Lews HyperMag

[David Dionne]

Just got a new Lews HyperMag (TLH1XHL) and it appears that the sideplate doesn’t fit nearly as well as I would expect.  It’s difficult to get off and on and once back on there’s a visible gap, probably 2mm, from the main body.

 

I kept hearing a subtle noise on retrieve that sounded plastic-ee and “loose”. That’s when I noticed the gap.  When I press on the sideplate, I can make it flush with the body.

 

My Ti model doesn’t have this issue.  The new reel is also noticeably louder on cast than the Ti.  I woulda got another Ti but I wanted the faster retrieve.

 

If anyone else has a HyperMag, could you look and see if ur sideplate is flush?

[FishTank]

I do not own one of these but worked on a new one for friend that likes to have his reels cleaned and lubed before he fishes them.  He was out of commission for a few months and said I could fish it until he recovered.  

 

Personally I did not care for this reel and it had issues a plenty.  It felt rough as soon as I put line on it.  I thought if I cleaned and lubed the usual stuff it would recover but it only got worse.   Casting was never consistent.  One cast would be perfect and the next would have no breaks at all or way too much.  

 

I eventually gave him the reel back with my apologies but he was aware of my thoughts on this reel from day one.  He did reach out to Lew's and they sent him another after they worked on the first one.  The second one from what he tells me has developed the same issues. This was back in April and I have not heard from him since.

 

I would contact Lew's and see if they can help.  From what I have heard, their service is excellent.   

[CFDoc]

Call Lews. They are excellent to deal with.

 

I have 4 hyper mags. Zero of the issues you and FishTank mentioned.

 

All if my side plates are flush and easily removed. Also, they are some of the smoothest, consistent, and longest casting reels I own.

[mrpao]

Same here. No issues with mine.

Smooth casting and retrieves with no noise 

[CFDoc]

I looked at all 4 of my hyper mags. I've included a picture of the "worst" one I have as far as a gap is concerned on the sideplate.

 

This particular reel is one I was able to get my hands on back in the summer of 2017; so it now has 3 years of usage under its belt.

 

Also, this reel has been taken all the way down to its individual parts and cleaned twice. There is no gap on this reel that I would say is anywhere near 2 mm.

 

[Shimano_1]

I love most of lews lineup. Have several tournament pro lfs, and a cple custom pro reels. Recently tried the new custom lite and was very disappointed. It functions but its loud and sloppy feeling.  Sent the reel back for a refund. Lews customer service is excellent so I'm sure they'll make it right but I personally have decided I'm not buying anymore without aluminum frames. Id either get my money back on it if you can or get in touch with lews. I did have one tournament pro g that had a funky side plate and lews sent me a new one no questions asked. Good luck

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, Shimano_1 said:

Recently tried the new custom lite and was very disappointed. It functions but its loud and sloppy feeling.  

That's too bad. I was leaning towards trying one. I'm really digging the 2020 Tournament Pro LFS for light plastics and finesse jigs now that I've got a grip on it's feel. Maybe they'll straighten the Custom Lite out eventually. I imagine the 30mm spool is super light also. Besides the problems you noted, did you get as far as fishing it at all? If so, any thoughts on it's casting capabilities with lighter stuff?

[dodgeguy]

6 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

That's too bad. I was leaning towards trying one. I'm really digging the 2020 Tournament Pro LFS for light plastics and finesse jigs now that I've got a grip on it's feel. Maybe they'll straighten the Custom Lite out eventually. I imagine the 30mm spool is super light also. Besides the problems you noted, did you get as far as fishing it at all? If so, any thoughts on it's casting capabilities with lighter stuff?

Glad to hear you are liking that reel. I wouldn't buy any non aluminum frame reel.

[PhishLI]

9 minutes ago, dodgeguy said:

I wouldn't buy any non aluminum frame reel.

It doesn't matter what the material is if the reel's a turd. I'm not interested in cheap plastic reels either, but Tanso doesn't appear to be cheap plastic.

 

https://www.toyotanso.com/Products/Special_graphite/

 

[dodgeguy]

33 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

It doesn't matter what the material is if the reel's a turd. I'm not interested in cheap plastic reels either, but Tanso doesn't appear to be cheap plastic.

 

https://www.toyotanso.com/Products/Special_graphite/

 

I want to hold it first.also wait and let others try it and review it.

[NYWayfarer]

16 hours ago, David Dionne said:

 

My Ti model doesn’t have this issue.  The new reel is also noticeably louder on cast than the Ti.  I woulda got another Ti but I wanted the faster retrieve.

 

If anyone else has a HyperMag, could you look and see if ur sideplate is flush?

Call Lew’s and see if you can exchange it for another TI I love mine and it’s fast enough for anything I do with it.

 

I had to burn this Smallmouth in today. She was between a fallen tree and some submerged boulders. The Pro TI was up to the task.

 

http://

[CFDoc]

6 hours ago, Shimano_1 said:

Recently tried the new custom lite and was very disappointed. It functions but its loud and sloppy feeling.  

 

Are you talking about this one?

 

 

Mine is louder than my other Lews; however, I don't find it sloppy at all. At first, I didn't think I was going to like this reel. But then I tried casting braid with it and now I love it! It is a perfect frog reel for me.

