PRICE £149.99
Multiplier reel manufacturers have woken up to the fact that the end user wants reels that work. One of a new breed is the Force 8 range, which, as Alan Yates explains, offers superb quality.
Have you noticed how tinny some modern multipliers sound and feel? The rush to foreign makers in a quest for cheap as chips reels has resulted in lower quality and even reels that aren’t up to the job.
Yet in a competitive market there has been a remarkable about turn though with manufacturers realising that quality and staying power do matter and that sea anglers will hand over hard-earned cash for proper gear.
Who would have thought 20 years ago, when we took hacksaws to reels that weren’t really designed for the job, that today we would be awash with reels for all tastes and pockets?
One set of reels that could be said to have gone full circle is the Force 8 range of multipliers, the brainwave of Akios reel genius, Simon Bradbury, and sold through TF Gear with a slightly different spec to his original acclaimed range.
They are manufactured utilising the latest CNC engineering with the highest-grade materials. The six-reel range has a model for the wildest winter beach, the kelpiest rock marks and for both uptide and downtide boat fishing.
MAIN FEATURES
Investigation reveals that a lot of anglers are going to be surprised by this reel range, which, in my opinion, has been designed for all anglers and not just the tournament field.
The return of a ratchet, something I have championed for many years because it is such an angling essential, is good to see but there are other great feature too.
The 656CTM beachcasting model has a neat, unobtrusive mini mag knob, super smooth drag, man-size power handle, brass gearing and a red and black livery that makes it stand out in a crowd, the spool engage even sounds like an Akios.
There are six models in the range – three in the 6 Series for the beach and three in the 7 Series for heavier rock or boat fishing. That extra strain placed on the reels from heavy lifting and cod and dogfish hauling has been addressed by fitting a higher diameter spindle that will not flex under strain.
All models include ball bearings while retrieve ratios of the 65 models are 5.3:1 and for the 75 models 4:1. Line capacities are: 300yd of 15lb on the 65 models and 320yd of 20lb on the 75 models.
The casting models come with centrifugal brake blocks fitted and these slow the spool dramatically. Regular casters will find that one block is sufficient while on the mag models good casters can remove both blocks.
We have seen common problems with multipliers that include spools locking up under strain, spool release buttons jamming, pinions stripping and reels falling off their reel seat. It looks like the bad times are over if you buy wisely?
