More from the manufacturer –
Kingpin reels are constructed to the very highest standards by their parent company KW Engineering, an AS9100 certified company with over 25 years experience in the Aerospace, Aviation and Defence Sectors.
The tolerances we work to here at Kingpin are unrivalled.
Every component is inspected on state of the art machinery. Every reel is checked for concentricity on our CMM machine. It is then recorded onto our database and the data can be retrieved via your reel’s serial number, which is found inside the back plate.
Each centre pin, crafted in England, is machined, precision ground, and assembled to exacting tolerances.
We’ve all heard the adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The same is true in a reel. Designed to precise tolerances, your Kingpin need never come apart. Kingpin’s unique design keeps the bearings, spindle, and housing in one sealed unit.
Other centre pin reels force you to constantly engage and disengage the spindle and bearings causing unneeded wear and tear. With our unique design the precise tolerances and exacting standards we achieve are maintained, as your Kingpin need never come apart.
And what they say of this test reel –
Regency : 378
The Regency is Kingpin’s smallest reel and designed for an angler who enjoys the fight and getting up close and personal with the catch.
This reel is unique among centrepins and demonstrates all the advantages our master craftsmen can offer in a smaller diameter reel. Like all Gold Series reels, the Regency comes with a fully ported spool and high quality, polished brass fittings. Kingpin’s devotion to form and function and superior build quality produce reels that are light and incredibly strong.
The Regency is absolutely the finest small diameter reel available. This reel is at home in the rivers of the British Isles and the streams of North America. From barbel to trout, the ease and comfort of this reel is unrivalled.
Note: The reels sell from between £200 rising to £340 or more if you want them customising. The Regency I tested sells for £269.99 – see www.kingpinreels.com
The Test Review (started back in late May)
One of the reasons that the review of this particular reel fell to me is because I have owned one of the original Arnold Kingpins for about 9 years now and it has given me great service and some immense fun using it. So it should come as no surprise that I was looking forward to using this model, redesigned and re-engineered by the new owner, KW Engineering.
The first changes I couldn’t help but notice were all the extra holes and slots in the spool. The one complaint of the original reels, the only one though, was that it was rather heavy when compared to some of its competitors.
With all the extra holes in the face of the spool, the enlarged holes around the outside rim with matching ones on the back of the spool now, slots cut into the spool itself, and other weight savings the overall weight loss (this is on the Regal model) appears to be around 30 grams, or just over 1 ounce. That is significant and the appearance is that of a much lighter and more modern looking group of reels.
To be fair, this test sample, the Regency, is a much smaller diameter reel to my original Kingpin and it would be unfair to make direct comparisons on weight etc, so the 30 grams saving comes from the weights and measurements given on Kingpin’s website. That apart, the quality of manufacture appears to be just as high as, if not better than, it always was.
This particular model, being the smallest of the models, seems to suit the match rod and river trotting best, so the first thing I did was to set it up on my old Milo Lexia 13’ match rod. The balance was beautiful, considering that you hold a centrepin and rod slightly differently to a fixed spool reel, it felt very good to me. There isn’t a knurled edge on the spool, some people might miss this feature, but I won’t.
I loaded it with line and did, what I call, a “drop test” on it. This involves setting the rod and reel up horizontal, threading the line through the rings, then attaching No. 4 split shot until the reel starts to turn and give line, thus dropping the shot. Interestingly, I only needed 2 x No.4 shot before the spool started turning.
I then attached a typical 2BB lignum stick float and when I tested it again, the reel spun and spun and spun. Owners of this reel should never have to complain about it giving line when trotting the lightest of stick floats. It should be a delight to trot a stick downstream, but unfortunately, I will have to wait until June 16th to do that.
It is a little unfair to try a timed spin test and compare it with my old model. After 9 years that will happily spin for over 2½ minutes from one flick of the spool, but this Regency is new and although very free, I wouldn’t expect it to spin quite as long just yet. Also, the spool, being much lighter, doesn’t have the same mass as my older reel.
Just a few final words before the fishing test, the ratchet (some anglers call it ‘the music’) on this model sounds positively beautiful. You can use this feature to help slow down a running fish and it does tend to draw the attention of on-lookers and make your friends jealous of your catching capabilities. This one will, anyway!
I also want to say that although instructions are given on taking it apart, in all nine years of owning my old Arnold model, I have never once had to disassemble it, not even to lubricate it. In fact, when I spoke to the original creator once, he told me never to and to just wash it after any heavy use. That speaks volumes and I hope and trust the new models will give the same service.
Now the fishing test –
I first of all took it out to a small lake during the close season that is inhabited by lots of smallish carp averaging around 7-8lbs. I started fishing with an even shorter 11ft float rod from Preston in the margins with a splasher float of all things and was a little disappointed that the carp didn’t seem to be playing. And then I hooked one, very small of about 4lbs.
I didn’t photograph it because I thought there’d be plenty along later, there usually is. Well, you know what ‘thought’ did! I did catch another small mirror carp when it was chucking down with rain, but that was it, the carp just weren’t playing, or at least not on the bottom.
So I moved to the pole, just to find some fish and roach started to show. So, after a dozen or so I moved back to the float rod and Kingpin and caught some more roach. Nothing to really test the reel on a stillwater and although it was useful and the reel performed perfectly, it didn’t get a gruelling. I must say that on the shorter 11ft rod, this smaller reel was even better balanced.
June 16th arrived and the river season opened at last, I finally got to try it for trotting. It came as no surprise that with just a small float (2 x no.4) lignum float the line peeled off the reel like nobody’s business. Trouble was, I wasn’t getting far enough out to where the fish were so on went a Drennan Big Stik.
For all my efforts I only managed to catch one dace and a small chub of 1½lbs, but it was the pleasure of casting and trotting that I wanted to experience. This, the reel delivered gracefully although I felt it might benefit from a line guard. I’ve asked them about this and they say that it’s not been requested much to date, but if many anglers start demanding it, they will provide one. There is a full customisation service offered.
This small Regency model weighs in at 230 grams, a tiny bit over 8ozs on the old scale and will balance beautifully on most stick and general float rods, some specialist ones too. It was really nice to use and I am told that many of the brass parts are hand polished before being treated. It’s a real (or should that be “reel”?) classy product well worth making a lifetime investment in.
