Richard Isaacs
Senior Member & Supporter
I want to talk to talk about these unusual centrepin reels.
I’ve recently received my second now and I find it extremely strange that they don’t get alot of press amongst float trotting guys.
I don’t believe many people actually use them. Whenever they come up for sale they seem to always be sold as near on brand new or “used 3 times” I mean…… why?
The very few comments I’ve actually read about them are often negative and some of the things I’ve read, it actually makes me wonder whether the person commenting has actually seen one let alone used one.
I have been using one now for around 9 months and I’ve gone from liking it, to liking it a lot to absolutely loving it.
Now here’s the shocker…… I think on the whole I actually prefer it to the mill pin I designed and built myself simply because of the design.
Now I’m not kicking myself because of this as I very much love my mtc pin and there was no possibility of me being able to improve it in the way these Hardy’s are better simply because Gary doesn’t build centrepins this way………. No body does!
Firstly I want to talk about the back plate. Well actually it’s a back frame because it’s not a plate on this reel imo.
The fundamental difference here between this and any other plate on the back of a cpin is there is no corner area around the outside for bits to find their way into and start interfering with the spool rotation.
A common problem with maggot maize, bits of grit etc find their way right into the corners of the back plate and your wiping them out in the middle of the river. Never had to do this with this reel.
Now the clever part. This back frame allows the user to access the perforated rear flange on the spool very comfortably with any of your fingers on the back of the reel. It’s an alternative grippier surface to the polished spool rim which when wet are a pain in the arse.
This reel offers another option of controlling the spool if you’ve hooked a big fish particularly if that polished rim is soaking wet. I have used the back flange on this reel on a number of occasions. It’s just as convenient as the spool rim to access.
The check mechanism.
Granted it’s over complicated and unnecessary to do what it needs to do but it brings with its complexity a couple of useful things.
Firstly the obvious…… you have a spare pawl. You can use this mechanism with just 1 pawl engaged and the other one can simply be turned 90° and kept as a spare. Or you can use it with both engaging the gear
It can be set up to engage the pawls into the gear at different pressures depending on how you position the cams. It’s a 2 position side lever which is weak check at half way and strong check at full way.
The pin it’s self…… of course this had to be different aswell. You see this is a true pin reel. But this ain’t no ordinary pin. It’s domed on the top like a mushroom with a dead flat surface in the top. The end float is touching the flat surface rather than the more common more convex surface used on other true pins.
It works very well, This reel will start rolling with less force than any other reel I’ve ever used or owned. It’s incredibly free. The 4 inch actually is slightly better than the 4.5 inch in this respect.
One thing that does annoy me a little bit regarding the pin is the lack of an oil well. Most true pins have a slight diameter decrease in a section of the pin for oil to get held up in and keep the brass inner diameter lubricated for longer. This one doesn’t. It’s a straight pin and oil doesn’t stay held up on it and in my experience I am oiling it a bit more often. It’s not a ridiculous amount more but it’s noticeable and the oil does end up in the bottom quicker. It’s the only negative point I can say about the reel.
There is no adjustment feature to tighten the spool up on this reel.
That works for me because I never use it. Always maximum freedom for me.
The spool itself is also well thought out but you Just have to try it ……..!
I had reservations about 3 handles before I got one but it really does work so well. Gottta be tried to be believed
However there is additional weights and holes to convert it back to two handles if needed
The arbor is big!!! I love that. I get my floats back quickly even the baby 4 inch has an arbor as large as most common 4.5 inch pins.
Polished rim……. Meh! I’m not really a fan I’m not really fussed. I wouldn’t chose it but it doesn’t bother me.
It’s a solid aluminum spool so it’s strong and durable and there’s no pins, pillars and stuff to potentially break.
Now I do like a traditional looking pin it’s exactly what I went for when I had my mtc pin built they look the nuts but when it comes to reliability you cannot get better than 1 piece of material that’s a fact.
Lastly wow these pins are bloody light.
211 and 184 both loaded up with 100m of line. That’s very impressive for such robust reels.
To conclude….. I absolutely love the latest conquest and i really think it deserves a much better and bigger following. It deserves shouting about. It’s actually bloody brilliant.
It will be a good while before I find anything functionally better. It’s as close to perfection for me and my float trotting as it can possibly get. (I Only use pins to trott floats)
Now I don’t find them to be particularly attractive reels I much prefer the look of a nice traditional Ariel style British pin but from a functional point of veiw this unusual reel blows most stuff away as far as I’m concerned.
