Abu Garcia’s Revo MGX spin reel might be up there in price, but – like most things – you get what you pay for.
RRP from $399
The premium feel of the Revo MGX feels starts with the packaging; it feels like something special right as you open the box and just gets better…
Aimed primarily at bream anglers, we loaded the reel with 4.4lb Fireline Exceed and matched it to an Abu Garcia Salty Stage Light casting rod. It’s a perfect outfit for casting light lures for its intended target species.
This little reel is about as smooth as spinning reels come when compared with other high-end fishing reels. While feeling ‘smooth’ isn’t a necessity in a fishing reel – it won’t make you catch more fish – it’s nice to use a reel that feels like this. The Revo MGX’s gearbox delivers maximum rigidity to make the gear meshing smooth, while keeping the reel’s weight to a minimum.
As expected in a reel of this calibre, the drag is exceptionally good. It’s one thing to marvel at a reel’s drag system by smoothly pulling off line with your hand; and it’s quite another to have a hooked fish shaking its head on stop-start runs. The Revo MGX’s drag performed flawlessly during the on-water test on some good-sized black bream.
Spare spools used to be fairly standard with brand name reels, but at some point companies started to leave them out or put in a cheaper version of the reel’s standard spool. Not only is the Revo MGX priced well for a premium reel, it comes with a very good spare spool. In the box is a standard full-size spool and a shallow finesse spool, which gives this reel great versatility.
While the Abu Garcia Revo MGX will appeal to the bream crowd, if you also want to chase bass, estuary perch, big flathead, Australian salmon, snapper and kingfish on the same gear, you can fill the standard spool with plenty of braid for fish that run a lot further than any bream ever has, and have your finesse spool loaded with lighter line.
Overall, the Abu Garcia Revo MGX spin reel punches well above its weight. While $399 (RRP) reels might not be everyone’s cup of tea, for those who enjoy high-end fishing gear this reel is excellent value for what it offers and how it performs.
Product Detail
| Sizes |
20, 30 |
|---|---|
| Mono cap. (yd/lb) |
153/9, 219/9 |
| Mono cap. (m/kg) |
140/4, 200/4 |
| Braid cap. (yd/lb) |
TBC |
| Braid cap. (m/kg) |
TBC |
| Bearings |
11+1 |
| Gear ratio (:1) |
6.2, 6.2 |
| Max. retrieve (in) |
TBC |
| Max. retrieve (cm) |
TBC |
| Weight (oz) |
6.2, 6.8 |
| Weight (g) |
176, 193 |
| Max. drag (lb) |
11.0, 11.0 |
| Max. drag (kg) |
5.0, 5.0 |
