KVD Smoke Reels

[jslaughter]

What is everyones opinion on the KVD reels? Obviously he is no longer with Quantum so his signature line stuff is going for cheap on ebay. I found a KVD smoke s3 from a Quantum dealer going for like $80-90. 

But if they are pieces of crap then I dont want one. Anyone use one?

 

I have both Daiwa and Shimano reels currently but need another that is decent without breaking the bank. 

[DomQ]

Buy it!!!! And buy one for me to. They are great reels man that is a great deal!!!!

[Djohn]

Outstanding reel. I own 5 of them.

[PhishLI]

On 5/19/2020 at 2:03 PM, jslaughter said:

But if they are pieces of crap then I dont want one. Anyone use one?

 

I have both Daiwa and Shimano reels currently but need another that is decent without breaking the bank. 

It's way beyond decent. One of my faves for sure. I have another one on the way right now.

[Glaucus]

NDYakAngler uses Quantum Smoke reels and I've never seen him have a problem or complain. He uses Legend Tournament rods, too, so he's not using mediocre equipment.

[Tywithay]

18 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

At that price they probably OK.  I can only speak from handle a display reel at BPS but I was not impressed.  It was very gritty feeling when reeling.  That is the price you way for aluminum gears and weight savings I suppose.  It reminded me of my SS SV103 but worse.  If you are stickler for smoothness I would pass on the reels.  If you're all about that weight savings then go for it.

7.9oz...they didn't save much...

[GReb]

29 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

At that price they probably OK.  I can only speak from handle a display reel at BPS but I was not impressed.  It was very gritty feeling when reeling.  That is the price you way for aluminum gears and weight savings I suppose.  It reminded me of my SS SV103 but worse.  If you are stickler for smoothness I would pass on the reels.  If you're all about that weight savings then go for it.

I thought KVD model has brass gear and S3 had aluminum?

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, BaitFinesse said:

It was very gritty feeling when reeling.  That is the price you way for aluminum gears and weight savings I suppose.  It reminded me of my SS SV103 but worse.  If you are stickler for smoothness I would pass on the reels.  If you're all about that weight savings then go for it.

Speaking as someone who actually owns and uses one it's smooth as can be after pulling in about 25 4-6 lb fish. Nearly as smooth a my 6 speed K. It's far from gritty feeling. Maybe it will be eventually. We'll see. I've had a few reels that started changing for the worse way sooner because I'd winched fish in. Not so with this one, yet, and I've done some winching with it.

[Vilas15]

17 hours ago, Glaucus said:

NDYakAngler uses Quantum Smoke reels and I've never seen him have a problem or complain. He uses Legend Tournament rods, too, so he's not using mediocre equipment.

And he puts them to the test against plenty of big river smallies. A different breed than even big smallies in a lake.

[PhishLI]

On 5/24/2020 at 4:19 PM, BaitFinesse said:

Give it time.  It may take years but all aluminum gear reels get geary feeling eventually.  No exceptions.

Sure, OK, fine, but I'm not buying heirloom objects for $89 plus free shipping and I doubt that anyone else is. A couple of pinion and gear sets purchased and set aside for that fateful day might be in order. I'll keep my eye out for a brass gear swap as some of the people that've spent a bleeding fortune on super high end Shimanos and Daiwas have had to do. In the meantime I'm enjoying chucking lures and catching fish with mine. Besides the inevitable ever looming gear meshing issues that'll arrive someday, this reel is a great performer when directly compared to current reels at it's price point. It's probably in a class by itself here with regard to distance bombing average weight baits, and that really matters to me when I'm wading lakes.

[Tywithay]

3 hours ago, GReb said:

I thought KVD model has brass gear and S3 had aluminum?

The KVD S3 does have brass. That's why it's an ounce heavier than the S3

[GReb]

5 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

Well at 7.9 oz then yes they must.  That's an improvement IMO.  Not sure why they would call that a "smoke" but hey it has brass gears.  Guys that fish the old smoke reels alot would swap out to Icon brass gears once the aluminum ones got geary.  

I bought an Icon not long ago for like $40 and love it for that price. It’s also on the heavy side but it fishes great

[Tywithay]

10 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

Well at 7.9 oz then yes they must.  That's an improvement IMO.  Not sure why they would call that a "smoke" but hey it has brass gears.  Guys that fish the old smoke reels alot would swap out to Icon brass gears once the aluminum ones got geary.  

Some smoke is denser than others, I suppose.

[PhishLI]

5 minutes ago, GReb said:

I bought an Icon not long ago for like $40 and love it for that price. It’s also on the heavy side but it fishes great

Me too. Same weight as a K. Spool's a bit heavy, otherwise it's a really solid reel. I have the 7 spd. My brother uses his 6 spd on a swimbait rod cranking 2-3oz  wakes. Nice and smooth so far.

[PhishLI]

On 5/24/2020 at 5:52 PM, Tywithay said:

The KVD S3 does have brass. That's why it's an ounce heavier than the S3

The KVD Smoke S3 has an aluminum main gear. The main reasons for the difference in weight compared to the Tour S3 are due to an aluminum handle vs carbon fiber, a brass crankshaft vs aluminum, a steel spool shaft vs aluminum, and steel drag washers vs aluminum. Otherwise the basic construction is the same. Both have bearings exactly where you'd like to see them in a gear train.