Alex Ball

Everything I used is either straight braid or braid to leader. Except my deep crank rod. That's straight fc. Braid solves so many problems. Distance, management, etc... Also, I've seen very little evidence that visibility of the line is an issue. I fish Bull Shoals Lake, the part that is always super crystal clear. My bite rate is about the same with or without a leader. The bass react more to your presentation than the realism imo. Even here, in a highly pressured lake, they're still a base predator. Show em something they want, they'll take it. It's really that simple.

You've used both companies stuff. How would you compare the 2? For me it's pretty simple. KK is essentially Abu Garcia for Po folks. LoL. I think Piscifun badly wants to be Lew's. Rods- At the bottom, KK. More options. A push in the middle. Better materials for pf but less options. At he top, the new Carbon X rods are looking like a game changer. They have a slight caster for $90 and multiple bfs rods in that line. Still, no bfs reel. But I give it to KK here, they get serious on rods around $80. So many styles and applications. Reels- For spinners, if you like speed, PF wins hands down. Almost every line has 6:1 reels. Again, less options. If you like em light and big on power, KK walks away. The CX is special, but it's the only one PF has that is. KK has the Zephyr, ZC, Megatron, Sharky, SDE. KK wins for depth, but pf had the best player. Casting- It's not even a conversation. KK wallops PF here. The Phantom and Alloy M are excellent. The new CX could be special. But again, depth. Top to bottom, KK is solid everywhere. They may actually have too many options. If everything I buy is $125 total for a setup or less, I'll go with KK all day. Cadence is interesting. I'll get more in depth when I get enough time on em. Their rods are special.

Oh indeed. That's a very reliable low end reel. Never understood PFuns logic on spool size for the spark. The RL 2 has roughly 3 times the capacity at the same weight. If you're gonna make a bfs reel make one. If you're gonna make a flipping reel make one. This feels like an unsuccessful hybrid. Too shallow for most bass uses, to heavy for bfs. I use it for crappie. Works great flipping a 1/8 oz baby bitsy bug. I'll throw Flicker shads on it. That's about it.

Ya the Zephyr Carbon is the same reel as the PFun. Check out Cadence, I'm extremely impressed with them. The one you're talking about is the Zephyr SFS. I've heard abnormally excellent reviews on that from guys I trust. Can't go wrong with Daiwa. I have the Sweepfire and an LT Walmart reel. Both are great. Man, I need to get a Megatron. I look at it all the time.

All this. Yes. Like reading my own thoughts.

Fair question. It comes down to 3 things. 1. In both cases, the issues occured due to me dropping them. Learned how to fix and maintain reels on KK. Didn't want to bother CS, because I knew they'd replace it no question. Called on one because I couldn't figure out how the thumb bar was sticking. They just sent me another even though I admitted fault. 2. Initially, I was buying reels for 2 people. Started with a friend because we worked food service during COVID peak. KK had options, cool cosmetics, and they were way less than the high end Abus, which we hailed as the Goat because the tackle shop in town was an Abu exclusive store. Pure fishing I mean. To us, this and Lew's were the world. Shimanos were like Ferraris, neat to look at, but not a viable option. We felt like wed found something nobody had. 3. I've had nothing but positive experiences with my spinning reels from them, and personal error led to the issues with the casters. I'm actually pretty dead set on getting all the Zephyr spinners and the entire MJ line. I like them that much. I'm never going to be serious about fishing outside of gaining knowledge on how to catch em. Don't have a boat. Almost exclusive to banks and creeks. TTard mentioned the BMax, I have 2 and a promax. Love em. Got em St Walmart. Got heavy into the whole "good equipment" thing.Had almost 10k in rods and reels. Broke a $300 G. Loomis and the reel nested bad, a Revo STX. Had to use my backup, a cherrywood/KK RL2. Went off after being skunked on $500 setups for months . For me, it's all about the time spent. Grew up hard, did some time in State. Got lucky in the music industry. Quit to live a regular life. I promise you, I have more fun on my $79 setups than any big brand guy. I can afford to replace these forever.

They'll have to pry my gamkatsu braid scissors from my cold dead hands lol. Just got the spooler. Might get a rack.. Do you like the scales? I need a new one. Mine's from the 90s.. I'm absolutely sold on the Calamus Bastion braid. Might step up to the KK soon. Same company.

The Lancelot is the reel that got me into KK. Fantastic for cranking. Smooth as butter. $15 when I got it. Best value ever for me. It's been hammered and abused and it just laughs it off. Love that reel. Wish they made a 1000. Centron 500 is a good light slow spinner. Thinking hard about grabbing the upgraded version. That or the new verus assassin. Agreed in easy maintenance. Might grab some Abecs. Hadn't thought about that. Thanks I'm in the process of switching to lefty's on casters. Got the MJ54 and the RLGT rn. Really more of a spinner guy. That's where KK shines. Best spinners I've used. Dropped all my Lew's and Pfluegers in favor of the Zephyr and the Valiant Eagle. The VE is a bit picky outta the box, but 5 minutes and it's a smooth mofo. Please gimme some feedback on the RLEs really like the stats. Thanks friend, Al

Lmk how you like the Megajaws. What spinners and casters did you get?

