KastKing Zephyr BFS Carbon Fiber Baitcasting Fishing Reel - Smooth Performance and Durable Design

Mark W.Mark W.: This is my first BFS reel and I love it! I can cast a 2 gr weight over 20 meters using 10lb braided line and with some more practice I’m sure I’ll be able to cast farther than that. It’s so smooth you just have to feel it to appreciate it. It is so much value for the price point. I’m going have to get another one to go with my first. I’m a KastKing convert! Now to pick a KastKing rod to pair it with and their customer service has offered to help me do that! Great product and great customer service!

United States on Nov 08, 2023

Clary Carrier: Bad tolerances means line gets between the barrel and frame, causing all sorts of problems. Very hard to set up for any lure. Just not recommended. Get an SLX BFS or a Curado BFS.

Canada on Oct 29, 2023

Forrest: I prefer baitcasting tackle when I can use it and was interested in the BFS technology when I read about it. This is the cheapest BFS reel I have found available in the USA, so I decided to try one. I've been happy with it.

I have since bought a more expensive model, but this one works very well. It doesn't have as many bearings and isn't quite as smooth, and isn't quite as lightweight, but it does the job. I can cast a 1/16 oz crappie jig with it, and the drag works very well. I caught a 10 lb striper with it and the drag worked him down as well as any reel.

I spooled it with 5 lb Sunline Sniper FC and haven't had the issue of line getting caught behind the spool that some have mentioned. That's a tolerance issue and I might have just been lucky to get a good one.

United States on Jul 29, 2023

Perry Reckermann: Item is severely over-priced. You can do much better buying a $50 dollar reel than this one. Had issues with the adjustments such as the tensioner and the magnetic bearings.

Canada on Jul 22, 2023

Mark Dunn: This reel is as smooth as butter. Before you put any fishing line on it, click the casting button and spin the spool ... and it almost never stops, especially if you set the magnetic brake down low.
The trick with this reel is that you don't want to snap it like a bullwhip when you cast. Swing your rod in a big arc. The lure will go all the way into the next county, and if you sit the magnetic drag about in the middle, you won't get a backlash.
I own several baitcasters, including an expensive Daiwa, an expensive Shimano Chronarch, a couple of cheap ones, and an old Ambassadeur 5500C that is 40 years old. This Zephyr reel is the smoothest one I've ever had. I spooled it with 12 pound braid.

United States on Jul 11, 2023

Logan: Works as advertised. Paired with Ugly Stik Elite 7' UL rod and 8lb Power Pro, handles 1/8 oz lures no problem. Anything lower (eg. 3/32oz) and you're limited to overhead casts only. Managed to haul in panfish and even a small pike no problem, the drag ran smooth. It backlashes as any other baitcaster would, and I was able to unravel all but one, which was produced by hooking a bush behind me with the brakes at 50%. I did not experience the issue of line getting caught between the spool and frame as other anglers have. There is a clicking sound in the spool every time the anti reverse bearing catches, which is a little annoying if you're jigging, but does not affect the function. I've only used it for a month, so I cannot speak on the longevity of the reel.

5/5 - wish it was built a little more solid, but it's perfect for the $100 price range.

Canada on Apr 24, 2023

Reviewman: I'm a crappie fisherman who got into bait casting last year and bought a couple higher end combo's. Wasn't very impressed with them but bumped into the idea of using a BFS caster for crappie. I have several ultra light setups but the idea of not having to flip a bail and smoothing out the process appealed to me. So the KastKing BFS immediately comes up with it's attractive price and reputation. I decided to take a chance for science.

Right out of the box it feels lightweight, grips are /meh and it's obviously not high precision equipment. But the more I looked at it the happier I was with it. I paired it with a Carbonlite 2.0, 6 lbs mono just to keep it close to what I normally use for comparisons. Felt great in my hand. Threw on a casting plug and went to the yard. Very easy to dial in, I slowly started getting used to it and increasing distance. Within about 10 minutes I was matching some of my longer casts records across the yard. Decided to give it a really hard throw - it cleared my yard, the neighbors yard the cleared the top of the far tree (2 stories) for a new casting record. Yeah, it'll do.

Spent all day at the lake with it, typical bait caster issues like...

United States on Apr 11, 2023

Justin: Nice cheap bfs reel

Canada on Mar 25, 2023

Carmen: Light lines still gets caught in between spool as there is a gap in the design. Gets the job done. Smooth reeling and cast far.

Canada on Mar 10, 2023

S. Hochstetler: Great reel for the price point. I wanted to ditch my spinning reel and try my hand at BFS, but didn't want to shell out $500+ on a rod and reel that may not fit my fishing style. Enter the KastKing Zephyr. Entry level price point, with big boy performance. To be clear, I will be using this for bass fishing and this more than handles the baits I want to throw. I was able to throw small jigs and tiny crankless swim baits with ease. I had my sppol tension too high when I first was testing the rod and led me to think the drag was broken. It was entirely user error and I got it figured out quickly enough. If you are using this for trout fishing and want to throw tiny baits like a trout magnet, you may need a slight upgrade in the bearings department. The bearings won't necessarily increase you casting distance, but they will allow you to cast lighter lures. All in all, this will work perfectly for me using some 8lb test to throw lures I previously needed a spinning reel for. This was paired with a KastKing Perigee II ML action rod and performed beautifully. These were my first KastKing purchases, but surely won't be my last!

UPDATE 2/24/23:
The reel is still performing great...

United States on Sep 12, 2022