Kast King Baitcaster

[Bluebasser86]

2 hours ago, Wurming67 said:

I just received my kastking speed demon and my initial thoughts are this,they are inexpensive reels that seem to be good quality,with features of higher end reels,now the big question is long term durability,time will tell.

 

 

Side note I think durability can be subjective if you are on the water alot through out the year, catching alot of fish on the reel and fishing harsh conditions muddy water,heavy vegation vs not being on the water alot through out the year,not catching alot of fish, fishing in clear open water just a thought to consider.

All but the last few fish in this video were on my Assassin. I do this almost every week, all winter long, ice jamming into the reel, fish ripping line out the other side, firing cast after cast with a trap. It's been doing that without issue for 2 years as well as being a multipurpose reel for me the rest of the year, including flinging a 5" Bull Shad. I don't expect it to last like a Curado or Tatula, but it's already lasted longer than I expected and it's still going strong.

 

[DINK WHISPERER]

If these reels had a $200 price tag people would swear by them and buy em up like hot bread. Some will never give them a chance simply because they don't though. 

[greentrout]

10 hours ago, Wurming67 said:

Side note I think durability can be subjective if you are on the water alot through out the year, catching alot of fish on the reel and fishing harsh conditions muddy water,heavy vegation vs not being on the water alot through out the year,not catching alot of fish, fishing in clear open water just a thought to consider.

Ditto...

 

Some fish 2 to 3 times a week for a few hours an outing...ideal weather longer...age is a factor...

 

The KK Royale Legend Elite Red 8:1:1, 17 max drag, 34 IPT looks like an awfully sweet deal at 75 dollars...believe I'll be fishing it within 60 days...

 

 

good fishing... 

[NYWayfarer]

I don't see that Spartacus Maximus on Kastking's Amazon site. It was their only aluminum frame reel. I wonder if they have any plans to bring it back or make another aluminum framed reel?

[Fishingintheweeds]

I have the two Royale Legend reels. The one I got at the end of 16 is still going the same as the first day I got it and the one I got earlier this year is also.

 

The first has made lots of casts into cover from the bank and pulled fish through it and the majority of my casts to what look like open water involve ripping chatterbaits through or over grass.

 

The second, I have thrown, almost exclusively, frogs into heavy pads this year and pulled some decent ones out from distances that I was a little unsure about. I guess I will start throwing something that I can work in more open water going into the end of summer. I've got this one on a 7'3" KK my/f rod also. 

 

I also get daring with my casts and have worked and pulled out more snags than I would've liked to have had in the first place. But both are holding up well so far. 

 

 

[NYWayfarer]

18 hours ago, BaitFinesse said:

Whatever platform the Royal Legend Elite is using looks good.  Small and light.  I'm not a fan of the linear mag brake though.  Maybe there will be a dual brake version of reel, a Spartacus Elite.  You would need to gain access to the spool to adjust the centrifugal brake and that swing plate would be a nice feature.  

I agree. I love the swing wing cover but it makes more sense on a reel with an internal brake.

[Bass'N'Bluegill]

On 8/22/2018 at 10:19 PM, BaitFinesse said:

It has brass gears.  The body is plastic.

I could've sworn I saw plastic gears in mine last time I put new grease on the gears.

[greentrout]

 

[greentrout]

 

[burrows]

1 hour ago, BaitFinesse said:

This video is misleading.  The reel does not have a carbon fiber body.  It has a plastic body with small amounts of graphite powered mixed in just like all the other composite graphite reels.

He also mispronounced centrifugal 

On 8/23/2018 at 9:21 AM, DINK WHISPERER said:

If these reels had a $200 price tag people would swear by them and buy em up like hot bread. Some will never give them a chance simply because they don't though. 

Yeah I probably will never give them a try nah!! Not interested I’ll pass if I was going to buy a product that sponsors the site I’ll buy a product I believe in like Abu Garcia. 

Not saying kastking isn’t a good product just saying I’m stuck in my ways.

[DINK WHISPERER]

1 hour ago, Burrows said:

He also mispronounced centrifugal 

Yeah I probably will never give them a try nah!! Not interested I’ll pass if I was going to buy a product that sponsors the site I’ll buy a product I believe in like Abu Garcia. 

