Okuma Helios Air

[FishTank]

I have a chance to pick a new Okuma Helios Air for $100 and wanted to hear your guys' opinions on this reel.  I read a couple of reviews and they all suggested re-lubing the reel before you use it.  Anybody have any real world experience with it or an opinion?

[Glenn]

I have two, and really like them. Never had to do anything with them, except take them out of the box and fish 'em!  Here's a review I did:

 

 

[roadwarrior]

No issues at all.

 

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/okuma-helios-reel-rod.html

 

 

[new2BC4bass]

Buy it or else let me get it at that price!  I also have 2 Airs.  First cast with one and I was, "Wow!  This thing can cast."  Did not expect that kind of distance out of a new reel on the first cast.  A brand I had never used before.  They cost $250 new.  TT gave them a Best Value Award.

[FishTank]

8 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

Buy it or else let me get it at that price!  I also have 2 Airs.  First cast with one and I was, "Wow!  This thing can cast."  Did not expect that kind of distance out of a new reel on the first cast.  A brand I had never used before.  They cost $250 new.  TT gave them a Best Value Award.

 

Sounds like I will be picking one up by the end of the week.  

 

Just curious, is there a reel you would compare it to?  I have fished a lot Shimano and Daiwa reels over the years and thought it would be cool to get a comparison idea of feel and such.  

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

 

Sounds like I will be picking one up by the end of the week.  

 

Just curious, is there a reel you would compare it to?  I have fished a lot Shimano and Daiwa reels over the years and thought it would be cool to get a comparison idea of feel and such.  

I had regular Helios and it was close to Core 50mg7 and 50E great casting little reel. 

[FishTank]

Finally picked it up today.  I have to say, not bad for $100.  I will take it out tonight and see how it feels.  My first initial impression is that it reminds of the original Steeze I had but just not quite as smooth. which is not to say it's not smooth, just not as smooth.  It definitely has a machined type feel to it though.  It did come kind of bone dry.  I put one drop of oil on the usual spots and it felt awesome. 

[new2BC4bass]

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

Finally picked it up today.  I have to say, not bad for $100.  I will take it out tonight and see how it feels.  My first initial impression is that it reminds of the original Steeze I had but just not quite as smooth. which is not to say it's not smooth, just not as smooth.  It definitely has a machined type feel to it though.  It did come kind of bone dry.  I put one drop of oil on the usual spots and it felt awesome. 

Looking forward to your review tomorrow. 

[FishTank]

3 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

Looking forward to your review tomorrow. 

 

So I took it out to a local pond to test out and over all I liked but I am not blown away it.   I may have over spooled it with 12lb Invizx by about 20 yards but here goes...

 

Here are my pros and cons with this reel.

 

      Pros                                                                    Cons

 

Casts Great                                        Removing Side Plate to Adjust Brakes

Super Light Weight                             Inconsistent Breaking

Quick Retrieve                                    Breaks are hard to adjust

Felt Good in Hand                               So light that it needs a light rod to balance well

The Handle is Fantastic                        Needs light line (8-10lb would be best)

Small but Powerful                              Needs to be oiled.  Grinding was noticeable. Main gear needs grease.   

 

I caught 4 dinks and 1 that was about 2lbs.  The reel did great on my G. Loomis 803C GLX but it was a royal pain to adjust the breaks.  I set the breaks at 3 (settings are 0-6) and I was still getting an occasional backlash with a 5 inch senko and no wind.  It definitely is great reel for money but I think I need to use it some more to better evaluate it. Also, a lighter rod (a medium and not a medium heavy) would be better.  I can't say for sure just yet but the Medium Heavy rod I used seemed to cause the reel to start up to fast. 

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Check your break pins for grease blocking their movement. On mine they heavily greased those pins and they would stick not go in/out freely.

[new2BC4bass]

I will agree the brake dial is somewhat hard to turn, but you only need to change it as you get use to the reel.  I hate side plates like the Helios has.  I have several other reels (different brands) that open the same way.  Ugh!

 

Guess I was lucky with my reel.  Been using it straight out of the box.  No problems.  I haven't noticed an inconsistency in braking, but that could be me as I don't notice little things much.   I do like to pair a light reel with a light rod.  Light is nice, but it has never bothered me to use a light reel on a heavier rod.

 

I don't understand the needing light line and Medium power rods.  I spooled mine with 12# AN40.  Three of the rods I know I've used it on so far are all MH...7'2" MH-EF older Endurance, 7' MHF Jupiter and a 7' MHF Rainshadow.  Don't think I have backlashed it yet, but have had a few overruns.....all my fault as far as I can tell.  Oh yeah.  I've also used it on a Helios 7' Medium.  Light!

 

I do have my brake set higher than you do.  Maybe that is one reason I've not had a problem with backlashes.  I still get excellent distance.  As good or better than my other reels.  Might have to worry about tossing lures into the bushes on the other side of the river if I lowered the brake too much. 

[FishTank]

20 hours ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

Check your break pins for grease blocking their movement. On mine they heavily greased those pins and they would stick not go in/out freely.

Thanks for the suggestion.  

 

I did check them out and there was no grease at all but there was a good supply of oil.  In any case, I cleaned it and re-oiled.  

 

I also decided to take the reel apart and do a partial break down and clean.  I found that the tiny bit of grease that was on the main gear contained some type of grit or polymer (sort of like quantum hot sauce).  I thought at first it was metal shavings.  I removed it anyway and added reel butter grease.  It seems much smoother but I need to get it on the water to tell for sure.  

[FishTank]

Ok so the trick with my new reel was a good cleaning and re-lubing.  It seems much smoother and cast like a dream.  The breaks are also working better.  I did notice that in the box was an inspection tag from 2015.  I think that with most  reels this would not be an issue but whatever they used to lube this one may not last very long.

[new2BC4bass]

Glad you got it sorted out.  Like I said, I was impressed with the distance I got from the first cast.

[FishTank]

I hate to say it but it was short lived love affair with this reel......

 

The clicking I got when I first received the reel came back and would not go away on the retrieve.  I sent it to Okuma to be serviced/repaired (good bunch of guys by the way). When it came back, it was great for about 10 casts and then it started all over again.  I ended up returning it and exchanging it for another one.  This one did the same thing but got worse after a days use.  I sent it back to the website I got it from and took a credit.  

 

I really wanted to like this reel.  It was light but strong and very cool looking.  

 

I think if this reel was in someone else's hand, they may have not even noticed the click. But once you notice it and don't notice it on other reels, it just gets annoying. 

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

9 hours ago, FishTank said:

I hate to say it but it was short lived love affair with this reel......

 

The clicking I got when I first received the reel came back and would not go away on the retrieve.  I sent it to Okuma to be serviced/repaired (good bunch of guys by the way). When it came back, it was great for about 10 casts and then it started all over again.  I ended up returning it and exchanging it for another one.  This one did the same thing but got worse after a days use.  I sent it back to the website I got it from and took a credit.  

 

I really wanted to like this reel.  It was light but strong and very cool looking.  

 

I think if this reel was in someone else's hand, they may have not even noticed the click. But once you notice it and don't notice it on other reels, it just gets annoying. 

 

same issue I had with mine random clicking noise on the retrieve

 

 

 

"Well unfortunately my Helios developed some issues with noise on the cast and a ticking noise on the retrieve. The ticking noise I believe was in the thumb bar action but didnt bother going into it I just returned it for another brand of reel."