Fly reels have come a long way from the Pflueger Medalist you used growing up. Some weigh next to nothing, while others have enough drag to stop a truck. Manufacturers have achieved these new levels of performance by using new materials and cutting edge design. But how do you tell the difference between cork and Rulon drags? Is Delrin smoother than graphite?

Throughout the years a lot has been written about fly fishing equipment. Blogs, forums, magazines, manufacturers are full of information. There have even been several head-to-head tests of fly rods. Reels, on the other hand, have been virtually ignored. Why? Fly Reels are hard to test. It requires a lot of expensive equipment, knowledge, and time. We set out to break that mold.

We wanted the test to remain objective, so the first part of the test is purely scientific, and we’ll give you all of the raw data to draw your own conclusions. But, we’re also going to tell you which reels we like best.

Help us keep writing awesome reviews.  Buy your next fly reel here.

What makes a great saltwater fly reel?

That’s the question we asked ourselves when we conceived this test. We asked around. We wanted a drag that could stop a fleeing bonefish, yet was smooth enough to protect light(ish) tippets. We also wanted a reel that was light enough to cast all day long, and one that could hold enough backing (at least 150 yards) in case that baby tarpon turns out to be bigger than a baby. Finally, we wanted a reel that could pick up line fast with minimal level winding and withstand all of the rigors of saltwater use.

Testing Procedure

All spool measurements were taken using a digital caliper and weights were captured using a digital scale.

Testing the drags was the tough part. Luckily, we teamed up with the folks at Admet, the makers of the best universal testing machines on the market. They set us up with one of their fully customized eXpert 2600 Dual Column testing machines.

Each reel was then filled with backing and attached to the base of the eXpert 2600 via a custom machined reel mount. The backing was then attached to a hook which is attached to the load cell. We then set the machine in motion and measured the force nearly 1000 times per second. Richard Gedney, founder of Admet, explains this in more detail.

We tested all reels with backing only.  We found that when fly line was on the reel, it shifted around too much to get consistent results.  Rigging Matters.

Arbor Size and Retrieval Rate

When a bonefish turns and starts swimming toward you, you need to reel as fast as you can to keep the fish on. It also means fewer turns to bring in that trophy catch. Therefore, bigger IS better, as they say.

For those of you who don’t know, the arbor refers to the mid-section of the spool. Think of the hole in the donut. Following the analogy, the larger the diameter of the hole, the larger the arbor. All of the fly reels we tested claim to be “large arbor”, but we discovered that there was quite a variation between reels.

As you might expect, the classic Tibor Everglades was the smallest at 1.58 inches, nearly 42% smaller than the Ross F1 at 2.73 inches.

But what we really care about is line pickup, and therefore, that’s what we scored as part of the test. To get this, we needed to determine the circumference at 2.2 cubic inches. That’s how much space 200 yards of Dacron backing takes up. The formula is:

Not surprisingly, the results were very similar. The Tibor Everglades was the smallest at 7.57 inches, 23% smaller than the winner:

Winner: Ross F1 Fly Reel, 9.79 inches per turn

Spool Width

For many years, the trend in fly reel manufacturing was to make the arbors larger and the spools wider.  Why?  It helps keep the weight down and gives you a fast retrieval rate.  This comes at a price, however, which is you having to act as a level wind every time you reel in your line so that the line doesn't pile up.  A few reels have started to buck this trend - namely, the Hardy Ultralite DD, and the Lamson Speedster.  These reels have large narrow spools.  That's exactly what we were looking for.  The top four reels came in within a few hundreths of an inch:

Winners: Hardy Fortuna, Tibor Everglades, Tibor Signature and the Abel Super 8

Spool Volume

Bigger reels are more flexible. They hold more line and give you more options – like being able to put a 9 or 10-weight line on an 8-weight reel. We calculated estimated volume using the following formula:

This calculation isn’t exact because some of the spool designs featured arbors that weren’t flat, but it does give us a basic idea of reel capacity. While all the reels we tested were “8-weights”, there is clearly no standard here. 200 yards of 20lb Dacron takes up about 2.2 cubic inches when wound reasonably tightly. The largest reel could easily take an extra 100 yards of backing.

