Shimano Casita or Abu Garcia Revo X

[DBL000006]

I'm looking for a new reel. Any of you guys have any experience with these 2 Reels? Comments on the 2 please

[Beetlebz]

I just endured a similar conundrum. Without having the opportunity to out my hands on either one I took a chance on the casitas. Absolutely zero regrets. It took about 10 minutes to get her dialed in. I regret spooling up with big game (it's a finesse jig / t rig / Carolina rig / topwater set up for a kayak) but really the reel did a fantastic job considering big game is almost as stiff as abrazx. 

 

I will absolutely be buying more, the 150 spool is a great all around size. 

[Brad in Texas]

I have a Casitas, too, and I really like the way it casts, its appearance, its aggressive price point. I'd describe it as a very easy baitcaster to handle, certainly a good candidate as a learning model for someone who needs one that is going to allow nice casts with small chances of backlashes. But, not limited to just a "first" reel, it is just a really solid reel for a great price for anyone.

 

Now, it is in the $100 range for a reason. I'd have preferred it with a spool tensioner knob that has that little precise motion where you can hear and feel it "tick" from one setting to the next. The Casitas tensioner knob lacks this, feels sort of spongy to me, imprecise compared to more expensive reels. Same thing with its drag. It just feels a bit spongy for lack of a better description.

 

So, would I buy another one, recommend it to a friend? For sure.

 

Brad

 

 

[burrows]

Casitas 

[Stephen B]

I think it comes down to what application(s) you will be looking to do. For my experience, the Casitas 150 is much more refined; however, the Revo X is no slouch either but just not to the refinement of the Casitas. However, I always highly recommend the Revo X Winch for cranking.

[DBL000006]

I like fishing 3/8 oz jigs. I'm not a heavy power fishermen. I think the Revo may be the reel for me. Seems like it can handle what i do. The Shimano seems more of a finese type reel.

[Tywithay]

16 minutes ago, DBL000006 said:

I like fishing 3/8 oz jigs. I'm not a heavy power fishermen. I think the Revo may be the reel for me. Seems like it can handle what i do. The Shimano seems more of a finese type reel.

Far from it. Casitas is a great all around reel. It's not super powerful, but it isn't finesse either. Just a good solid reel. I haven't usef the X, but the one I played with at cabelas felt cheaper than the comparable shimano. They both pale in comparison to the Tatula CT, in my opinion. 

[Vilas15]

Casitas graphite frame vs aluminum frame of Revo X is the main difference between the two along with the braking systems as noted above.

[burrows]

Casitas 

[puddlepuncher]

On 3/26/2018 at 5:57 PM, Brad in Texas said:

Now, it is in the $100 range for a reason. I'd have preferred it with a spool tensioner knob that has that little precise motion where you can hear and feel it "tick" from one setting to the next. The Casitas tensioner knob lacks this, feels sort of spongy to me, imprecise compared to more expensive reels

Shimano doesn't have click tension knobs in the higher end stuff either, it bothered me the first time I held my first Met Mgl and Chronarch.  I got over it pretty quickly.  I do like hearing the click though my Pflueger has it.

 

I'd go with the Casitas as well, it's a solid reel for the price.

 

[Tywithay]

1 hour ago, Maverick said:

Shimano doesn't have click tension knobs in the higher end stuff either, it bothered me the first time I held my first Met Mgl and Chronarch.  I got over it pretty quickly.  I do like hearing the click though my Pflueger has it.

 

I'd go with the Casitas as well, it's a solid reel for the price.

 

I spoke with a Shimano engineer about this once and he stated that they left out the clicker because they want you to have infinite adjustability, not just the little clicks. Without the clicker, you can dial it in and it'll never be between two clicks. 

[grub_man]

FYI, this is my first post on Bass Resource.  I've been an avid fisherman since the late 90's and a rod builder since the mid 2k's, though over the last 10 years or so, life has gotten in the way limiting my time on the water.  In the last year I've been transplanted from my home in OH to the Lake Norman region in NC.  It has been fun spending a little time on a big reservoir, where my home lakes would make up a small creek arm.  

