I was able to get my AL Ti on the water and I have some honest first impressions.

I wish everyone could throw this reel for a day. Not becuase its the best reel ever made or the Tatula is over or Shimano has a problem now..

This reel has a major flaw... It's a Kastking. If this reel had Lew's on it, it would be revolutionary. If it was an Abu Garcia it would a sensation. If it was a Shimano or Daiwa it would be a class leader and competition destroyer.

It's a Kastking so before a hand gets laid on it, it's junk, won't last, over priced, and worst of all not cool to show to other fisherman in your bass club.

If you did put hands on it for a day you would find out that it's light, very easy to set up, easy casting, powerful, and extremely smooth. It belongs in its price point and in some cases punches above it's weight.

I'm not a Daiwa/Shimano hater or a Kastking schill. I buy all my reels with my own money. I will always praise good products. One thing I know is that the best products come from manufacturers trying to enter new segments of the market. It has to be as good if not better than the existing offerings by competitors. Even if you don't ever intend to give them a chance, you have to respect the fact that Kastking is taking a big risk. If they get this wrong it could have lasting negative effects on them. Having tried their recent high end options I have no problem saying they are getting it right. I could never be brand loyal for fear of missing out, but I have no problem giving any brand it's due when it is deserved.

I'm more than happy to give more details of my recent experience with their reels for those legitimately interested in the brand.

10 hours ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

This reel has a major flaw... It's a Kastking. If this reel had Lew's on it, it would be revolutionary. If it was an Abu Garcia it would a sensation. If it was a Shimano or Daiwa it would be a class leader and competition destroyer.

It's a Kastking so before a hand gets laid on it, it's junk, won't last, over priced, and worst of all not cool to show to other fisherman in your bass club.

Kast King is the number one retailer on Amazon. Kast King is the Big Dog on GOVX. Kast King sells a ton on Ebay. Own four of their reels. No complaints.

Good Fishing

I have 4 Kastkings on my deck. 2 MG Ti's and 2 Deadbolts - one for frogs and one for pitchin/flippin. No complaints at all.

I'm slightly biased towards Daiwa reels but own 10 different brands. One of my favorites is a reel few on here own and the only way to get one now is to buy used. I have 3 of them (purchased new) and they aren't going anywhere until after I die. Pinnacle Primmus HS Xi.

I'm willing to buy any brand if the reel interests me. If someone doesn't like what I have on my rods, then suck it up. 🙈🙉🙊

Hello THEREELTEST. Why did you shadow ban me on your channel?🙂

But seriously, i'd like to get one for free, and use it for 1 full season. Its guaranteed to not hold up well to S and D.

And i do agree about KK's repution. I, and everyone i know, associates this company with Temu tier trash. Like the worst of the worst around. When you release pure garbage for as long as you have, and now, possibly, trying to make something decent, you will be seen in bad light for a very long time before anyone gives it a chance. If i were them, i'd rebrand. KastKing is in the same category as Favorite or Googan's shovelware, so they'll never be taken seriously.

42 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

I, and everyone i know, associates this company with Temu tier trash

That means that you, and everyone you know, are ill-informed and probably just parroting.

I got a KastKing baitcaster 6 years ago and it's still going strong. Pretty good reel. I have options to swap it out with something newer, but there's really no reason.

1 hour ago, Micro Module Police said:

Hello THEREELTEST. Why did you shadow ban me on your channel?🙂

But seriously, i'd like to get one for free, and use it for 1 full season. Its guaranteed to not hold up well to S and D.

And i do agree about KK's repution. I, and everyone i know, associates this company with Temu tier trash. Like the worst of the worst around. When you release pure garbage for as long as you have, and now, possibly, trying to make something decent, you will be seen in bad light for a very long time before anyone gives it a chance. If i were them, i'd rebrand. KastKing is in the same category as Favorite or Googan's shovelware, so they'll never be taken seriously.

You have to start somewhere and if it means releasing subpar reels to build up the funds for better R&D, then so be it. Only way they’ll grow in the industry and be able to offer products for all levels of fishing.

I usually only Daiwa and Shimano for the most part and I have a 2019 Shimano Antares 70 and absolutely hate this reel. It gets a lot of praise and I think it’s as good as a paperweight. I want to like it a lot because it costs a lot and it’s been a headache ever since I’ve gotten it and I can’t even sell it because of its price. I don’t want to take a loss but really it’s a paperweight. I’d probably trade it for a kastking at this point. Anyways needless to say, even shimanos flagship reels can be garbage (at least to me).