Winner: Sage 8080/Hatch 7-Plus

Side note: Because this category is about flexibility, and the Hatch 7 Plus also accepts a Mid-Arbor Spool, which is even bigger than the 8080, we decided that they would share the victory.

Weight

As fly fisherman, we’ve become obsessed with weight. Rods are pushing the limits, some weighing in at less than two ounces. Reels are getting lighter too. Why are lighter reels better? As rods get lighter, you need lighter reels to balance them. Moreover, when you’re casting all day a lighter outfit is easier on your arms. The lightest reels in this test were lighter than most trout reels, while the heaviest weighed in at over 9 ounces (over half a pound!).

Winner: Lamson Vanquish 7.8LT

Price

We tested reels from $100-$800. Prices don’t necessarily correlate with performance, the Orvis Mirage took 3rd place in our test, and cost hundreds less than the most expensive reels.  We were even more surprised when the Sage 1800 reel, the least expensive in our test, tied for 4th place.

So, what are you paying for?  The more expensive reels tend to offer a greater level of customization.  Abel lets you customize virtually every single part of the reel (even the drag knob and reel seat), and even offers hand painted options from great artists like Derek DeYoung.  Tibor offers custom engraving and some of the most beautiful metallic finishes ever created.

Winner: Sage 1880

Sealed Drag

A sealed drag is a key component of any good saltwater fly reel.  It keeps salt and sand away from all of the important parts.  But, there’s more than one way to solve this problem.  Classic reels like Tibor and Abel have proven this through countless world records.  By using very few parts, and making them easy to access/service, they’ve achieved great results without “sealing” the drag.

We weren't able to fully test the quality of various drag seals (this is typically done with a “freeze test”), but we do know that some drags are more sealed than others. For the purposes of this test, we scored reels with male/female connections lower than the drags with machined connections like Hatch and Hardy.  Note how the reel on the right requires you to insert a rod into the drag system, where the Hardy (left) attaches the spool directly to top of the drag.

Sounds

Sound is an important, yet often under appreciated, part of a fly reel. Drag sounds provide a lot of feedback when fighting a fish, which is useful, but they also add to the excitement of catching a fish that makes a great run. At Trident, we prefer reels that have both an incoming (when reeling in) and outgoing (when the fish is taking the drag) sound.

We knew that reels like Tibor sounded great, but we were surprised to hear (pun intended) how well the Ross Momentum LT sounded.  It's great!

Look, Feel, & Special Features

We can talk about fly reel performance all day long, but when it comes down to buying a reel, look and feel is just as important.  That’s why top reel manufacturers offer dozens of custom colors and 100s of possible combinations.  This is purely subjective, but there's unlikely to be many people who prefer the feel of a Redington over a Tibor.  So, we gave you our opinions on the matter.

A few of the reels also had some interesting special features, like the Sage 8000's "Dial-a-Drag", which allows you to pre-set your drag level as you pull off your fly line.  Abel also built their reel with VERY few parts, making it incredibly easy to service.  We gave these reels an extra point for ingenuity.

Want to know about spare spools and changing the retrieve?  Check out our reel notes at the bottom of the page.

Warranty

When you're spending half of your paycheck on a fly reel, it's important that you know the manufacturer is going to stand behind it.  Thankfully, every reel we tested came with a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer.  Unfortunately, there's a "handling fee" associated with it.  Except for Hatch.  They stand behind their product so much that they don't even charge you a fee if it breaks.

We scored this based on the % of the original purchase price the fee was.

Drag Strength

What differentiates a freshwater fly reel from a saltwater fly reel?  Drag Strength.  When you’re trying to stop a bull redfish, 3-4lbs of drag isn’t going to cut it.  Ideally, you’ll want enough drag to match your tippet size, less a few pounds of water drag (the force of the water on the line).  For bonefish, that means at least 8lbs.  Baby tarpon or big stripers – 10-12lbs.

