ARK Reels

[PhishLI]

The G7 looks tasty. Free floating 10 gram spool. Innovative mag braking system. No foolin' around gear train. Hopefully @T-Billy doesn't faint when he sees this.?

https://arkrods.com/collections/gravity-series-casting-reel

[AmmoGuy]

14 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

The G7 looks tasty. Free floating 10 gram spool. Innovative mag braking system. No foolin' around gear train. Hopefully @T-Billy doesn't faint when he sees this.?

https://arkrods.com/collections/gravity-series-casting-reel

 

The asymmetrical frame is displeasing to my eye. 

But I'm intrigued by the mechanical design. 

[PhishLI]

6 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

The asymmetrical frame is displeasing to my eye. 

Good thing for me that I fish in the dark. 

[FrnkNsteen]

2 hours ago, AmmoGuy said:

 

The asymmetrical frame is displeasing to my eye. 

But I'm intrigued by the mechanical design. 

Kind of looks like it got too hot on the boat deck and started to melt! ?

[Deleted account]

2 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Good thing for me that I fish in the dark. 

Honey hole, glory hole....

[PhishLI]

9 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

Honey hole, glory hole....

Oh I have a good follow up, but then I'd get banned.

[T-Billy]

Looks interesting, but I'm a fan of simple easy to maintain gear. May give a G3 a try.

[bulldog1935]

I paid $257 shipped for a JDM Zillion Silver Wolf - a known quantity in comparison. 

Exchange rate hit 139 JPY to the $ that day, all of Japan is On Sale - 30% off. 

I-Cast is where tackle gets introduced every year, but they're going to have to make a helluva smoke screen to hide the current exchange rate for JDM shopping. 

 

 

 

@AmmoGuy fixed - Japan is good shopping anytime it's over 100 JPY to the $

[zpelletier]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

I paid $257 shipped for a JDM Zillion Silver Wolf - a known quantity in comparison. 

Exchange rate hit 148 JPY to the $ that day, all of Japan is On Sale - 30% off. 

I-Cast is where tackle gets introduced every year, but they going to have to make a helluva smoke screen to hide the current exchange rate for JDM shopping. 

With the exchange rates, the Gravity 7 is around the same price as a Metanium or a Zillion, proven reels from proven companies. I appreciate the fact that it’s not just the same doyo reel with their brand name on it, but I feel like that’s a hard sell. 
 

It looks good until you see it’s asymmetrical. 

[Tatulatard]

It is still very likely an oem reel with their name on it but they either had that oem make them a frame based on their request or this is an unused frame from an existing product line from that oem and this is the 1st time we are seeing it.  I know kasrking has an ftb like nonlinear mag brake reel so whatever oem they use now is capable of offering that type of brake to the market.  We don't know what "gravity control" mag brake is but I bet it is something like that.

[TNBankFishing]

1 hour ago, zpelletier said:

With the exchange rates, the Gravity 7 is around the same price as a Metanium or a Zillion, proven reels from proven companies. I appreciate the fact that it’s not just the same doyo reel with their brand name on it, but I feel like that’s a hard sell. 
 

It looks good until you see it’s asymmetrical. 

I’ll buy one simply to support OEM manufacturers who try to push the market forward. 

[AmmoGuy]

3 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

I paid $257 shipped for a JDM Zillion Silver Wolf - a known quantity in comparison. 

Exchange rate hit 148 JPY to the $ that day, all of Japan is On Sale - 30% off. 

I-Cast is where tackle gets introduced every year, but they going to have to make a helluva smoke screen to hide the current exchange rate for JDM shopping. 

 

When did it hit 148? 

[zpelletier]

35 minutes ago, TNBankFishing said:

I’ll buy one simply to support OEM manufacturers who try to push the market forward. 

Are they manufacturing it themselves? If not, who is making it?

[PhishLI]

2 minutes ago, zpelletier said:

Are they manufacturing it themselves? If not, who is making it?

I doubt they'll ever say. Does it really matter if it ends up being solid? I have glitch-free Banax and Doyo built reels that are excellent performers. I'm not concerned about whichever builder built it, and there are more than just those two. If it ends up being just fancy looking junk, we'll all find out eventually. The microscopes will be on it. In the meantime, the G7 doesn't look like a half-measures build, but we'll see.

