Omoto 12 Triple Series

[Alto Mare]

As most of you know, I'm a Penn guy, and most of my reels are star drag. However, while discussing drag numbers on custom reels, with Alan Chui recently, he mentioned that this little triple series reel would be able to handle 50 lb. of drag. I told him that I didn't believe it, and asked if he would send one to me so that I could test it myself. I also told him that I wouldn't be responsible if the reel blew up, but he said "Go for it".  Here is the reel, I wanted to take a look inside before my test:



and some specs:

starting with the pre-set knob


removing the three plate screws

and the plate pulls right out revealing a nice set of stainless steel gears

removing the spool

since I have them out I'll be working on the frame and spool first.
The reel foot is stainless steel and it comes with a gasket

added some grease and set it back in

six screws total, that's not going anywhere

gear cover also gets some grease


pulled the spool shaft and removed the alarm cog wheel, bearing and tube



and here is the patented 3 washers system


the drag washers are dry

the metal sandwiched in between appears to be stainless steel

I'll grease them up and put them back in

pressing in with the thumb and setting the c-clip spring in place

spool shaft back in and set the spool and frame aside


and now the shift housing

the handle

and lining everything up so I don't lose the layout

now the gears... those look very nice


nice size bearing, I believe they increased this one in size

here is the layout again of the pre-set knob, the shift housing and the gears


slapped some grease on the gears and set them back in

set the spool back in place

notice the pinion is now on the spool, you will have a hard time lining up the dogs with the pins if you have the pinion on the plate.
The disc spring washers configuration from the left side  ()()(  I had one wrong and lost about 20 seconds of free spool.
Some more grease on the edge of the frame

and finishing with the assembly




and here is the reel back together with no extra parts on the bench


NOW THE TEST

56 bricks and wagon equal 350lbs

I got it up to 32lb with the high gear, shifting into low gear I was able to pull 42lbs by turning the handle, I was impressed

that much weight did a job on my wagon, check the right side wheel

by pulling with the rod I got 52lbs. but the scale moved to 50lbs

I was really amazed by this little reel, freespool out of the box was just shy of one minute. Up to 48lbs of drag it still had freespool.
If you have any questions about this reel, maybe Alan could answer them, I don't know much about this reel or the manufacturer, but one thing that I can say for sure is that it made me a believer.
Sal
Sorry, I could not adjust the picture size so they are a bit large.

[Keta]

I have one I'm taking on the LR trip to test.  It is slightly larger than a Avet MXL.

[wallacewt]

how much are these reels?

[OldSchool]

Im impressed with those clockmakers fingers you can handle small reel parts so well.... ...or is that the supersized pictures.

[Black Pearl]

how much are these reels?

Initially, this reel was $399.99, but OMOTO realized that to gain US customers' trust on its new products, it has to prove to them first. Therefore, OMOTO decided not to make too much profit margin on this Triple model and spent more money to set up few (4) service centers within USA, so the US customers do not have to send the reel back to Taiwan for service or parts.

By the way, this Triple also comes with narrow spool model.

[wallacewt]

$419aud,  includes 5yr warranty and free postage(ebay)

[Black Pearl]

$419aud,  includes 5yr warranty and free postage(ebay)

That will be $409 in USD, right? Too expensive for the US customers because US customer can add $30.00 more to get an AVET MXL Raptor 2 speeds.

I think that $299.00 + warranty is the right price for the US market for this reel.

[wallacewt]

about $369usd

[Black Pearl]

about $369usd

That is good price in AU consider that AVET MXL Raptor 2 speeds reel is very expensive in AU.

[Bryan Young]

For $299, I think a lot of people would be willing to give it a try.

[OldSchool]

A lot of Omoto is Pelagic Omoto in Australia and its at least half recommended retail if you buy online. Ive seen some omoto compare almost identical to Avet.

[handi2]

A lot of Omoto is Pelagic Omoto in Australia and its at least half recommended retail if you buy online. Ive seen some omoto compare almost identical to Avet.

That may be true with the older models but not this new Triple reel. I have an Atlas Kona that was made by Omoto with the AR bearing and backup dog. Yes they are very close to Avet in design.

[Black Pearl]

A lot of Omoto is Pelagic Omoto in Australia and its at least half recommended retail if you buy online. Ive seen some omoto compare almost identical to Avet.

That is correct, AU Pelagic is selling a lot of OMOTO's old model reels. If you check, AU Pelagic does not sell any Triple model reel. As a matter of fact, there is another AU company is selling this Triple reel for OMOTO (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OMOTO-TRIPLE-12II-12NII-SERIES-Lever-Drag-SPORT-JIGGING-BIG-GAME-FISHING-REEL-/181423865284?pt=AU_FishingReels&var=&hash=item2a3db47dc4).

[wallacewt]

hi black pearl,
are you JROC?

[Black Pearl]

hi black pearl,
are you JROC?

Hi Wallace,

No, I am not.

Thanks,
Alan