Sorry for the late review… here it is… for those who keen on this reel or currently searching for bc… here’s my review on the reel n hopefully it might provide some useful insight of this reel
Firstly, i bought this reel on the 30th of June at RM670… and fish with it thoroughly for about a month or so… n i presume i’ve used it long enough to make a opinion of my own regarding it. N all views n opinions are entirely of my own n in no way influenced by anything else.
For comparison, i’ve used both conquest 51 of shimano n daiwa alphas R with the same rod n lures n line diameter as a constant. (note: both my scorpion n my fren’s alphas[& importantly both are built to counter each other by their respective company] are brand new just out of box for optimal testing performance) Special thanks to Nyamaoan of for comparison materials(Alpha R) n my lovely gf(photos)
as for reliability n durability… lets assume it have no problem of witstanding what it’s intended to do(ie: to hook n land fishes) for well over a month…
Do i put it under strainous regime? well it’s very subjective matter as far as i concern. my fishing on this reel is simple, just casting nonstop on various lures, at all water condition be it snaggy or clear, and on a rather high drag setting of 1kg(approx 2lb)
for max drag… it’s stated to have a maximum of 4.5kg on the box label… however my finger could only push the drag star to 3.5kg.
Well it doesnt meant it couldnt go up to 4.5kg but u may hav to use brute force n injure ur finger by doing so or using some special device to push the drag up further, but whatever the case is, 3.5kg of drag is very high for a puny reel like this n i wouldnt place such high amount of drag(max 2kg for me) at all.
Needless to say the drag is much2 higher than an alphas anyday out of the box
drag smoothness… legendary shimano smoothness…
having said tat i couldnt help but to say that i’m able to pull out line with high consistency n smoothness with no sign of jerking or fatique at all observed at 3.5kg(approx 7lb).
Both alphas and scorpion exhibits exceptional smooth drags
retrieving… Both have superb retrieving smoothness. while alpha have a rather slow 5.8;1 ratio, the scorpion exhibit a higher 6.4;1 ratio which is very overall rounded. The scorpion is smooth even retrieving crankbait with huge water drags, no issue at all.
distance… the distance i could get with the reel is awesome… i can easily get better distance on every cast with the same braking setting applied to conquest 51.
n the cast is very consistant throughout, thanks to the ever dependable SVS centrifigual system of Shimano, even for more than 3-4 hours of continuous casting!
It could easily outcast the alphas magnetic system too everytime, sometimes up to 4-5ft difference n maybe more. (Note: We place the brakes[approx lah, magnetic half is 5 n centrifigual i put 3 brakes on lo] similarly, with similar line diameter and the exact same rods and lures side by side for comparison)
comfort n ergonomics… small n palmable size reel… the smallest low profile baitcaster from shimano so palming isnt much of an issue here…
by comparison it’s much narrower in width compared to the alphas, thanks to the more compressed angle of the handle and drag star to the main frame. however, do note tat the non-handle side plate of the scorpion is a lil more protuding towards the end compared to the daiwa.
Although not much to complaint, but the protuding side plate can be quite painful to palm n cast(maybe cos i never fish with low profile b4, all these while i only use round profile)if not handled properly.
the shimano septons grip is extremely comfortable if one have handle one before, as oppose to the daiwa plastic handle(imho).
The scorpion have clicker for its drag star while the alphas do not… while both have the same non-clicking tension knob.
Alpha magnetic system as usual daiwa is very easy to access at the non handle side plate. whereas the scorpion need to remove the non handle side plate which is quite easy compared even to conquest or many older shimano reels
Besides, another thing is scorpion xt really sits lower than alpha… well altho just by a bit… but there’s both advantage n disadvantage of it. some like it low while i do prefer some kind of barrier for steady n tight palming. the scorpion could be really difficult for me to hold tighly especially after long hours of casting with water spray from the line all around it, no thanks to the protuding side plate too
pricing n availability… the price of the shimano scorpion wins hands down in this department as a new reel would cost average rm680 as oppose to alphas 750rm++.
While the availabilty of both reel are quite scarce in my opinion… u dun see them at the reel shelve everywhere unlike revos…
maintenance… so far so good… still function like its first day without any servicing n doubt it will need any for awhile more. just a lil oil at the bearing will do for both reel i guess. the maintenance should be quite simple as it’s a low profiled reel. couldnt comment much in this department as i am not at all good at it
Well that’s all for the review n i hope it’s helpful… i;ve tried my best to translate everything i experienced and know about the reel over here… lastly thanks for lending your concentration haha. cheers
Novice angler here, any constructive advices greatly appreciated. Thank you