Might be getting an old assassin. Thanks for the detailed analysis. It'd be a beater reel. They literally just dropped the new verus assassin this week. Dual brakes, 8.1 gear ratio. Looks interesting. 5.4 oz reel. $55 bucks .

Ya the OG speed demon wasn't great. It's funny how fast they improved. You probably got that 3-4 yrs ago. KK wasn't great then. The assassin was good but they were just getting going. The new generation is way better. I buy the calamus bastion braid religiously. My favorite braid. That's the sister brand. Haven't tried their braid yet. I'll pick up some 15 next time.

Thanks for the post brother. Was hoping you'd weigh in. The CAX is beastly according to my buddy. It's his favorite "everything" reel. The original Crixus is his least favorite. Weird how that seems to be the consensus suggestion on a caster from KK, the CAX. I'm a 5 and 6 guy so it's a bit fast for me. On the spinners, how the heck is the Sharky only $55? Just got one. It's unreal how good it is. Zeps too, way underpriced IMO. I have 2 Crixus rods. 5'6" LMF. I like em. The grips on mine are a bit suspect as well. Great for creeks.

If I get one, it's gonna be for my crappie baits. Neat idea. Bfs I mean. Also, Piscifun just dropped the carbon x rods. They have a ulight rod for casting. Would pair well with it I think.

I've heard good things. The zephyr spinners are fantastic. Torrent is garbage. Really wanted to like it. Everything about it lacks. Piscifun is weird. Up top like the phantom and alloy m, they rock. On the bottom, just don't. The flame is also junk . This is the separation for me in favor of KK. From top to bottom, there's reliable stuff.

Haven't had those issues. Bought mine in December. Had a sticky spool on one. Had a bad thumb bar on one. Both were easy fixes. I'll say that their customer service is fantastic so far. I asked about service on one and they just sent me a new one instead. Got the old one figured out and they still sent me another no charge. I'm also pretty active on their Facebook page, and that might be why I get the service I do. Compiled a list of all the retrieve rates for their reels. Got a free rod for that. I'm actually okay with a clunker from KK cuz I know they'll replace it. Can't really say that about the big boys especially Abu. They soured me with terrible CS

The innovation on that reel is the dual braking system exclusive to the reel series(for now). What about it specifically was bad?

Check out the new MJ upgrade. It's essentially a Lew's Tournament MP for 65 bucks. That would be the rod series I'd get except for cranks. That'd be the SDP series.

Same for me on the zeps. Love that reel! So light.

I have 2 sparks. Love em. Just picked up a cadence essence spinning reel. Excellent so far.

Yup. Occam's razor. Simplest solution.... Been looking hard at the phantom, but then KK dropped the new MJ upgrade. I've heard nothing but good things about the phantom. A hidden gem.

The Crixus is actually one I've been told to avoid. Started with Abu. Got bored quick with the limited options in my range. Me and a friend started together. I gave him his first rod an Abu Garcia MaxSTX spinning combo. I had a Black Max Combo Baitcaster. We decided to add on but wanted something Walmart didn't have. Went on Amazon and found KK. My buddy jumped on the Valiant Eagle 811 for $35. I got both RL2 reels. Very happy. Moved up to Megajaws. Very impressive for around $50, the same as a Black Max. I like to deep crank and 541 reels are usually expensive. Not KK. My RL2 541 is a thug. My MJ 541 is even meaner. KK fit a need. Love them for that. Where KK shines in my opinion is their spinning reels. Specifically the Zephyr, Megatron, and Sharky lines. Incredible value at the price. All my spinners are KK. The Zephyr blows the doors off my Pflueger President reels. I mean it. I was a Pflueger junkie. The Sharky and Megatron are what KK is all about: Big drag reels that are light and smooth. On casters, anything below the MJ line is a gamble, I'll admit. Had 2 Eagles fail. Both were replaced no issues. The even gave me a free rod for the trouble. The Spartacus is fantastic. A steal at $40 but the only one below the MJ that's consistent on build. I must point out that they are now playing with the big boys. They've become a staple at TW, and Academy. ASO has their own exclusive line of KK stuff. I think in 5 years they become the defacto entry level company in reels. Thanks for the detailed analysis. Al

I'd love to have a discussion about Kastking reels with other fans or critics. I'm very happy with my reels from them and wanted other thoughts, good or bad. I like the "Amazon brands because I live in the middle of nowhere and Walmart kinda sucks on reel selection. KK has so many choices and they're all affordable for most people. Just want to see if anybody else has a collection of them or opinions about them. Thanks, Al

A friend of mine just got his. Loves it for flipping jigs. Says it so much better than the Megajaws 7.2 he has. Drag is locked, don't know how. 7.2 gear ratio. Says 18 on the drag on Amazon. Handled everything he caught no issues. Fishes heavy cover yoo-hoo water.

Love the Vendetta. The Eagle is excellent. Didn't know about the St Croix. Thanks.

I have a very heavy "ghetto drawl". Can't shake it. Lived there too long. By saying I don't assimilate, I simply mean I won't change who I am to fit in. 3 languages? I barely speak English, LoL. That's awesome you took the time to learn multiple languages. I'm also autistic, so change is not easy.