Last winter, I was looking for an "affordable" reel that was light, reliable, pleasant to use and mechanically sound, as I intended to use it on my All Round sea rod for big bass lures, deep-sea pollock fishing, machine-gun fishing for bluefin tuna or any bonito or albacore I came across on these outings. He will have fulfilled all these functions with flying colors during the 2023 season.
Advanced technologies
The Sustain features many of Shimano's latest technologies, including the HAGANE aluminum frame for lightness and strength. And the MGL magnesium rotor, silent drive and Micro Module Gear technology for lightness and smoothness of rotation.
The Sustain isn't the lightest in its class, but it's easy to forget in the hand, as it perfectly balances a 20-70-gram power rod, and its smoothness and fluidity of rotation make it comfortable and very pleasant to use. There is no inertia when the crank is turned and no unpleasant "noise" to be felt.
Smooth, precise and faultless braking
The Sustain 5000 is advertised at 11 kg of drag. Obviously, at no time can it be subjected to this power, as this would require a rod and braid unsuited to the size of this reel. But it does mean that the design of this reel allows it to be subjected to high brake stresses without suffering.
Over the course of the season, he encountered a variety of lees and bars, but above all a few skipjack tuna that made his drag sing as it should. It proved to be powerful, but above all very precise in its settings and very consistent. This is essential on powerful fish where the slightest jerk can cause the line to break or your catch to stall.
Solid mechanics
After a season of intensive use in which the Sustain was confronted with numerous fish of all sizes and pushed to its limits with heavy lures, machine guns loaded with mackerel and horse mackerel, or even powerful, lively fish such as skipjack tuna, it's running like new!
Of course, I avoided "winching" these fish and "pumped" them using my rod, and of course I maintained it throughout the season by rinsing it with hot water after each outing and putting a drop of oil on the strategic spots regularly... But the result is indisputable: to this day, it doesn't suffer from any play in the crank and its fluidity is always excellent.
An affordable price
The Sutain is a reel that retails for around 250 euros. Although it's not a first-price reel, it's still much less expensive than the very top-of-the-range models for qualities (of which it possesses a very large number of technologies) that are undeniable! In my opinion, this is excellent value for money for those looking for a pleasant, reliable reel that will please them.
A cool look
A little icing on the cake, even if this criterion is particularly subjective, the Sustain boasts a very cool look that's both classy and sober. In fact, the satin black color with gold edging is a real eye-catcher.