We measured drag strength by averaging the force after the reel hit its peak (about 2 inches). Surprisingly, only two reels in the test had drags that exceeded 10 lbs of drag.  The winner of this category, the Hardy Fortuna, had over 30lbs of drag!!!!  We had heard the claims, but didn't believe it.  Watch check out this video of the Fortuna breaking 20lb Dacron:

Winner: (by a HUGE margin) Hardy Fortuna X

Start-up Inertia

If you troll the fly fishing forums, there's a lot of talk about start-up inertia - and with good reason.  But let's back up.  What is start-up inertia?  All drags work in essentially the same way - two plates create friction which slows the spinning of the spool.  There are two types of friction: static - when the drag isn't moving - and kinetic - when a fish is pulling on the drag. Start-up inertia is the initial force required to get the drag started. So, it's actually a bit of a misnomer.  It should actually be called "static friction".  So... who cares?

Because static friction is greater than kinetic friction, it causes a drop in drag force immediately after the fish starts pulling on your line.  Here's what it looks like on a drag graph:

You'll notice that this reel requires over 2 lbs of start-up force.  If we're using 8 lb test tippet, we now need to set our drag to a maximum of 5-6 lbs so that it doesn't break the tippet.  Effectively, we're losing 25% of our drag strength.  Because all forces are exacerbated at higher speeds, imagine how much drag is lost with a bonefish traveling at 15-20 miles per hour.

Needless to say, we were very surprised to find out that start-up inertia was actually fairly low for most reels, but a few reels really stood out.  The Hatch Finatic and the Ross F1 both had virtually zero start-up inertia.

Winner: Hatch Finatic/Ross F1

A Note on Drag Smoothness

When we saw how good Admet's machines were, we were planning on including a category for "drag smoothness".  When we tested it, however, we found that most of the drags were actually very smooth, and would have no impact on any real fishing application.  In fact, the testing machines were so accurate, that we found that the position of the line on the reel made more of a difference than the drag itself.  So, we didn't score it, but if we had, the Ross F1, would have been the winner.

The Winner

We weren't all that surprised when we tabulated the results and the Hatch Finatic 7-Plus turned out to be the winner.  Everyone that's ever picked up a Hatch fly reel knows that they are an incredible piece of equipment.  It's beautifully machined, and has a silky smooth, very well sealed drag.  They also have the best warranty in the business.  If we had to find something wrong with this reel, it would be that it doesn't have as much drag  as we'd really like to see.

Counterpoint #1: Which reel will I be taking tarpon fishing?  Easy. The Hardy Fortuna X. When drag performance is what matters most, Hardy is the unconditional winner.

Counterpoint #2: If you're only going to be using your reel in freshwater (or for relatively small fish), the Ross F1 offers the smoothest drag and the most protection for light tippets.

The Results

The raw data

Reel Notes and Drag Strength Graphs

1. Hatch Finatic 7-Plus
2. Hardy Fortuna X1
3. Orvis Mirage IV
4. Sage 1880
4. Cheeky Mojo 425
4. Tibor Everglades
4. Lamson Guru 3.5
5. Sage 4280
5. Sage 8080
6. Abel Super 8
6. Sage 6080
7. Tibor Signature 7-8
7. Ross F1 #4
7. Ross Momentum LT 4
8. Lamson Vanquish 7.8LT
9. Redington Delta 7/8
10. Redington Rise 7/8

We'd love to hear your feedback on this test. Please leave a comment below.

If you've gotten this far, I commend you - it's a novel.  Don't forget to check out the other posts in our great fly fishing blog.

For each test, the initial rise is caused by the stretching of the line before the drag engages. Once it engages, the drag strength is easily visible on the Y-axis. Drag smoothness is also easy to see. Ideally, you'd want every drag to be a horizontal line, which corresponds to perfectly uniform drag force across the test.  In reality, we see some waviness.

Start-up Inertia

Start-up inertia is easily visible in the graphs. It shows up as an initial spike, followed by a drop. Keep in mind that these tests were performed at 40 inches per minute. At higher speeds, this effect is greatly exacerbated.

Why Rigging Matters

When backing isn't wound with enough pressure, it's very easy for the line to "bite" into itself.  This significantly decreases drag smoothness and performance. In fact, it has a larger effect than the quality of the reel itself.

Drag Clicks

Admet's testing machines were so accurate, that we could even see the effect of drag clicks. There's a slight change in drag strength as the clicking mechanism interacts with the spool

Still not sure what you're looking at? Ask us a question by leaving a comment below!

