Abu Garcia

Revo Rocket 10.1

By Chris S.G. Tan

The new Abu Garcia Revo Rocket is here! It has a blazing 10.1:1 gear ratio, which is higher than the original Revo Rocket 9:1. The new Rocket comes in a very attractive red satin or silk finish, which is very pleasing to the eye and touch.

Fans of the old Rocket 9 will love this new reel for many reasons!

It can pick up line very fast, great for top water lure work.
It is great for highspeed cranking, twitching and jerking.
It keeps the line tight when the fish runs toward the angler, keeping the hook set.
Upstream river casting, allows the lure to keep working as it is retrieved downstream with the current flow.

The skirt of the star drag has the hyper high speed gear 10.1:1 printed on the star drag skirt.

The line retrieval rate of 105cm per turn of the handle, which is almost 13% faster than the original Rocket which as a 93cm per turn “speed”. For information, this line retrieval rates are based on the diameter of the spool which means that the actual retrieval rate is less, as the diameter of the line on the spool would be less than full during the retrieve.

The more line in the spool the higher the retrieve rate.

Like the original Rocket, it uses a carbon fibre reel handle with the same length of 90mm. This is a good all round length, which allows speed cranking and sufficient torque for most heavy cranking loads.

The EVA handle grips have in my opinion, been improved. The original Rocket had flattish grips, whereas the new Rocket has the oval or partially round with flared end EVA grips, similar to those found in some of the Revo Gen 3 reels. Though the EVA grips are similar in shape to those Gen 3 reels, the size of the grips have been enlarged. I find that these enlarged grips are more ergonomic. The large almost round flared end knobs with the larger surface area are easier to grip when fast or power cranking is needed.

90mm handle length.

The new Rocket cast control continues to use the Infini brake system. It uses a combination of centrifugal and magnetic control. I set up the cast control first with the magnetic dial set at minimum/zero, and then set the centrifugal brakes accordingly. Then I increase the magnetic braking to adjust for headwinds or for more bulky lures.

When I first used the reel, it had two centrifugal brakes activated and was casting spinnerbaits and bulky deep diving crankbaits. I had to keep the magnetic setting at about 30-40% to keep the cast under control. On the next trip, I discovered that with three brakes on, and the magnetic control set to minimum, I was really hitting the sweet spot on the cast control and distance! So I would recommend for general casting to have three centrifugal brakes activated. When casting metal slices or long casting lures, one brake activated is ideal.

The Infini Brake System uses a centrifugal brake and magnetic brake. This here is the centrifugal brakes.

I have one complaint about the Abu Revo Gen 4 cast control dials rotation. The different models rotate in different directions. For example, in my right hand crank models with the Infini brake system, the dial rotates anti-clockwise to increase the braking, which has been the direction of rotation of all the previous generation Revo reels (right hand crank). Whereas now the Gen 4 IVCB reels have the cast control to increase the braking in the reverse direction (clockwise). So the user has to be aware, look at the “MAX” markings to adjust the braking accordingly or else you might loose some lures if you inadvertently reduce the braking when you intend to increase it!

the magnets of the awesome Infini Brake System.

The new Rocket now has the “Gull Wing” side-plate design. The side-plate can be unlocked by moving a lever on the lower rear of the plate to “OPEN”, and the side-plate pops out from the frame. By swivelling away the side-plate from the frame the centrifugal brakes can be activated or deactivated, or the spool removed. The benefit of this new design is the ease of accessing the spool and having the side-plate safely attached to the reel, instead of accidentally falling into the watery depths.

The “Gull Wing” side plate.

The new Rocket is slightly heavier weighing in at 208 grams (16 grams heavier).

The slight increase in weight would probably come from the following:-

A slightly heavier handle, probably due to the larger knobs.

The slightly larger main gear.

The improved clutch system? I really like the clutch system compared to the old Rocket, it has a much more positive feel to it.

I do not know if the new Power Stack Carbon Matrix Drag System that is in the new Rocket adds weight (I did not make a weight comparison), but I do know that it is a more powerful and durable drag system. My own measurements shows that it gives 40-50% more drag power than my old Rocket drag system!

Larger main gear.

Slightly heavier than its predecessor.

The new Revo Rocket has some changes to the pinion gear system. The pinion gear is longer.

The spool shaft now extends completely to the side-plate cast control friction cap.

The side-plate bearing internal diameter is much larger to allow the pinion gear to slide within it.

As the clutch is engaged or disengaged, the pinion gear will slide in the bearing. This design allows the pinion gear to be better supported and aligned, to give a more solid connection and meshing to the main gear when under load. This will improve the feel and wear on the gears.

The gear system of the Revo Rocket.

Notice that the long spool shaft is thinner than the internal diameter of the pinion gear. This ensures there is no physical contact between the spool shaft and pinion gear when the thumb-bar is depressed for casting. Therefore there is no frictional contact, allowing for long casts. Important note, do not lube the spool shaft or the inner hole of the pinion gear. Lube like oil and worse still grease will reduce the casting distance. Keep it clean! During servicing, make sure the internal hole of the pinion gear and spool shaft is cleaned of contaminants and lube for optimum casting performance.

Thinner diameter spool shaft.

The new Rocket 10.1 is based on the Gen 4 frame which has the line guide further away from the spool. The theoretical benefit of this is that there is less of an angle at the line guide (less resistance) when the line guide and the line departing the spool are at opposite ends. Theoretically this would give longer casting distance.

Similarly for the drag system. When the line comes off the spool as the drag slips, the angle of the line crossing the line guide will vary, in turn varying the force vector on the drag. In theory having the line guide further away from the spool will reduce this variations in force. In practise I did not find any issues with the old Rocket 9’s drag, but then I’d super tuned the drag to be smoooooooth! Also the old Rocket’s max drag was not as high as the new Rocket’s so the new Rocket would benefit from this improvement.

The gap between the spool and the line guide is larger.

The old Rocket 9 was also capable of cranking in high drag lures like big spinnerbaits, large deep diving crankbaits. How does the new Rocket 10.1 compare?

Well when cranking in heavy drag lures, I can certainly feel the difference in cranking resistance between the old and new Rocket. There is a definite increase in resistance.

More resistance reeling in heavy drag lures as compared to the earlier Revo Rocket.

Now how does this affect the fishability of the reel? The resistance when cranking in a large deep diver is quite significant, not impossible, but heavy enough that I would not want to do it all day with this reel. I would not choose this reel as my all round do everything baitcaster (I use the old Rocket 9 for everything, it is my all round reel). I would choose this reel specifically for super high speed retrieve purposes but if I do need to occasionally crank a high resistance lure, it can still handle them.