A new concept in reel design
A baby big pit reel that can match its bigger brother – in all departments? Preposterous, surely? Not so, according to Daiwa and their Cast’izm
Forget every preconception you have about a big pit reel. Where you previously believed it needed to have a spool the size of a bucket to hold a ridiculous amount of line so you could try and out-cast everyone, last year Daiwa proved it was possible to achieve the same, if not even greater distances, with a reel that was smaller than a match fishing reel. It’s called the Cast’izm and once again Daiwa have rewritten the rulebook when it comes to making fishing reels.
I’ve heard about this reel. Isn’t this the one which can out-cast a Basia?
Well, almost. Here’s how the full story goes: two years ago Darrell Peck, along with Danny Fairbrass and Damian Clarke, were asked by Daiwa to test what in essence looked like a match reel against the company’s premium reel, the Basia. “The Cast’izm, as it will be named, is a smaller pit reel than its bigger brother, but the difference in casting performance is almost unchanged,” Pecky revealed just prior to the spring ’14 launch. “When tested with 0.4mm mono the difference in distance achieved was around 2-4yds, which is almost unbelievable for such a small reel! What they have created is a true pocket rocket that combines fantastic performance and features with outstanding balance that has to be experienced to believed.”
The Cast’izm isn’t just perfect in performance, it’s visually stunning too
Bloody hell! But it’s tiny…
It sure is, but Daiwa are forever pushing the boundaries of reel performance (the 2009 Basiair taught us that), and just like that reel, for the Cast’izm they’ve once again tapped into the long distance surf casting trends from Japan. They’ve managed to achieve this compact design thanks to a shorter spool (and stroke size, just 25mm, which then ultimately means you can have a shorter body), but it still sports a spool diameter the same as a Basia (65mm), a 66mm spool skirt and large (and rather clever) spool lip.
Errr, I’m still a little confused.
Bear with us. In essence a higher spool diameter increases the efficiency of line release and reduces spool lip resistance. For the Cast’izm, Daiwa have combined these two features which has resulted in this spool diameter of 65mm and a spool taper angle of 2-degrees. This optimum spool shape combined with an improved lip profile delivers long distance casting with reduced line trouble. Combine those three elements together and you have a reel which is producing extraordinary casting results.
The QD (‘Quick Drag’) clutch system is, simply put, faultless
What power does it pack?
A decent amount. The modest ratio of 4.7:1 delivers a useful power conversion aided by their tried and tested Digigear II (in English: super smooth rotation and enhanced gear performance) and this will bring in an impressive line retrieval of 96cm thanks to a filled spool circumference of around 200mm – a major asset when fishing at distance.
Being small, I’m guessing it’s light?
Light? It’s featherweight! The Cast’izm weighs in at just 15.9ozs – that’s the same as the company’s Bentley equivalent, the Basiair! This lightness is mostly achieved thanks to its Zaion body: a precision moulded, high-density carbon which isn’t just very lightweight but incredibly strong. More weight-reduction comes from a new shape and material rotor. It’s called Air Rotor and doesn’t just reduce the weight but also results in a quicker start up of rotor movement and enhanced rotational feel.
The tried, tested and patented Twistbuster roller ensures good line management
Sounds awesome! Any other special features?
Ah man, there’s loads! We suppose the main one you need to know about is some more very special technology from Daiwa. It’s called ‘Mag Sealed’ and it’s what protects all the inner gubbins of the Cast-izm. Mag Sealed maintains the reel’s smooth rotation for a much longer period of time. By establishing a wall of magnetic oil between the rotor and body, Daiwa have created a waterproof construction to shut out the intrusion of fine dirt and water, and this of course extends the lifespan of that ‘showroom’ winding feel and smoothes out initial winding inertia.
I almost forgot – what’s the drag like?
If you thought the actual reel sounded impressive, just you wait until you have a play with the clutch! Daiwa have equipped the Cast-izm with the simply incredible QD (Quick Drag) clutch system which enables you to select a drag from ‘free’ to ‘tight’ in just half a rotation of the knob. It’s super smooth, too, so you’ll never have to play another carp on anti-reverse.
Look how compact it is!
This reel sounds seriously amazing.
It really is. It’s like a hot hatch on steroids: compact, light, nimble and will deliver outstanding performance whilst looking damn good! And hey, if it’s good enough for Pecky, Fairbrass and Clarke, then it’s sure good enough for us.
“GIMME”: £350; spare spool, £60; daiwasports.co.uk