stainless shafts and thread inserts. They can use fine threads for strength without fear of stripping if the material used is not aluminum or similar soft materials.