HERE’S something a little different. It’s a reel called a Trio from Okuma. I’ve been using the smallest model, the Trio 20, for about nine months now. When I first saw the Trio I thought of The Terminator character, as it looks quite industrial. However, once you do a bit of reading about the Trio concept, you can see the benefits. Okuma call it “Crossover Construction” and what it involves is using a combination of materials to either increase or maintain strength whilst minimising weight. The Trio uses a combination of stamped aluminium for the frame, reel stem and rotor arm and graphite for the body side plates and rotor housing. The construction of the spool is also interesting. The drag assembly is housed in an aluminium drag chamber to ensure the drag remains stable and smooth. This chamber sits inside a graphite spool housing. An outer aluminium skirt reinforces the internal graphite spool skirt to reduce the risk of distortion.
The Trio is loaded with many of Okuma’s top features including nine high performance bearings plus one roller bearing, the Dual Force Drag (meaning that drag force is applied on both the upper and underside of the spool, increasing drag pressure potential) and the Hydro Block drag to reduce moisture penetration into the drag, to name just a few.
In short, over the past few months I have been really pleased with the little Trio 20. It feels nice in the hands, balances well on an appropriately rated rod and performs well. All of my fishing mates who have used it have been equally happy with it. I would have liked to have used one of the larger models in some more heavy duty scenarios, but can definitely see the technological advantages that Trio offers Australian anglers.
Contact: Rapala Freetime on (02)9780 8200; www.freetime.com.au
By Patrick Brennan
