While many of our readers are spin or conventional fishermen, every once in a while I stick to my personal vendetta of getting more anglers fly fishing from a kayak. When a new piece of gear comes out that looks as gorgeous and performs as well as designed like the Taylor Reels Revolution, $339, that gets even easier. Just look at those colors, they almost make my eyes turn into little hearts like in a cartoon. Unlike some gear in the fly fishing industry though, the accolades don’t stop with just the good looks of these reels.
Designed from the drag system up, as every reel should be designed, Taylor Reels has created a monster of power. Designed to be as strong as it is smooth and reliable, the sealed system features a multi-disk drag that allows anglers to apply even braking pressure with the added luxury of extra heat dispersion over multiple surfaces. That means that when you need to put the brakes on a fish, your reel won’t just burn up and, well, break. With up to 25lbs of drag strength, and models available from 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8, there isn’t a fish worth chasing in a kayak that this reel can’t match. (If you need a larger reel for chasing big game from a kayak, our hats off to you).
Taylor Reels also wanted to make sure that all of that drag power and smoothness came at a reasonable price. While $339 isn’t chump change, when it comes to fly reels, it’s hard to find features as good as these for the same price range. To make you feel better about spending a little bit more dough, the lightweight, machined, and anodized design means you’ll be happier on those long days on the water, not to mention the extra seasons you’ll get with a reel of this durability and quality.
Many anglers look for large arbor reels, since they give you more speed on the retrieve and reduce line memory, but Taylor Reels has brought something even better to market: Ultra Large Arbor. Now you can even better retrieval speed for when a fish starts swimming straight at you and an even greater reduction in line memory, but Taylor Reels also made sure the Revolutuion can still hold a significant amount of backing, just in case that fish starts to get away from you.
It can sometimes be hard to tell the difference between a really good reel and an over-hyped dud. The difference, my friends, is all in the details. When designing the Revolution, Taylor Reels moved along step by tiny step to make sure every single thing was exactly as it should be. That even includes: “how far the drag knob protrudes, the handle size and concave, the clicking mechanism, the spool diameter to width ratio, the quality of the bearings, etc.” The reel is also made from 6061T alloy aluminum and the drag disks are made of heat resistant Nulon, which means you’ll have a hard time making this reel sweat. 
Taylor Reels Revolution Features
– Watertight Sealed Drag System
– Hard Anodized Exterior for Both Beauty and Protection
– Multiple Colors (Slate Grey, Electric Green, Burnt Orange, Deepsea Blue)
– Six Disk Stacked Drag System; Drag Settings from Dead-Stop to fine sensitivity.
– Smooth Drag that Eliminates Start-Up Friction
– Ultra Large Arbor Design for Fast Retrieve and minimal line coil.
– Machined from aerospace 6061 T6 Bar Stock Aluminum
– Reel clicks on both incoming and outgoing
– Convertible to both left and right hand retrieve
– Reels come in a tough cordura fabric case
Available in four colors: Slate Grey, Orange Crush, Offshore Blue and Electric Green. For more information about Taylor Reels, or their Revolution, check out their website, TaylorFlyFishing.com.