Redington Reels are well known for their high quality and bargain price. The Redington Rise fly reels are their newest creation. We were curious to see if performance and value would "Rise" to the occasion.

8-Wt Challenge Full Results

WEIGHT

6.45 ounces. Light!

DRAG

At 2.98 lbs, the Redington Rise had the least amount of drag in our test. It's also unsealed.

DRAG TEST GRAPH

SOUND

It sounds fine, but more like a freshwater reel than a saltwater reel.

SPOOL & RETRIEVAL RATE

A little small, and a little slow. The Rise was a little smaller than average in terms of capacity, and the arbor was smaller than average, which resulted in a slower-than-average retrieval rate. The spool was easily switched.

LOOK & FEEL

Testers liked the new colors of the Rise... it looks great! Unfortunately, it doesn't have the same gravitas as the other reels in the test.

WARRANTY

Lifetime to the original owner + $30 fee.

Price: $189

CONCLUSION

Bottom line: Of all the reels in this test, no reel screamed "For Freshwater Use Only" more than the Redington Rise.  It's a great reel and would compete well in a freshwater test and probably in the grand scheme of reels as well. We recommend the Rise for any and all freshwater use.

Help us review more gear! Buy it here.

PROS

• Stand-out colors
• Great price

CONS

• Drag didn't measure up

Ross Reels have made a wave in the trout fishing world. The Ross Momentum LT fly reel is Ross's latest foray into the saltwater world.  It's got great looks and awesome sound.  Let's see if it's the next wave on the flats...

8-Wt Challenge Full Results

WEIGHT

7.85 ounces. A little heavy, but still in the right ballpark.

DRAG

The Ross Momentum LT is advertised as Ross's "heavy hitter" in the drag department. While we knew it wasn't sealed, we did have high expectations for the Momentum in terms of drag strength. When the results came in at 7.26 lbs - about average - it left us wanting a little more. Curiously, the drag is a bit difficult to set and often requires more than a few twists.

DRAG TEST GRAPH

SOUND

It's got a nice rolling click on the retrieve and a drag sound on the way out. It's great. One of our favorites.

SPOOL & RETRIEVAL RATE

The Momentum is a true 8-weight in terms of size - I definitely wouldn't try to put extra backing on it. In a curious design choice, the Momentum has a smaller arbor than we would have expected, consequently, the retrieve was also slow. The spool is easy to replace.

LOOK & FEEL

The Momentum looks and feels great. It's top notch and comes complete with a comfortable saltwater handle.

WARRANTY

Lifetime to the original owner + $20 fee.

Price: $470

CONCLUSION

While the drag wasn't as strong as we would have liked the Ross Momentum LT is, nevertheless, a solid contender, though the test didn't show it. Its overall score was hurt by a lack of sealed drag and slower retrieve.

It's got a solid drag, a small price tag and great looks. We recommend it.

Help us review more gear! Buy it here.

PROS

• Solid Drag
• Good Looks
• Amazing sounds

CONS

• Slow retrieve
• Unsealed drag

There's a lot to like about Ross Reels.  They're made in the USA, have made quite a name for themselves in the trout fishing world, and stand behind their products.  The Ross F1 fly reel is their flagship model and we were excited to get the inside story.

8-Wt Challenge Full Results

WEIGHT

7.7 ounces. Not bad.

DRAG

The Ross F1 is advertised as having (near) zero start-up inertia.  It lives up to that promise  and then some.  It's got one of the smoothest drags we saw in the test, as well as a "constant pressure" drag adjustment knob, which is a fantastic feature and all of the testers commented on its ease of use.  Unfortunately, the Ross F1 only has 3.4 lbs of drag, which had it taking a big hit in this test.

DRAG TEST GRAPH

SOUND

I didn't care for the sound of the F1... it's just a little too loud and metallic.  If you're looking for a click-pawl type sound, you might be more impressed. Definitely not a saltwater sound.  Check out the Momentum LT!

SPOOL & RETRIEVAL RATE

While the spool was a little on the small/wide side, the retrieval rate on this reel was amazing! The spool was one of the easiest to change in the test.