 

I have to say that I was thankful when Shimano decided to price my beloved Citica and Curado lines out of my price range that I wouldn't need a new reel for a while, because I am not happy with their current price points.  After donating an old CU-200 to the fishing gods last spring, I finally got around to getting a blank replace the rod, and entered the market for a new reel.

 

After some tire kicking, I settled on the Revo4 X.

 

I love Shimano, but their graphite framed reels just do not hold up the way that their aluminum frame offerings do.  I have a couple Shimano Coriolis reels from the late 90's (Shimano's mag braking of the day is still a great tool for teaching about eddy currents and the effects for changing the angle of the magnetic field relative to the rotating conductor.).  They are built on a graphite frame and just do not feel the same as they did right out of the box, where as all of my Citicas and Curados of that era feel and fish exactly the same as the day they were new (still the standard by which all reels should be measured).  One of my HS buddies had a couple Caenans from Shimano, a good looking graphite framed reel from them with centrifugal brakes, but the last couple times we've been on the water, the Caenans were gone.  He spends in the neighborhood of 150-200 days per year on the water.  I haven't gotten the full story yet, but that spoke volumes to me, as he is like me and won't replace reels unless there is a need to.

 

I looked very hard at my options from Lew's and Abu Garcia.  I've never really handled anything from Diawa or Quantum that just felt right to me (not that they are bad reels, just not for me).  The aluminum frame in the Revo was a major player in my choice.  I'm still up in the air on the magnetic braking, as I much prefer centrifugal brakes, but time will tell.  The Revo will be going on an MHX MB843.  With the weight of the lures that I typically use on that rod, the extra resistance from the magnetic brakes shouldn't be a horrible thing.

 

About the only reel that really has my piqued my interest in recent years is the Carbonlite reels from BPS.  I love light reels, and anything much over 8.5 oz. feels like a tank in my hand (goes back to those old Coriolis reels mentioned above that were my first semi-reliable reels that weighed in at 7.9 oz.).  I've just shied away from house brand reels over the years, because I want to be able to replace a worn level wind pawl, broken clutch spring, etc. and I've never seen great availability of parts for BPS reels, though I may be mistaken.

 

Of course, time will tell, but the Revo line has been around long enough and developed a strong enough following that I figured it was worth a shot.

 

Joe

[Brad in Texas]

5 hours ago, Maverick said:

Shimano doesn't have click tension knobs in the higher end stuff either, it bothered me the first time I held my first Met Mgl and Chronarch.  I got over it pretty quickly.  I do like hearing the click though my Pflueger has it.

 

I'd go with the Casitas as well, it's a solid reel for the price.

 

Good to know, Maverick! Thanks. The Casitas is my first Shimano baitcaster after owning quite a few of their spinning reels (which I love). I have a top-end Lews baitcaster which has the "click" and really feels super solid to me in all of its aspects. It cost about 2X the Casitas, but I greatly prefer the casting ease of the cheaper reel. I can make much longer casts, less inclined to have any line issues, too. Next up for me will likely be a move to a higher end Shimano bait casting reel if I can identify one that will have the features I like. I have absolutely no desire to own a finicky reel of any sort.  Brad

[DBL000006]

18 hours ago, Vilas15 said:

Casitas graphite frame vs aluminum frame of Revo X is the main difference between the two along with the braking systems as noted above.

Yeah, that's a big difference. Revo X is now my go to choice. I think most of you, are Shimano fan boys in here. A graphite frame reels doesn't hold up. I had one I'll never buy another reel. Where's all the Abu Garcia fan boys at?

[Fishingmickey]

Might be a reason why there is a lot of Shimano fan boys....

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Never had a prob with graphite frames but just some feeling having a alum frame conpared to graphite.im partial to abus but if casatis had metal  frame and abu had grahite id pick shimano all day .

[DBL000006]

?