Not saying kastking isn’t a good product just saying I’m stuck in my ways.

?? At Abu Garcia. 

[burrows]

2 hours ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

?? At Abu Garcia. 

Really? So you like kastking better than abu?  And I know you just bought an abu for your boy not to long ago?

[DINK WHISPERER]

5 hours ago, Burrows said:

Really? So you like kastking better than abu?  And I know you just bought an abu for your boy not to long ago?

Yes, as of right now I do. In my time with Abu they only showed me product issues on a mass scale that they would never own up to and garbage customer service. 

 

The only Abu I can remember my son having was a spinning one and a Revo X when he was first starting. He since donated them to a friend at school who can't afford gear. I think I told that story here on BR. He pretty much picks his own gear so I let him try what he wants to. It's usually based on aesthetics only though for him ? Whatever matches his rods better. 

 

You are free to like what you want as is everyone else. I have good reasons to dislike Abu. What are yours for disliking kastking? 

[burrows]

4 hours ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

Yes, as of right now I do. In my time with Abu they only showed me product issues on a mass scale that they would never own up to and garbage customer service. 

 

The only Abu I can remember my son having was a spinning one and a Revo X when he was first starting. He since donated them to a friend at school who can't afford gear. I think I told that story here on BR. He pretty much picks his own gear so I let him try what he wants to. It's usually based on aesthetics only though for him ? Whatever matches his rods better. 

 

You are free to like what you want as is everyone else. I have good reasons to dislike Abu. What are yours for disliking kastking? 

I don’t know maybe it’s all the YouTube kastking salesman that get on my nerves but to tell you the truth I mainly fish shimano reels I like Japanese engineering I have been really wanting to try diawa and will probably get the new tatula 100 zero adjust when it comes out. My brother in law uses lower end abu Garcia reels and I tried them out I thought they were pretty decent for the price I had an stx spinning reel a few years ago that kind of started falling apart on me after two years of heavy use and I gave it to my brother in law it was solid and smooth however when it was new, he still uses it to this day.

[Glenn]

It's important to note that not a single manufacturer/brand will fit every person.  That's why we have choices and personal preferences.  There is no right or wrong; just choices.

 

Don't like Abu?  That's fine.  Don't like Kastking, that's fine too.  Find the gear you like and go with it.  After all, it's about about getting out there on the water and enjoying fishing!

 

[smithy97]

I bought a Speed Demon and an Assassin at the start of this season. I sold the Speed Demon a few weeks ago. I found the spool had to be thumbed way too much, even with the brakes cranked and the spool tension tightened way up. I would fish my Daiwa's and just keep the brakes at less than half, and ever so slightly thumb on each cast. Then I'd do the same with the SD and it would backlash like crazy. The Assassin has been better, but I'm getting so I don't like the feel of the body when all my other reels are Daiwa aluminum frames. It just feels weak in my hands, but it has performed well so far, better than the SD. I find my Daiwas all perform the same from model to model, you can set it and forget it on all of them, but yet there was such a drastic difference between the SD and the Assassin. 

I also got sick of all the "reviews" on KK products which were just people unboxing them and promoting them without actually using the product. I know that is not specific to just KK brand, there was just an explosion of those videos at the same time it seemed. 

[Bluebasser86]

7 hours ago, smithy97 said:

I also got sick of all the "reviews" on KK products which were just people unboxing them and promoting them without actually using the product. I know that is not specific to just KK brand, there was just an explosion of those videos at the same time it seemed. 

Same could be said for all the people who hate on them who have never even seen one in person, let alone fished with them. At least you gave them a try. Might not be for you but no reel is ever going to work for everyone. 

[smithy97]

14 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Same could be said for all the people who hate on them who have never even seen one in person, let alone fished with them. At least you gave them a try. Might not be for you but no reel is ever going to work for everyone. 

Very true. I never wanted to post my opinion on either reel until at least after a season of use. 

[Boogey Man]

3 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Same could be said for all the people who hate on them who have never even seen one in person, let alone fished with them. At least you gave them a try. Might not be for you but no reel is ever going to work for everyone. 

