We recently ran a piece entitled, what to look for in your first baitcast combo. The rod and reel combo I’m reviewing today largely inspired me to write that article because I believe the Abu Garcia Revo X Baitcast Combo is a pretty strong example of what to look for when leveling up to your first casting rod and reel combination. However, make no mistake, this is a tournament ready combo for the serious angler as well.
I got this rod and reel in for testing a couple months ago and haven’t had a single issue with it. The rod is light and strong. The reel has intuitive controls that are easy to adjust, allowing me to dial it in perfectly. The overall package not only looks pretty sweet, but it handles smoothly too. This is a great feeling rod and reel combo for sure. One that I, and my buddy Mitchell, have been enjoying fishing with. I’ll introduce you to him in a minute, but let’s jump into what I like about this combo first.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I’ve kept this rod in the truck or boat for a couple months, flinging a variety of baits around with it in both private ponds and public bodies of water. Abu offers this combo in two rod lengths (7-0 and 7-4) and one gear ratio (7.3:1). It is also offered in both left and right hand retrieves. Academy Sports and Outdoors had reached out to see if I would be interested in testing this combo in the spring. I, naturally, was very interested.
I went with the 7-0 medium heavy, fast action rod and the 7.3:1 gear ratio reel for testing. This is what I consider to be the ideal combination in an all-around baitcasting combo regardless of the brand. I felt confident that I could test out this setup with a wide range of baits. That’s exactly what I have done. I spooled up 15-pound test fluorocarbon and have used it with a lipless crankbait, spinnerbait, ChatterBait, Texas rig along with a few others.
The rod and reel performed great with all of these baits. I’m sure it would make a suitable selection to throw all these baits on as well: shakyhead, finesse jig, Tokyo rig, wobble head, Scrounger, squarebill, medium diving crankbait, deep diving crankbait (up to a 5XD), small swimbait, Fluke and the list goes on. If you swap the line over from fluorocarbon to 30-pound braid, you’d have a great combo for a buzzbait, Choppo, Spook, popper and more. Again, this is a fantastic all-around rod and reel combo that any angler could benefit from having because it is a quality setup and it can be used to do so many different things.
THE REEL
There are really only a few things that have to come together for me to consider a baitcaster to be “good”. At the end of the day, if it has a smooth cast and doesn’t make a lot of noise, it’s a pretty good indicator that it’s a quality reel that will last a while. If you hear a lot of racket right out of the gate when you go to cast a reel, there are some components in it that are a little loose or rubbing on each other pretty hard which doesn’t bode well for the reel’s life expectancy.
The Revo X reel performed flawlessly in that regard. It makes smooth and quiet casts and I can fling a bait a pretty long ways with it. That all comes from being able to dial the reel in—which has to do with the other main thing I look for in a baitcaster: how easy it is to set. The vast majority of casting reels have three controls that are used to adjust a reel’s three primary functions: spool tension, drag and brake.
The spool tension and drag controls almost always look the same across the board, both can be found on the handle side of the reel. The spool tension knob looks like a short stack of dimes and the star-shaped control is used to adjust the drag. When looking for the brake control, look at the side plate opposite the reel handle. Some reel manufactures use internal brake controls that can only be accessed by removing the side plate. This is all well and good but definitely more cumbersome to adjust, especially for the angler new to a baitcaster.
I love that Abu went with a simple to understand, external brake control on the Revo X. Need more brake to slow the spool down to prevent backlashes? Simply turn the dial counterclockwise towards the word “Max” written on the reel. Want the spool to spin more freely? Turn the dial in the clockwise direction. It’s that simple. I recommend starting with the brake tightened a little over halfway to prevent backlashes and then backing off a little as you dial it in to increase your casting distance. You can read this story for more on how to set up a baitcaster.
THE ROD
I really like the Revo X rod as well. This rod and reel complement each other really well and you can tell they were both designed with the other in mind. The overall package is very well balanced and light. I went with the shorter of the two rod options, opting for the 7-0 medium heavy rod with a fast action. The medium heavy power of the rod is the best power rating when looking for a rod that can handle a decent size bait and fight a big fish, without being too stiff at the same time to work baits effectively.
The length is perfect for an all-around rod. A rod shorter than this has a more limited selection of baits that can be fished on it. A longer rod can’t make the little roll casts, backhanded casts and pitches that this thing can. Thus, 7-0 is the way to go and the fast action just rounds out the perfect all-around rod package.
With all that said, there are a lot of 7-0 medium heavy, fast action rods on the market. So what’s so special about this one? Well, the price for starters. We’ll get more into that in a moment. The design and the quality of the rod are what make the price impressive. I like the split grip EVA foam handles. The reel seat is very comfortable, with an exposed section of the rod blank for increased sensitivity. Abu used my favorite style of lure keeper, an open one, which can accommodate baits with exposed hooks as well as weedless rigged soft plastics. Additionally, they put it in the best place in my opinion, just above the reel on the face of the rod. The more traditional style guides are sturdy and a little bigger than most others these days, which is not a bad thing. Again, the whole rod is balanced well to make it effortless to cast and fish with.
PRICE POINT AND FINAL THOUGHTS
The price is what I really like about the Abu Garcia Revo X Baitcast Combo. Don’t get me wrong, it would be even better if it were even less. However, for $200, this is a quality rod and reel combination that I truly believe will hold up for a pretty long time. I do want to remind you though, that I’ve only had this combo since early April. Without having experienced as much as a hiccup out of it so far, I’m confident recommending it. I’ve only been able to find 4 and 5 star ratings on it from the public on Academy’s website as well as Google. That was reassuring too.
Now, remember when I mentioned my buddy Mitchell at the start of the article? He’s been fishing with me a few times the last couple months and this is the rod and reel he’s gravitated to each time. I took the above picture of him with the Revo X combo during one of our recent trips. Mitchell has fished a little throughout the years, more back in the day than anything. He’s getting back into it now and re-learning the ins and outs of using a baitcaster effectively again. He’s getting pretty good at it too, and credits part of that to this rod and reel combo. He even told me he wants a rod and reel combo of his own.
I’ve enjoyed fishing with this rod and reel and watching my buddy fall in love with the combo as well. It’s light, strong and simple to use and adjust. The price point and quality are ideal for the angler looking to level up to a legit casting combo or just the guy wanting to have a good all-round rod to add to his tournament arsenal. It’s easy to recommend the Abu Garcia Revo X Baitcast Combo. I hope you like it as much as I have if you decide to get one.