LOOK & FEEL

Like the villain "Two-face" the F1 seemed to have two very different personalities.  On the one hand, you have a great feeling reel, with carbon fiber accents that look great, and on the other... well we weren't a fan.  The drag-adjustment side seemed a little too machined for no reason.  A simpler ported design (again, see the Momentum LT) would have gone a long way here.

WARRANTY

Lifetime to the original owner + $20 fee.

Price: $575

CONCLUSION

No reel in the Challenge had a more love-hate relationship with the testers than the Ross F1.  On the one hand, it's got a top notch spool design, amazingly smooth drag, and a great price.  On the other hand, the look and feel could be further refined. Ross, we'll be on the lookout for a Momentum/F1 hybrid to win this test in a few years.

If you were to take one reel with you when you chuck streamers with Kelly Galloup on the Madison, this would be the reel you would want. For freshwater, its performance is second to none.

Help us review more gear! Buy it here.

PROS

• Amazingly smooth drag
• Retrieval speeds that would make The Flash envious
• Sealed Drag

CONS

• Not nearly enough drag power for this test
• Looks, feel, and sounds... well try them for yourself

"It looks like a spaceship!" That was what one of our customers said when he first laid eyes on the Lamson Vanquish fly reel. He wasn't wrong. It's futuristic and fun.  As the flagship model of the Waterworks-Lamson line - and one of our favorite trout reels - we were excited to see how its drag would perform.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to test the Vanquish 8, which has a much more significant drag than the designed-for-freshwater 7.8LT, so we're going to leave this one undecided for this year.  We've posted the drag graph below for your benefit, but won't be doing an in-depth review... yet.

8-Wt Challenge Full Results

DRAG TEST GRAPH

The Tibor Signature is the latest creation from master reel designer Ted “Tibor” Juracsik. It's a landmark reel, not only because it's new, but also because it's Tibor's first sealed drag, but it's also the world's first cork sealed drag. Ted has one more trick up his sleeve - it's also the only sealed drag that can be taken apart at home for easy service. Here's how it stacks up.

8-Weight Challenge Full Results

WEIGHT

9.3 ounces. Heavy. Only the Sage 8080 was heavier.  We were surprised to see it come in so heavy after that much porting.

DRAG

7.2 lbs on average.  Overall strength was adequate.  Unfortunately, the Tibor Signature exhibited a significant amount of start-up inertia.

DRAG TEST GRAPH

SOUND

Perfect. It's a Tibor after all.

SPOOL & RETRIEVAL RATE

The Tibor Signature has the smallest spool in our test.  Best case scenario, you'll be able to fit 150 yards of backing on with an 8-weight.  The retrieval rate was below average as well.  On the plus side - it's very easy to change spools - a great innovation from Tibor.

LOOK & FEEL

When you pick up a Tibor, you know you are picking up a reel responsible for more world records than any other reel.  The Signature is no exception.  It looks and feels great.  Add to that a great handle, 6 finish options and limitless custom engraving, and you've got one solid reel.

WARRANTY

Lifetime to the original owner + $25 fee.

Price: $775 - the most expensive reel in our test

CONCLUSION

Going into the test, we all thought the Tibor Signature was going to be one of the heavy hitters.  It's backed by a storied brand and it looks great, so we were disappointed to find out that the drag wasn't as refined as some of the other reels in the test.  In fact, if you don't need an interchangeable spool, we recommend the Everglades as it has a much smoother drag system.

Help us review more gear! Buy it here.

PROS

• Outstanding build quality
• Great Tibor look and feel
• Sealed Drag

CONS

• Drag had a lot of start-up inertia
• Heavy
• Expensive

Redington Reels are synonymous with value. The Redington Delta is the latest reel in their "big game" line, but will it measure up? Find out below.

8-Wt Challenge Full Results

WEIGHT

7.85 ounces. A little heavy, but still in the right ballpark.

DRAG

6.9 lbs with low start-up inertia. It's got a lot of drag for a $200 reel. We were impressed.

DRAG TEST GRAPH

SOUND

The Delta sounds just like the Rise... not bad, but not a hardcore saltwater sound either.