[TNBankFishing]

10 minutes ago, zpelletier said:

Are they manufacturing it themselves? If not, who is making it?

None of the tech comes from Doyo or Banax that I can see. Who’s building them I can’t find on their page. The frame design doesn’t look familiar, but I’m not 100% up on the Korean brands full lineups. 
 

I just want real innovation, even if there are growing pains. I don’t expect Ark to sell enough of these to really scare the big two. I’d be really interested if they can scratch out enough of a market to keep pushing out new ideas and products. It only takes 1 smash hit to open the door for a new brand. 

2 hours ago, zpelletier said:

With the exchange rates, the Gravity 7 is around the same price as a Metanium or a Zillion, proven reels from proven companies. I appreciate the fact that it’s not just the same doyo reel with their brand name on it, but I feel like that’s a hard sell. 
 

It looks good until you see it’s asymmetrical. 

I actually like the asymmetrical look. The anteres is build that way, and I wish more manufacturers would be willing to break the mold. 
 

I question if we will begin to see more ergonomic asymmetrical reels in the future. I personally would love a bantam or zillion that contoured to my hand a bit more. 

[zpelletier]

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

Does it really matter if it ends up being solid? I have glitch-free Banax and Doyo built reels that are excellent performers.

No, if it performs, then it performs. I didn’t think they would be building it themselves, that would be quite the investment and I think they would be advertising that if they did. It was the comment that made me question it. 
 

1 hour ago, TNBankFishing said:

It only takes 1 smash hit to open the door for a new brand. 

 

I just think it’s hard to have a smash hit with a higher price point, where most people will go with a D or S just because it’s a safer bet. I want innovation too, the same technology in a different size is boring (Curado DC 200). It’s nice to see reels like this the the Okuma Hakai trying, I just feel like the price point is a major consideration for most people when it comes to trying a relatively unknown (or maybe unproven is a better word) brand. 

[newapti5]

How does the brake work? I couldn't figure it out from the official website.

[zpelletier]

19 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

How does the brake work? I couldn't figure it out from the official website.

“The most advanced feature for the system is that the two magnetic bars on the side plate are not fixed. They self adjust. When the spool is accelerating in the spin, the two bars will move closer to the disk to apply more brake. When the spool slows down, the two bars will move back to the original position and reduce the brake.”

 

From ***. That’s the most info I found. 
 

If you Google “Ark Gravity Reels” it’s one of the first few results

Edited July 21, 2022 by zpelletier
Hey! I discovered a website I didn’t know I couldn’t name. 

[Tatulatard]

Basically a impulse driven nonlinear magnetic brake like sv but similar in execution to shimano's ftb.  A few oems have figured this out.  This is a kastking reel with it.  Doyo also has two versions of a similar brake.  

[PhishLI]

11 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

Basically a impulse driven nonlinear magnetic brake like sv but similar in execution to shimano's ftb.  A few oems have figured this out.  This is a kastking reel with it.  Doyo also has two versions of a similar brake.  

Cool. Let's see if one of them does something special.

[newapti5]

OK, I figure it out how it works. Thanks for the help with info, guys. Although the inductor has 3 positions to choose from, it's fixed during the cast. The magnetic pads in the sideplate move closer to the inductor as spool speeds up, just like the Shimano FTB.  IMO it's a bit like a mix of Shimano's FTB anb Daiwa's Magforce 3D. 

[bulldog1935]

but nothing could be simpler in operation or set-up than Daiwa's magforce,

which is why everyone else is playing catch up, because they can't directly copy Daiwa's patent. 

[Tatulatard]

I like how with daiwas the components are on spool making it easy to swap in an sv spool into a reel that did not have one or the opposite and put a magZ spool in a reel with an sv spool or even converting old spools to sv spools with parts. You do end up with a lighter weight spool though when the components are on the reel side though a walled garden approach.  

[Tatulatard]

These have a 4 position brake cup the the ray's studio spools for daiwa reels but also have an ftb like brake on the reel plate.  Strange but new.  I wonder if ray's made the spools for them like dream tackle did the hakai.  They look just like a ray's long cast spool for 34 mill reels down the 4 position fixed rotor.

http://www.tackletour.com/previewicast22arkfishing.html