I’m sure KK makes some fine products and I’ve close to buying an Assassin. It’s just a bit odd so many ppl reviewing these reels and my first question is “did all these ppl actually pay for these products?” and what do they stand to gain. 

[Bluebasser86]

5 minutes ago, Boogey Man said:

I’m sure KK makes some fine products and I’ve close to buying an Assassin. It’s just a bit odd so many ppl reviewing these reels and my first question is “did all these ppl actually pay for these products?” and what do they stand to gain. 

Oh I agree completely with the terribly overdone unboxing "reviews".  A person can't give anything but an initial reaction from just opening a box and removing a product from it's container. A reel can look pretty, but if it's not functional those looks don't matter. It really mucks up the waters with those and the guys who use them once and give sparkling reviews. I can tell you that I own 5 KK baitcasters and 4 spinning reels and paid for all but 2 of them out of my pocket. They get fished with regularly and have all performed well and I'd have no problems buying more and I'm sure I will. The video I posted earlier in this thread was almost all with the Assassin. 

[burrows]

14 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Same could be said for all the people who hate on them who have never even seen one in person, let alone fished with them. 

Yeah I think I’ll pass thanks!

[J Francho]

2 hours ago, Burrows said:

Yeah I think I’ll pass thanks!

That’s totally okay, but why the attraction to these threads?  Not just you, specifically. 

 

I’ll admit when Pinnacle, Okuma, Favorite, KastKing, and even Abu came on board, I groaned a bit. I would never have spent my own money on any of them. But, I used the gear, abused the gear, even detonated a reel and two rods. Those companies were VERY RESPONSIVE to what happened. Pretty much every company Glenn has brought into the fold has been solid in both support and quality. Funny story, we had a deal with a certain rod company, and they couldn’t even figure out how to get a rod to us, yet expected reviews.  Go figure.

 

This whole exercise in NOT using my preferred brands has really opened my eyes to what is out there, what represents  quality or bang for the buck. Can I honestly sit on some high horse and say, get a (insert US made high end rod) and (insert Japanese made high end reel) to to someone that wants to catch a bass and is trying to make ends meet?  I’m putting my money where my mouth is, these days. I’m glad some companies recognize this segment, and aren’t selling stripped down junk. Go ahead and pass, this gear isn’t for you, and I really respect your opinions on gear, baits, and techniques. I understand why you wouldn’t consider it. But don’t tell me I’m shilling, don’t tell me I’m trying to make buck, because I make nothing for this. Believe me, it’s a sacrifice to test all this stuff out, and report my experience back to you all. 

 

And I aplogize in advance for picking out your post directly, @Burrows. It was just a good opportunity to make a point. Keep catching, keep posting my friend! I, and I bet many other member appreciate what you give back to fishing through this forum. 

[Tim Kelly]

I completely get that John. I used to be involved in running a couple of national clubs here in the UK and companies kept sending in their stuff to review for the magazine. I hated it! I had to use my precious fishing time to fish with a piece of equipment that was imposed on me rather than chosen. Sometimes it was OK and sometimes not, but it was always an inconvenience. Appreciate you and Glenn taking the time to use the stuff and find out what it's really like.

 

 

[J Francho]

6 hours ago, Tim Kelly said:

Appreciate you and Glenn taking the time to use the stuff and find out what it's really like.

It's not just Glenn and I.  All of us mods, and Glenn's wife test the gear out.  I probably shouldn't single any single sponsors out, but Kastking and Okuma have really been the highlights so far.  This Abu Garcia Revo SX is turning my head as well.  Their braking system is so much better than early Revos from a decade ago.  I'm running some gnarly 17# Red Label with no line conditioner, and you really gotta mess up to backlash it.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

It's not just Glenn and I.  All of us mods, and Glenn's wife test the gear out.  I probably shouldn't single any single sponsors out, but Kastking and Okuma have really been the highlights so far.  This Abu Garcia Revo SX is turning my head as well.  Their braking system is so much better than early Revos from a decade ago.  I'm running some gnarly 17# Red Label with no line conditioner, and you really gotta mess up to backlash it.

That's good feedback JF. I have steered people away from old SX models because of the weak mag only brakes. Other than that, I've always found them (Revo's) to perform better than they looked on paper.