New reels
are introduced
all the time.

Determining
whether the reels
are any good might not be easy at first.

If a reel wins an award at ICAST –
the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades – that's a start.

Abu Garcia’s Revo Reel won the award for the best new freshwater reel at ICAST this year.

That seems simple enough. The reel must be good.

Things aren’t that simple, actually.

What is this reel about? The Revo isn’t actually new, but instead is improved. It isn’t one reel, but is a line of six different models. The line doesn't only include freshwater reels, but also saltwater.

So let’s just look at the whole line of Revos.

Revos were improved to be lighter, more compact and more powerful.

To make the reels lighter, Revos were re-engineered, including with new, advanced materials, so that some of the models are up to 29 percent lighter than before.

To make them more compact, the reels were re-engineered to feature a 17-percent lower profile and a more ergonomic shape, fitting easier in the hand.

To make the reels more powerful, a new, larger gear system was used, creating more efficient cranking.

But those improvements weren't the only ones.

The different Revos range from models for pitching lures to largemouth bass in freshwater to powering a trophy striped bass or redfish from saltwater.

The differences, and improvements, are too much to cover here.

If you're in the market for a freshwater baitcasting reel, this is one to see.

The ICAST award lets you know, at least.

For more details, visit the Abu Garcia Revo Web page.