Introduction: We've reviewed the Chronarch CI4+ and we've reviewed the Zillion TWS. Nothing gets the collective juices of the TackleTour readership flowing more than a good old fashioned, all scores barred, head to head, specification to specification, performance metric to performance metric comparison. Throw in the industries most heated consumer rivalry - Shimano vs Daiwa - and you have the makings of a TackleTour Shootout!
Nice to see another shootout because its been while! I know the Chronarch squeaked by with a win but I want to point out that during the distance test with the lipless crank you were throwing, the Chronarch brake setting was about 50%. You could have easily went down to 1 brake shoe on and gained 20+ ft and the spool would have still been very controlled. Great article!
Bootytrain wrote:Nice to see another shootout because its been while! I know the Chronarch squeaked by with a win but I want to point out that during the distance test with the lipless crank you were throwing, the Chronarch brake setting was about 50%. You could have easily went down to 1 brake shoe on and gained 20+ ft and the spool would have still been very controlled. Great article!
Two brakes on the inside on, external dial turned to 2 - barely on... we considered that roughly 1/3 because I always work the brakes in pairs. Lower settings produced backlashes. It's about distance with control.
I was hoping for a comparison to the old Zillion, but I guess that doesn't help us going forward. I not feeling the love for the TWS, if this is the platform.
BigG wrote:I was hoping for a comparison to the old Zillion, but I guess that doesn't help us going forward. I not feeling the love for the TWS, if this is the platform.
They compared the old zillion vs the old Chronarch d a few years ago. Zillion won.
Bootytrain wrote:Nice to see another shootout because its been while! I know the Chronarch squeaked by with a win but I want to point out that during the distance test with the lipless crank you were throwing, the Chronarch brake setting was about 50%. You could have easily went down to 1 brake shoe on and gained 20+ ft and the spool would have still been very controlled. Great article!
Two brakes on the inside on, external dial turned to 2 - barely on... we considered that roughly 1/3 because I always work the brakes in pairs. Lower settings produced backlashes. It's about distance with control.
Guess we have different experiences, I rountinely go down to one brake on my svs infinity and old svs shimanos when throwing lipless cranks and their was a marked difference in distance vs 2 brakes. The line does crown a bit in the middle of the cast but it always sorts itself out at the end.
Bootytrain wrote:Guess we have different experiences, I rountinely go down to one brake on my svs infinity and old svs shimanos when throwing lipless cranks and their was a marked difference in distance vs 2 brakes. The line does crown a bit in the middle of the cast but it always sorts itself out at the end.
Not to mention different skill levels. I'm always a brake heavy kinda guy anyway ... Regardless, I found it interesting myself that the Zillion compared so favorably when conducting the side by side comparison because without it and given the choice between both reels, I'd have chosen the Chronarch.
We hope to do more of these as time allows, but there's so much product to go through, it's tough to make time sometimes.
Suggestions for tweaks to future shootout categories:
Have a max distance casting category where each reel is tweaked for maximum possible usable distance, even if it results in the occasional professional (non major) backlash.
Also use the stress free casting category (basically what yours was in this shootout).
Should lighter line have been used for the small bait casting category?
For the sweet drag category measure both reels over the same range of drag pressure. For this shootout for example the Zillions sweet drag numbers should have only been used from its 0-10lb range as anything above that was just a bonus over the Chronarch.
Bootytrain wrote:Guess we have different experiences, I rountinely go down to one brake on my svs infinity and old svs shimanos when throwing lipless cranks and their was a marked difference in distance vs 2 brakes. The line does crown a bit in the middle of the cast but it always sorts itself out at the end.
Not to mention different skill levels. I'm always a brake heavy kinda guy anyway ... Regardless, I found it interesting myself that the Zillion compared so favorably when conducting the side by side comparison because without it and given the choice between both reels, I'd have chosen the Chronarch.
We hope to do more of these as time allows, but there's so much product to go through, it's tough to make time sometimes.
Fair enough as I have no boat so I've learned to tweak my reels settings to cover maximum water from the bank.
I know the Chronarch squeaked by with a win but I want to point out that during the distance test with the lipless crank you were throwing, the Chronarch brake setting was about 50%. You could have easily went down to 1 brake shoe on and gained 20+ ft and the spool would have still been very controlled. Great article!
... Regardless, I found it interesting myself that the Zillion compared so favorably when conducting the side by side comparison because without it and given the choice between both reels, I'd have chosen the Chronarch. 