[Tywithay]

2 hours ago, DBL000006 said:

Yeah, that's a big difference. Revo X is now my go to choice. I think most of you, are Shimano fan boys in here. A graphite frame reels doesn't hold up. I had one I'll never buy another reel. Where's all the Abu Garcia fan boys at?

I own more Daiwa than anything, especially in that price range, but still feel the Casitas is the better reel. An aluminum frame means nothing if the parts inside aren't as well made. 

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I do believe parts are same in all revos main gear pinion etc the only difference is the bearings and how many HPCC bearings in revo s 3 and revo x has reg stainless bearings

[puddlepuncher]

4 hours ago, DBL000006 said:

Yeah, that's a big difference. Revo X is now my go to choice. I think most of you, are Shimano fan boys in here. A graphite frame reels doesn't hold up. I had one I'll never buy another reel. Where's all the Abu Garcia fan boys at?

 

I'm curious what graphite reels you had fail and why?  Not arguing but I've heard this before and never quite understood what fails because the frame is not metal.

[J.Vincent]

The Casitas was built on a graphite frame and the Revo X on an Aluminum frame. Also the Revo X on paper and in person, is far more refined then the Casitas. The Revo X has a Wider handle, 18 lb Multi Carbon Drag System, Click Star Drag, Click Spool Thumb Dial, External Lube Port and its available in 5.4 , 6.6 and 7.3 gear ratios. Also, I love Shimano and Abu products , and own both; but in this reel comparison, its night and day

[Tywithay]

1 hour ago, Maxximus Redneckus said:

I do believe parts are same in all revos main gear pinion etc the only difference is the bearings and how many HPCC bearings in revo s 3 and revo x has reg stainless bearings

They share a main gear. The higher priced ones have a coated pinion and pawl, better clutch, better spools, and better braking systems. 

[billjaco]

On March 28, 2018 at 8:21 AM, grub_man said:

One of my HS buddies had a couple Caenans from Shimano, a good looking graphite framed reel from them with centrifugal brakes, but the last couple times we've been on the water, the Caenans were gone.  He spends in the neighborhood of 150-200 days per year on the water.  I haven't gotten the full story yet, but that spoke volumes to me, as he is like me and won't replace reels unless there is a need to.

Be interesting to hear the full story.
What did he choose as a replacement?

[grub_man]

Next time we catch up, I'll try to get the story, but I'm pretty sure he replaced them with a couple different reels.  I'm thinking a reel or two came back out of retirement, as I don't remember many new reels in his arsenal the last we fished together.

[J.Vincent]

On March 28, 2018 at 2:26 PM, Active_Outdoors said:

The Casitas was built on a graphite frame and the Revo X on an Aluminum frame. Also the Revo X on paper and in person, is far more refined then the Casitas. The Revo X has a Wider handle, 18 lb Multi Carbon Drag System, Click Star Drag, Click Spool Thumb Dial, External Lube Port and its available in 5.4 , 6.6 and 7.3 gear ratios. Also, I love Shimano and Abu products , and own both; but in this reel comparison, its night and day

I wanted to revisit my original comment regarding the Casitas vs Revo X debate. After spending more then 100 hours fishing with both Reels over the past two months, I can genuinely say the Shimano Casitas is a much better Reel then I initially thought, even though it lacks a few of the added features of the Revo; the Casitas actually casts and retrieves smoother and it's probably one of the more comfortable reels in hand. But I think the power and cranking ability of the Revo X is top notch. Therefore I can say without doubt, they are very different reels and not created to do the same things equally. The Casitas shines with lighter Texas Rigged Worms and is an excellent Sammy, Popper and JerkBait reel. But the Revo excels with SpinnerBaits, CrankBaits, Jigs and ChatterBaits. I like both of these reels and have a place in my arsenal for each, so for anyone making this reel comparison, consider first what techniques you fish most and base the decision on that criteria, not the bearing count or frame material. I hope this assessment is more spot on, than the first.