Kastking

[odysea_yt]

Hi everyone,

I came across these KastKing Megatron and Zephyr spinning reels that are on sale for very cheap. I am wondering - has anyone had any experience using these reels? 

 

Tight lines,

Odysea

[savit]

I believe both Alan Tani and Alan Hawk have a strong opinion on fishing reels of this brand. Just google it.

[Blackfish]

I got a Kastking after a previous member suggested them, can’t remember which model but wasn’t super cheap. 
I wouldn’t recommend them.

[R E G I C Y C L E]

For the price that you can get a Shimano FX with a 10 year warranty, I don't know why you'd bother with kastking.

[odysea_yt]

55 minutes ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

For the price that you can get a Shimano FX with a 10 year warranty, I don't know why you'd bother with kastking.

the thing is, the zephyr is usually 90 but I saw It for just 30. the youtube reviews of it are quite good so I'm not sure

[odysea_yt]

1 hour ago, Blackfish said:

I got a Kastking after a previous member suggested them, can’t remember which model but wasn’t super cheap. 
I wouldn’t recommend them.

oh, what seem to be wrong with them? idk from the reviews on youtube they seem good

[Steve0]

You need to match the tool to the job.

If you buy inexpensive reels, they are engineered and built using cheap components. They won't be as tight and will make more noise, drag will not be as good, paint quality will be less etc. That doesn't mean you need to spend a fortune on a reel. What you need to do is think how you plan to use it before deciding. Lure tossing puts a reel through a lot more work than sitting with a bait on the end of the line waiting for a fish. Catching Kingfish puts more load on the reel than catching Flathead. A reel you use every two months or so, wears less than a reel you use two days per week.

You need to be practical.  Spending more on a lure tossing reel ends up better value than using less expensive reels. I wore out two reels in the $100-$150 price range reels in 12 months tossing lead slugs of the beach and rocks. My next reel was a Shimano Saragosa. I wore the handle stem half through in about two years and had some problems with the bail arm (probably actually wore it out between paid services). Shimano did not deliver parts in reasonable time and offered replacement. Many years later, I still have the replacement Saragosa and there are no problems with it. It worked equally hard for about six years as the first did for two years. 

For short term work waiting for the above, I bought a Shimano Sienna. It was noisy, but did the job for a month or so before being 'retired' to life as a bait fishing reel.  

 

[Peter K]

So are you after a rod or a reel. In your other thread yesterday you told me your only after a rod and that you already had a reel. If this reel would cost you 30$ and you still need to buy a rod for it, your still going to get close to a $70-80 total if you buy a cheaper brand online. Why not spend the extra $10-20 for a combo such as the daiwa crossfire or aird or the shimano sienna, this will ensure your gear is made by a quality brand, proper testing, will guarantee a warranty can easily be serviced or find parts here in Australia. 

[odysea_yt]

40 minutes ago, Peter K said:

So are you after a rod or a reel. In your other thread yesterday you told me your only after a rod and that you already had a reel. If this reel would cost you 30$ and you still need to buy a rod for it, your still going to get close to a $70-80 total if you buy a cheaper brand online. Why not spend the extra $10-20 for a combo such as the daiwa crossfire or aird or the shimano sienna, this will ensure your gear is made by a quality brand, proper testing, will guarantee a warranty can easily be serviced or find parts here in Australia. 

im only for a rod, but i am kind of interested in replacing my old reel too but it is much less urgent, just looking for some options! also I am definitely looking for combos, just exploring for now

[odysea_yt]

3 hours ago, savit said:

I believe both Alan Tani and Alan Hawk have a strong opinion on fishing reels of this brand. Just google it.

hmm i see that alan tani web forum seems to be slightly positive but the alan hawk one is a no no. I might try for something else then

[mrsswordfisherman]

7 hours ago, Blackfish said:

I got a Kastking after a previous member suggested them, can’t remember which model but wasn’t super cheap. 
I wouldn’t recommend them.

Hmmmm pretty sure that previous member was banned twice over. No wonder you wouldn't recommend them. 

[slothparade]

16 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

Hmmmm pretty sure that previous member was banned twice over. No wonder you wouldn't recommend them. 

I was under the impression that they had some affiliation or something with kastking? 

But after trying their braid, goodness I would never touch their stuff again. Even the grocery chain store beginning with A was a lot better. 

[lhan]

My opinion on Chinese branded spinning reels is you actually need to pay more to get the same quality from Shimano/Daiwa - they do have good stuff but not cheap. BFS is a different story but they're not suitable for Sydney anyway.

If your budget is around $250 for rod + reel, wait for the retailer who's famous for their deal of the week. They have good combos from time to time. For under $150, you prob could find discounted Daiwa Aird combo from major retailers. Actually they're discount at the blue chain now, decent price. They're prob one of the best at this price point. For budget light gear I wouldn't recommend shimano because of their weight until you reached to miravel level, but their reels are definitely more solid/rigid.

Edited 13 hours ago by lhan

[faker]

23 minutes ago, lhan said:

My opinion on Chinese branded spinning reels is you actually need to pay more to get the same quality from Shimano/Daiwa - they do have good stuff but not cheap. BFS is a different story but they're not suitable for Sydney anyway.

If your budget is around $250 for rod + reel, wait for the retailer who's famous for their deal of the week. They have good combos from time to time. For under $150, you prob could find discounted Daiwa Aird combo from major retailers. Actually they're discount at the blue chain now, decent price. They're prob one of the best at this price point. For budget light gear I wouldn't recommend shimano because of their weight until you reached to miravel level, but their reels are definitely more solid/rigid.

yea their BFS for value is amazing. i also use their lures alot. loosing a all blue hurts alot less then losing a dax or smelt or jigpara. my biggest king i hook onto so far was done one a knock off and it was the decoy egg clips that snap not the jig

[Little_Flatty]

I should say here that I'm really quite happy with my Piscifun Carbon X. I've had it for more than a couple of years and it's been fairly solidly fished. Though a Chinese brand, it's not a cheap reel, but it performs as good or better than my other reels. But of course, buyer beware, I don't know how warranty works in practice etc.

[lastworm]

BFS isn’t suitable for Sydney? I’ve been fishing BFS for bass for over ten years in Sydney. 

[lhan]

2 hours ago, lastworm said:

BFS isn’t suitable for Sydney? I’ve been fishing BFS for bass for over ten years in Sydney. 

ah bass yes. Sorry I exclude freshwater fishing in Sydney because of limited access compared to saltwater.