You know I'm in Seattle, land of coffee. There's a TON of coffee stands and coffee shops in Washington. It's crazy.

So to beat the competition, one company offered latte's for $1.50 when everyone else was at least twice that amount (most were triple). You'd think people would flock to them. But the surprise was that people avoided them instead.

The reason? Perceived quality.

People just assumed the $1.50 latte was inferior and tasted bad compared to the more expensive competitors. So you know what they did?

They doubled the price to $3.

Sales skyrocketed.

It was the exact same coffee.

Why did this happen? Consumers perceive high-priced lattes as "luxury" items. A premium price point actually increased the perceived value, as the brain often accepts higher prices for perceived quality. And the opposite for lower prices.

This is what has happened to KastKing. Often, it's the guys who have never tried a KastKing reel that are the ones bashing them, because of perceived quality. And even for the folks who have tried them are pleasantly surprised at such a good reel because they were expecting something lesser due to the price.

@Micro Module Police I know I’ll never change your opinion on the brands you hate on but I for one really like my Favorite Soleus especially since I bought it for $50.00 a handful of years ago on a Black Friday sale from DSG. In fact I liked it so much I bought a second one for just a few dollars more. I’m not in a hurry to get rid of my Daiwa’s or Shimano’s but by the same token I’m in no hurry to get rid of my 2 Soleus reels either. I for one do think it’s worth the full retail price but I’m happy I found mine for the bargain price I did. I also bought a KK Royal Legend 2 for around $40.00 shipped to my door and much like @Glenn pointed out I’d say it’s worth what I paid for it and although I’ve thought about trading it in many times I still haven’t. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

12 minutes ago, Glenn said:

You know I'm in Seattle, land of coffee. There's a TON of coffee stands and coffee shops in Washington. It's crazy.

So to beat the competition, one company offered latte's for $1.50 when everyone else was at least twice that amount (most were triple). You'd think people would flock to them. But the surprise was that people avoided them instead.

The reason? Perceived quality.

People just assumed the $1.50 latte was inferior and tasted bad compared to the more expensive competitors. So you know what they did?

They doubled the price to $3.

Sales skyrocketed.

It was the exact same coffee.

Why did this happen? Consumers perceive high-priced lattes as "luxury" items. A premium price point actually increased the perceived value, as the brain often accepts higher prices for perceived quality. And the opposite for lower prices.

This is what has happened to KastKing. Often, it's the guys who have never tried a KastKing reel that are the ones bashing them, because of perceived quality. And even for the folks who have tried them are pleasantly surprised at such a good reel because they were expecting something lesser due to the price.

That’s a great point Glenn.

Selling a bunch of gear locally recently and i decided to just make a flat rate price to what the cheapest reel was. First person to get the higher end stuff for super cheap gets a great deal. My cheaper reels sold and then I ended up increasing the price of the higher end reels to market value in my area, they all sold the same day. Maybe someone just perceived high end gear for a low price as being an issue? No idea.. they’re crazy though!

I’ve also had situations where I put stuff out for free and it’s worth something, get no takers so when I add a price a few days later, it sells right away.

Funny how that works! Myself? I’d prefer the $1.50 Latte and take a chance

I have had a few Kast Kings when they first started out of curiosity and they honestly weren’t as good as the hype from all their influencers, but I am still intrigued by their newer high end gear and can’t write them off until I try them.

1 hour ago, Micro Module Police said:

If i were them, i'd rebrand. KastKing is in the same category as Favorite or Googan's shovelware, so they'll never be taken seriously.

You forgot to begin with "I hate to be a party pooper"...

56 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

That means that you, and everyone you know, are ill-informed and probably just parroting.

I've heard the same defense for Googan rods.

3 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

I've heard

I rest my case 😎

1 hour ago, Micro Module Police said:

I've heard the same defense for Googan rods.

They aren’t as bad as you think

I have the Mg Ti and so far so good. I've tried it for BFS stuff but plan on moving it to a jerkbait rod in the future. We will see how it handles a 1/2oz 110 for the rest of year. Next to a frog reel, my jerkbait bait setups get the most abuse. If my experience goes down hill, I will let you guys know. But again, this reel feels nothing like any KastKing reel I have used in the past.

1 hour ago, MiceNReets said:

They aren’t as bad as you think

Have a hard time believing that. For fun, i've spent a few minutes reading comments on the googan's youtube channel, and you have people on there raging at their rods.