If you’re looking for a great trotting reel I’d highly recommend keeping an eye out for a conquest. Mint ones come up quite often as no one seems to want to use em
I’ve recently received my second now and I find it extremely strange that they don’t get alot of press amongst float trotting guys.
I don’t believe many people actually use them. Whenever they come up for sale they seem to always be sold as near on brand new or “used 3 times” I mean…… why?
The very few comments I’ve actually read about them are often negative and some of the things I’ve read, it actually makes me wonder whether the person commenting has actually seen one let alone used one.
I have been using one now for around 9 months and I’ve gone from liking it, to liking it a lot to absolutely loving it.
Now here’s the shocker…… I think on the whole I actually prefer it to the mill pin I designed and built myself simply because of the design.
Now I’m not kicking myself because of this as I very much love my mtc pin and there was no possibility of me being able to improve it in the way these Hardy’s are better simply because Gary doesn’t build centrepins this way………. No body does!
Firstly I want to talk about the back plate. Well actually it’s a back frame because it’s not a plate on this reel imo.
The fundamental difference here between this and any other plate on the back of a cpin is there is no corner area around the outside for bits to find their way into and start interfering with the spool rotation.
A common problem with maggot maize, bits of grit etc find their way right into the corners of the back plate and your wiping them out in the middle of the river. Never had to do this with this reel.
Now the clever part. This back frame allows the user to access the perforated rear flange on the spool very comfortably with any of your fingers on the back of the reel. It’s an alternative grippier surface to the polished spool rim which when wet are a pain in the arse.
This reel offers another option of controlling the spool if you’ve hooked a big fish particularly if that polished rim is soaking wet. I have used the back flange on this reel on a number of occasions. It’s just as convenient as the spool rim to access.
The check mechanism.
Granted it’s over complicated and unnecessary to do what it needs to do but it brings with its complexity a couple of useful things.
Firstly the obvious…… you have a spare pawl. You can use this mechanism with just 1 pawl engaged and the other one can simply be turned 90° and kept as a spare. Or you can use it with both engaging the gear
It can be set up to engage the pawls into the gear at different pressures depending on how you position the cams. It’s a 2 position side lever which is weak check at half way and strong check at full way.
The pin it’s self…… of course this had to be different aswell. You see this is a true pin reel. But this ain’t no ordinary pin. It’s domed on the top like a mushroom with a dead flat surface in the top. The end float is touching the flat surface rather than the more common more convex surface used on other true pins.
It works very well, This reel will start rolling with less force than any other reel I’ve ever used or owned. It’s incredibly free. The 4 inch actually is slightly better than the 4.5 inch in this respect.
One thing that does annoy me a little bit regarding the pin is the lack of an oil well. Most true pins have a slight diameter decrease in a section of the pin for oil to get held up in and keep the brass inner diameter lubricated for longer. This one doesn’t. It’s a straight pin and oil doesn’t stay held up on it and in my experience I am oiling it a bit more often. It’s not a ridiculous amount more but it’s noticeable and the oil does end up in the bottom quicker. It’s the only negative point I can say about the reel.
There is no adjustment feature to tighten the spool up on this reel.
That works for me because I never use it. Always maximum freedom for me.
The spool itself is also well thought out but you Just have to try it ……..!
I had reservations about 3 handles before I got one but it really does work so well. Gottta be tried to be believed
However there is additional weights and holes to convert it back to two handles if needed
The arbor is big!!! I love that. I get my floats back quickly even the baby 4 inch has an arbor as large as most common 4.5 inch pins.
Polished rim……. Meh! I’m not really a fan I’m not really fussed. I wouldn’t chose it but it doesn’t bother me.
It’s a solid aluminum spool so it’s strong and durable and there’s no pins, pillars and stuff to potentially break.
Now I do like a traditional looking pin it’s exactly what I went for when I had my mtc pin built they look the nuts but when it comes to reliability you cannot get better than 1 piece of material that’s a fact.
Lastly wow these pins are bloody light.
211 and 184 both loaded up with 100m of line. That’s very impressive for such robust reels.
To conclude….. I absolutely love the latest conquest and i really think it deserves a much better and bigger following. It deserves shouting about. It’s actually bloody brilliant.
It will be a good while before I find anything functionally better. It’s as close to perfection for me and my float trotting as it can possibly get. (I Only use pins to trott floats)
Now I don’t find them to be particularly attractive reels I much prefer the look of a nice traditional Ariel style British pin but from a functional point of veiw this unusual reel blows most stuff away as far as I’m concerned.
If you’re looking for a great trotting reel I’d highly recommend keeping an eye out for a conquest. Mint ones come up quite often as no one seems to want to use em
