One of the most satisfying aspects of doing what we do is having the opportunity to see new products come to the market that may not have been given much press.
Be it small companies or manufacturers who have chosen to conduct business in a different way, or simply don’t have the deep pockets to mount a national marketing campaign, we are always looking for innovation within this industry that we enjoy so much.
Eposeidon is one of those new companies that was formed in 2013 that was determined to do things a different way. Using their factory direct model of doing business, they launched KastKing.
We were sent one of their flagship reels, the KastKing Royale Legend RS1000HL. This low-profile casting reel boasts a 12 bearing system (11 + 1), weighs 7.6 ounces, has a gear ratio of 7.0:1, EVA flat-sided foam grips, brass gears, a ported aluminum spool, a dual braking system with a four-pin internal centrifugal brake plus a 10 position externally adjustable magnetic brake, line capacity of 12/165, a swept handle and drag star, 12 lbs of drag and carries a retail price of $57.85.
The Royale Legend is mainly black with chrome and red highlights on the spool tension know, the star drag collar and on edges of the ported aluminum spool. It is available in both right and left hand retrieve but as of this writing comes in only the 7.0:1 gear ratio.
The Feel
So how does a $60 feature rich reel fish? How does it compare to other reels that are considerably more expensive?
Our reel was paired with a KastKing Perigree rod which we will review in the near future. This pairing gave us a chance to test more than one the products offered by Eposeidon under the KastKing brand to see if indeed their commitment to producing low-cost, high-quality fishing gear extends across their line.
The Royale Legend is a reel that is comfortable to hold and palm. I have smallish hands so round reels tend to feel bulky as do those with high side plates.
The RS1000HL, while having a good line capacity is comfortable to palm. Its rounded edges make changing your hand positions easy without straining to reach around sharp corners.
Setting up this reel is fairly basic. Adjust the spool tension knob so that your lure falls at a steady pace, set the internal centrifugal braking by switching up to four elements on (we have found that two will do quite nicely the majority of the time), then use the externally adjustable magnetic braking to fine tune your casts.
The centrifugal braking is one that we haven’t seen before. Near the end of the spool shaft there is a tapered edge that fits into an opening that houses the braking elements. When one is switched on, it makes contact with the tapered portion of the shaft to create the friction to slow the spool which creates constant contact. This means that there is braking throughout your cast from this internal brake.
This allows you to use less magnetic braking on average across the spectrum of lures that you’ll use with this reel.
Reel Performance
The Royale Legend casts smoothly and competently with its high bearing count. The retrieves are also smooth with no detectable stutters, shimmies or hiccups.
This has been surprisingly better than we had anticipated for a reel at this price point. While not the buttery smooth performance of a reel costing literally hundreds more, it is exceedingly better than any casting reel we have ever used with a comparable cost.
It has handled everything that we have thrown with it, hauled fish out of heavy cover, exhibited better than average stopping power from the drag, all with an aplomb that we just didn’t expect from a reel this inexpensive.
The Royale Legend handles lures in the 1/4 to 2 ounce range quite well. Below a quarter of an ounce, the reel struggles a bit as it is not really designed to handle extremely light weight lures or light lines. However, it will handle the vast majority of what you’re going to throw on most days.
When we got the reel, we took it out of the box to thoroughly examine it. At that point we noticed a slight bit of back-play in the handle. Over the months that we have been fishing with this reel, that back-play has neither gone away nor has it increased.
I suppose you could say that we’re just splitting hairs here but we firmly believe in covering all of our observations. Would this keep us from purchasing this reel? Absolutely not.
Nothing Like it for the Price
We still get a little geeked out every time we go fishing with the Royale Legend and realize that this reel retails for under $60!
The brands slogan is, “KastKing Keeps Fishing Fun.” Eposeidon does this by delivering quality products for prices that are designed to fit into everyone’s budget.
You can go directly to the source, Eposeidon.com to purchase the Royale Legend which, in our opinion, is an excellent choice for those who have never used a casting reel and are looking to get their feet wet or for those on a tight budget.
In the final analysis, Eposeidon’s KastKing Royale Legend retails for $57.85. While you can match this price point, we have never seen this quality for this little money … ever … anywhere … period.
| Eposeidon's KastKing Royale Legend | |
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |   |
| An amazingly refined reel for under $60 | |
See ya’ on the water …