Winner of our 5-weight shootout, the bar is high for the Litespeed. Now in its new “Micra 5” incarnation, it sits at the top of Lamson’s “all-water” or freshwater lines, offering massive performance and super lightweight. Can it compete with today’s top saltwater reels? Find out.
Last but not least from Hardy is the Ultralite MTX 7000. Like a sports car, Hardy has added a little extra carbon fiber, a few extra letters after the name and raised the price in the name of performance. Yes, the MTX is like the souped-up version of the Ultralite series. But do these enhancements mean that it’s also… better?
When we first test the Hardy Fortuna 5 years ago, it blew us away with its drag strength. There was just nothing else on the market that was even close. Today, that has changed, but only a bit. The new Fortuna XDS still touts its huge drag, but how has it progressed since the last time we tested it?
Hardy has been making fly reels as long as anyone and we have been a fan of Hardy from day 1 at Trident. The SDSL replaces the little talked about SDS in the Hardy lineup and sits between the hardcore Fortuna and the freshwater oriented Ultralite series. While I always thought the SDS was a fabulous reel, it seems like the Hardy marketing team just forgot about it and I doubt if we sold 5 throughout its lifetime. They’ve stepped it up bigtime with the SDSL and we’re excited to see how it performs.
Want light weight and a low price? The TF-70 brings both in spades. The other 3-Tand reels did very well in our shootout. Can the TF deliver performance in a smaller lighter package?
Another review, another new reel brand! It’s super cool that we get to see so many new companies and are flattered to test their products. 3-Tand is new to the fly game, but has TONS of experience in fishing. From big names like ZeeBaas and Van Staal comes 3-Tand and as you might expect from that heritage, there’s some serious performance in these reels.
With a name that sounds a little too much like a Hatch, the little brother to the Invictus is the Einarsson 8Plus. It’s lighter. It’s cheaper. But how does it perform?
Einar-who? They are made where? You may not know them yet, but you certainly shouldn’t overlook them. Einarsson is a relatively new (to the US) brand that’s made in Iceland. With some very serious anglers there, it should come as no surprise that Einarsson is making some serious fly reels.
Another newcomer to our shootouts is Bauer. You might be asking yourself, “Hey, where did you get one of those?” Yes, it’s true – Bauer’s have been a little hard to come by of late, but we have it on good authority that you can now get *at least some* of the models. The RX isn’t the newest model Bauer has released, but it is the newest model without the knuckle-busting drag knob on the same side as the handle, so it’s a reel that feel like it was designed by someone who had actually been fly fishing before. So, how does it stack up against the best reels in the business?
Last but not least from Loop is the Opti Strike. It’s big. It’s full cage. How is it going to stand up to the competition? Keep reading…