I've tried a few of the KK BFS reels, starting with the Zephyr BFS. The Zephyr BFS outperformed my Curado BFS for actual BFS fishing. The build quality of the Curado BFS is definitely more robust, but build quality isn't very important if the task needed to be performed is not up to par. I did have a couple of instances in the three years I owned the Zephyr BFS where the 6 lbs monofilament got between the spool and the side plate.

Still, for a reel that retails for $70, it was good enough that I took a flyer on a KK Kestrel BFS two years ago for $109. This reel has been an excellent performer. I also bought a USDM Aldebaran BFS last summer, and I can say that the performance (speaking of casting distance, ease of adjustment and drag performance) of the Kestrel BFS very close to, or dare I say equal to that of the Aldebaran BFS.

Then, at the end of last summer I added a third KK BFS reel (the Kestrel Air Micro Finesse) for $120, which can cast even lighter baits than the Aldebaran BFS and Kestrel BFS are capable of handling.

The ultimate durability of the KK reels is the only thing that I would question more than that of more mainstream brands, and that will have to play out some time in the future.

Up to that point I had only been willing to experiment up to the $120 price point, figuring that it wouldn't kill me to have a reel that underperformed since I had previously taken flyers on the Shimano SLX DC, Curado DC, Curado BFS and a 17 Tatula SV TW, all of which were disappointing at any price, let alone how much they actually sold for.

With the one slot left to fill on my newly updated roster being for a companion to my 7'3" MH/F bottom contact rod (and being fully aware that I could have a new JDM Bantam, JDM Metanium, or JDM Zillion SV TW for not that much more), I pre-ordered a KK Elite Al-Ti. It won't ship until 3/31, so it's going to be a minute until I get it and put it through it's paces. If it's a dud, it wouldn't be the first, second, third, or even the fourth baitcasting reel that was disappointing, but it would be the first disappointing baitcasting reel that I have bought from KastKing.

6 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

Have a hard time believing that. For fun, i've spent a few minutes reading comments on the googan's youtube channel, and you have people on there raging at their rods.

Reviews coming from tweens… lol

I’ve had KK reels for years and have been super happy with them.

@Glenn you’re right about people and pricing. I had a friend put some waders on Facebook for free. They were nice neoprene waders he got for free. He figured he’d return the favor and give them away. Nobody wanted them. He re-listed them for $10 and within 30 minutes someone offered him $20 if he’d hold them for a day until the guy could pick them up! 😂

10 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

@Glenn you’re right about people and pricing. I had a friend put some waders on Facebook for free. They were nice neoprene waders he got for free. He figured he’d return the favor and give them away. Nobody wanted them. He re-listed them for $10 and within 30 minutes someone offered him $20 if he’d hold them for a day until the guy could pick them up! 😂

My introduction to perceived value: I was working at a print shop with my older brother . . . . a long time ago, and sometimes when we would put things out for the scrappers that prowled the alleys at night, they wouldn't take them for several days. He had a way to deal with that. He'd strap the item(s) to a pallet and put it back out there. Invariably it would be gone by the next morning.

I’ve enjoyed most of this conversation. I’m not surprised at the review or the insights. It’s true Kast King has history and a perception of poor quality. Perception can be reality to folks, anglers included. I have a friend who is frugal, he says cheap. He’s been fish KK reels for awhile now with good results. I always say keep your options open. Great dialogue.

3 hours ago, MiceNReets said:

Reviews coming from tweens… lol

Possibly, but are we discrediting them snapping their rod on a cast, or the first hookset? Their rods are known to explode, you can read a ton of reviews on reddit, TW, youtube, etc. If the googan dudes didn't edited it out from their vids, be certain there would be an exploded rod every 3 videos lol.

Believe it or not, there are really good preoducts that dont have a Daiwa or Shimano badge or decal.

Okuma has some rods and reels. In terms of function and durability, Makhaira will run where Saltiga will fail.

Ive never had a KK reel, but they've been around over 10 years and sell a ton of reels. If they were junk, they wouldn't have the repeat business they do.

As far as googan rods go, ive never owned one. I was able to get my hands on some of the Favorite rods when they were working with some of the creators and I can honestly say I strongly disliked them.

The CatchCo rods are a different story. Im not a fan of the googans, but if I said their rods didn't feel better than most at DSG I would be a liar. Theyre kind of ugly, but in hand they were light and balanced. I liked that the locking nut can't back off on its own and had an audible click. I liked that they labeled the blend of graphite. As far as I know, all blanks are composites of different graphite. If you had a blank that was all 40t graphite it would be exceedingly frail. Althought the grips were comfortable, the grips on the budget had plastic that was a little cheap feeling and the 2pc reel seat seemed like it would be