 

My main lake is the Rez near Jackson, MS. It's a well knows frog lake where a frog bite can last from daylight til dark. This reel, being so light, is very nice for a long day of casting frogs. 

 

My distance tests had this reel casting a SPRO frog a good bit further than my Metaniums and Revos. A bit further than my Pfluegers. About the same as my Hyper Mags.

 

I was also impressed with the power in this reel for it being so light.

 

I was able to pull this 6+ pounder out of extremely thick grass after a long cast and she hit as soon as the frog landed. I had to pin her in the grass and then troll to her to get her out. The reel did great holding her still.

 

  

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, CFDoc said:

Mine is louder than my other Lews; however, I don't find it sloppy at all. At first, I didn't think I was going to like this reel. But then I tried casting braid with it and now I love it!

Great news! One vote for "not Junk". I'm tilting back.

 

2 hours ago, CFDoc said:

My distance tests had this reel casting a SPRO frog a good bit further than my Metaniums and Revos. A bit further than my Pfluegers.

Even better news. I can chuck a frog with my Supreme XT insane distances. If the CL beats that, well, that's great too.

 

3 hours ago, CFDoc said:

I was able to pull this 6+ pounder out of extremely thick grass after a long cast and she hit as soon as the frog landed. I had to pin her in the grass and then troll to her to get her out. The reel did great holding her still.

 

  

Nice fish, and thanks for clipping your toenails!

[Shimano_1]

4 hours ago, CFDoc said:

 

Are you talking about this one?

 

 

Mine is louder than my other Lews; however, I don't find it sloppy at all. At first, I didn't think I was going to like this reel. But then I tried casting braid with it and now I love it! It is a perfect frog reel for me.

 

My main lake is the Rez near Jackson, MS. It's a well knows frog lake where a frog bite can last from daylight til dark. This reel, being so light, is very nice for a long day of casting frogs. 

 

My distance tests had this reel casting a SPRO frog a good bit further than my Metaniums and Revos. A bit further than my Pfluegers. About the same as my Hyper Mags.

 

I was also impressed with the power in this reel for it being so light.

 

I was able to pull this 6+ pounder out of extremely thick grass after a long cast and she hit as soon as the frog landed. I had to pin her in the grass and then troll to her to get her out. The reel did great holding her still.

 

  

Yes that reel. I bought it to specifically throw a weightless senko and it wasn't up to the task. My tournament pros and speed spools cast them quite a bit further than the custom lite. We fooled with it for 2 trips trying to see if it was just hard to dial in and it just couldn't do what I needed it to do. Love lews but wouldn't give you 100 bucks for another one let alone 279. No more reels without aluminum frames for me. Maybe I got a bad one but it just didn't perform in any aspect as good as the other lews I have. 

[David Dionne]

The pics don’t do it justice.  Again, the reason I noticed it was because of a noise on retrieve.

 

Thanks for the guidance, I’ll call Lews tomorrow.

[NYWayfarer]

11 hours ago, Shimano_1 said:

Love lews but wouldn't give you 100 bucks for another one let alone 279. No more reels without aluminum frames for me. Maybe I got a bad one but it just didn't perform in any aspect as good as the other lews I have. 

Same here. I have a few graphite Lew's reels. The Mach 1, Mach 2 and the Mach Crush. They are all good reels but I feel the difference in quality when they go up against my LFS, Tournament MB and Pro TI those three and the Mach 2 from the graphite bunch are always in my rotation.

[CFDoc]

16 hours ago, David Dionne said:

The pics don’t do it justice.  Again, the reason I noticed it was because of a noise on retrieve.

 

Thanks for the guidance, I’ll call Lews tomorrow.

 

 

The pic is hard to distinguish too much detail.

 

However, from what I can see, the gap is much larger than what I see on all 4 of my hyper mags. Whether or not it's causing your issues is another question.

 

Check out the picture of the top of my SLP Lite. Notice how there's no real discernible gap on the top of that reel. That's essentially what all 4 of my hyper mags look like.

[Tywithay]

On 5/31/2020 at 10:08 AM, PhishLI said:

It doesn't matter what the material is if the reel's a turd. I'm not interested in cheap plastic reels either, but Tanso doesn't appear to be cheap plastic.

 

https://www.toyotanso.com/Products/Special_graphite/

 

I'd have to double-check, but I think we tested that material for some aircraft parts and it was extremely expensive. It also has to be machined. I think most of the graphite reel bodies are injected. 

[David Dionne]

Hey CFDoc, oh I saw and I wish mine were like yours.  I tried to call Lews but I was redirected to email...so I emailed them.  Covid probably.

 

I fished it again today which makes it the 2nd time I’ve used it.  And casting is also quite inconsistent.  Sometimes it feathers big time and goes far, others it short casts.

 

I think if I stop reeling at the point I hear the noise, the brakes lose contact, idk.  This would imply something might be bent, there is a vibration on cast.

 

Ugh

[FishTank]

20 hours ago, David Dionne said:

The pics don’t do it justice.  Again, the reason I noticed it was because of a noise on retrieve.

 

Thanks for the guidance, I’ll call Lews tomorrow.

 

Have you tried taking the spool out and replacing the cover without the spool in the reel? > Just to see if the gap is still there.