Craving A New Toy?

Introducing: Abu Garcia Max X Spinning Reel

By The Angler

Have you been in a situation where your mind is suddenly in a jam; not sure of what to make of a certain situation? It is like going to Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and seeing “Nasi Lemak Rendang Cotton Candy” flavoured ice cream with real rice, rendang, anchovies, eggs, and sambal; all mixed into a tub of Cotton Candy flavoured ice cream. Is this nasi lemak or ice cream? Is this a main meal or a dessert? Brain jammed. Mind jammed. Mouth jammed. Everything jammed.

I had a mind jamming session recently. I was handed a spanking new Abu Garcia MAX X spinning reel and my mind froze. It looks so much like a toy. Not just any toy, but a toy that I have at home. I am not saying that it is ugly or badly designed. No. Far from that. It does look nice actually. But for a few moments I was lost. I then thought that this perhaps is a prototype or something along those lines. But no; it is indeed the real deal. This reel seems to have been designed to execute some trickery of the mind.

This here is my traditional spud gun toy (right) and the all new Abu Garcia MAX X spinning reel. “They are made for each other.”

You see, the Abu Garcia MAX X is black in colour (piano black) and has a red rotor that looks like it’s made of rubber, and a cap at the bottom of the body that is also red and also looks like rubber. If I were to give the reel to a child, he or she would probably try to erase mistakes made on his or her exercise book. Trying first with the bottom red cover of the reel, before using the rotor. He or she would have had more luck with the handle but may just be too late, as the paper would have been shredded to bits by then.

The rotor of the Abu Garcia MAX X spinning reel. It looks good and unique. Left: 5.2:1 gear ratio. Right: 4 bearings.

[ It does make a statement. A Bold statement. It does not whisper. It does not just speak. It shouts, “I dare to be different.” ]

Even I had to be sure that those parts are indeed not made of rubber. The first thing I did was to give the rotor a little squeeze. I couldn’t resist it. It certainly is not made of rubber. It is indeed solid just as how a good quality rotor should be. There is a red rubber part though. That part is the handle. Red base with the words Abu Garcia and the logo printed on.

Why did the designers at Abu Garcia decide to go with such a colour scheme? Again, the reel looks good but such a design is surely rather bold. I don’t know but I have a few ideas of my own. You know how we call our fishing tackle toys sometimes, perhaps Abu Garcia was fulfilling this “wish” of ours. The saying “be careful what you wish for” certainly came true.

The handle looks delicious.

One thing is for sure is that the Abu Garcia MAX X spinning reel does stand out. It does make a statement. A Bold statement. It does not whisper. It does not just speak. It shouts, “I dare to be different.” This here is a reel with its own character. A strong character. One that needs taming like Toothless the night fury dragon in the show, How To Train Your Dragon. If the devil were to be an angler, this would be his reel.