Hardy Fortuna XDS 6000 Fly Reel Review

Mar 06, 2018 · 3 min read

Gunmetal aluminum Hardy Fortuna XDS 6000 fly reel close-up showing textured drag knob and ventilated spool

Please remember that there are no ads on this page and 100% of our funding comes from your purchases, so if you find this review to be informative, please help us keep the reviews coming by purchasing your next fly reel from us. 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 Hardy Fortuna XDS still touts its huge drag, but how has it progressed since the last time we tested it? 8-Weight Shootout Full Results

Weight

8.8 ounces. One of the heavier reels.

Drag

Hardy Fortuna XDS 6000 fly reel close-up; silver machined aluminum skeleton spool with purple anodized hub

True to form, the Fortuna has some rocking drag strength. At 22lbs, it takes 3^rd place in the max category, but since it’s got a hard stop all* of this is accessible. I put an asterisk here because it actually does get really tight at the top end, but really only about one detent and since it’s got such a narrow range it really wasn’t fair to back it off a quarter turn. It’s still got TONS of usable drag. Single turn drags are a novel idea. Unfortunately, we’ve yet to see one that we’ve really liked. They all suffer from the same problem: not enough adjustability. The XDS is no different. At the halfway mark, the XDS drops to just 2.5lbs of drag. On its own, that’s not bad, but it just makes it way too tricky to try to dial in say 5lbs of drag when you have only 7 detents between 2 and 22 lbs – and it’s not linear! I know that I’ve been in many situations where a trophy fish unexpectedly grabs my line and I have had to adjust this on the fly.

Drag Test Graphs

Hardy Fortuna XDS 6000 fly reel drag graph: blue line climbs sharply to ~22–23 lbs then plateaus across distance

Sound

The Fortuna sounds great! It’s got a pleasing click on both incoming and outgoing.

Spool & Retrieval Rate

Why didn’t the Fortuna win our shootout in 2013? The spool. It’s essentially a mid-arbor reel. This hasn’t changed on the XDS and it’s still the biggest issue. It’s almost 50% slower to pick up line than the Speedrunner.

Looks & Ergonomics

The Fortuna XDS looks and feels great. Despite being built overseas, you don’t get any sort of ‘cheap’ feeling from this reel. Match that with a great handle and an awesome drag knob, and you’ve got a winning combination!

Finish and durability

Gunmetal Hardy Fortuna XDS 6000 aluminum fly reel with white fly line, large-arbor ventilated spool and knurled drag knob

The finish on the Fortuna was definitely a step up from the SDSL. It stood up to drops and scratches much better, but nowhere near as well as the top reels. You'll note that the reel foot was also bent, but we felt that this was somewhat random and didn't overly penalize reels for this.

Warranty

Lifetime to the original owner + $35. Price: $799

Conclusion

If you were a fan of the old Fortuna, you’ll probably like the new Fortuna XDS. It’s mostly the same reel with some upgraded looks. Unfortunately, the “improvements” that were made to the reel weren’t really improvements at all. I can honestly say that the old version was a better reel overall. The biggest area of improvement (the spool) was entirely overlooked. I can’t help but think that a larger arbor would have made this the reel to beat. Buy it with Free Shipping here.

Pros

Huge drag
Solid performance overall

Cons

Feels like a downgrade from the original version
Poor drag adjustability
Not a great spool design

Written by

Ben Freeman

Ben Freeman founded Trident Fly Fishing in 2012 to cut through the marketing fluff and provide anglers with the technical info they actually need. He’s built his reputation by putting gear to the ultimate test in the world’s most unforgiving fisheries. With fishing stamps from over 22 countries and 17+ states, Ben’s passport is a roadmap of bucket list angling—from landing a 25lb Golden Dorado in Bolivia and 150lb Arapaima in Guyana to sight-casting for Roosterfish off the beaches in Baja. Whether it’s battling 60+mph winds to land a 20lb Rainbow at Jurassic Lake or a full day of casting 8in streamers in Mongolia, Ben has spent decades ensuring his gear performs when a trip of a lifetime is on the line.

At Trident, Ben serves as the lead gear geek, specializing in the deep-dive mechanics of rods, reels, and lines. Over the past 15 years, he's reviewed 250+ fly rods and 150+ fly reels and is likely one of the most prolific rod reviewers in the world. But he doesn't just curate the catalog; he scrutinizes every taper and drag system through the lens of a traveling angler who knows what it's like to have gear fail a thousand miles from home. For Ben, the mission is simple: leverage his experience across nearly 100 species to ensure that when you head into the wild, you’re equipped with gear that has been vetted by someone who has actually been there.

Comments

(0)

No comments yet. Be the first!