SPOOL & RETRIEVAL RATE

The spool was a bit smaller than average, but the retrieve was a little faster - it'll definitely bring your quarry in, quickly. The spool is easily removed, and the retrieve is easy to change from left to right.

LOOK & FEEL

Like the Rise, the Delta has pretty good looks (though we prefer the newer color options on the Rise), but doesn't quite have that "saltwater feel" that we love on so many of the higher end reels. Oh, and your friends aren't likely to be impressed... until you reel in the catch of a lifetime.

WARRANTY

Lifetime to the original owner + $30 fee.

Price: $219

CONCLUSION

The Redington Delta is the "draggiest" reel made by Redington. It's definitely saltwater worthy if you're willing to forgo the security of a sealed drag. If you're looking for a wallet-friendly freshwater 8-weight, this would be a superb choice.

Help us review more gear! Buy it here.

PROS

• Great $-to-Drag strength ratio
• Good Looks
• Low Price

CONS

• Unsealed drag

Not a lot of people have heard of Cheeky.  They are one of the newest reels on the market - but they are certainly making a splash. The Cheeky Mojo 425 is their "inshore" model, designed for 8-9 weight lines. The reel looks great, but how does it perform?

8-Weight Challenge Full Results

WEIGHT

7.35 ounces - one of the lighter reels in the test.

DRAG

Unfortunately, Cheeky's drag was as strong as some of the top reels in this test.  At 3.67 lbs, it's plenty for freshwater and even steelheading, though. Cheeky's drag is fully sealed, which is a nice plus for saltwater use.

Note: we previously published that the reel was unsealed - that was an error.

DRAG TEST GRAPH

SOUND

The Mojo sounds great, but it's a little softer than I'd like.

SPOOL & RETRIEVAL RATE

The Cheeky Mojo was near the top of the class here.  It's got a lightning fast retrieve, reasonably narrow spool, and plenty of room for 9-weight lines as well.  The spool is also easily removed for quickly changing lines.

LOOK & FEEL

No reel made today has a more "love it, or hate it" look than Cheeky.  Personally, we love it.  There's absolutely no mistaking it for any other reel out there. The colors are bold and certainly stand out in the crowd.  But more than that, the Mojo feels solid and has a great handle.

WARRANTY

Lifetime to the original owner + $40 fee.

Price: $380

CONCLUSION

Cheeky has done a great job on this reel. Amazing colors and a great spool design all for an entry-level price.  Take it to your local river now.

PROS

• Great looks
• Outstanding price
• Pulls line in FAST

CONS

• Missed the mark in terms of drag strength

The Sage 6000 Series fly reel has long been Sage's benchmark saltwater fly reel.  While Sage is well known for their fly rods, not a lot has been said about their reels.  With the 8000 Pro as the new flagship series, we knew that the 6000 wasn't likely to be their top performer, but we were still curious to see how it measured up.

8-Weight Challenge Full Results

WEIGHT

7.5 ounces - about average.

DRAG

4.3 lbs. We were fairly surprised to see that the 6080 had so little drag, particularly when compared to the Sage 1880. Nevertheless, the drag is nicely sealed and delivers all of its power in one turn, which is a plus.

DRAG TEST GRAPH 

SOUND

Again, nothing to write home about, but not bad.

SPOOL & RETRIEVAL RATE

The Sage 6080's spool was a little above average in terms of volume.  You can safely use it with 9-weight lines as well as 8.  Retrieve was nice and quick.

The spool is easy to remove and replace.

LOOK & FEEL

Whereas we never liked the look of the 6000 series in the past, the updated paint job and the new "Sage Black" coloration is actually pretty nice! The handle is nice as well.

WARRANTY

Lifetime to the original owner + $50 fee.

Price: $600

CONCLUSION

At Trident, we've never been a big fan of the looks on the Sage 6080, but the new finish has made us reconsider.  The reel was about average across the board, with a below average drag strength. If it's got to be Sage, go for the 8080 Pro instead.

Like our reviews?  Get it here.

PROS

• Updated looks are a big improvement
• Plenty of room for extra line

CONS

• Expensive for a reel that's made in Korea
• Drag strength leaves a lot to be desired