Alphas air stream custom

[fishonsc]

Just recieved mine today. Some quick notes:
-Spool weighs 9.15g holds about 50yds of 4lb mono. Still has the same heavy bearing on the spool as the other air reels so weight is a bit deceiving.
-Fixed induductor!

Retrieve feels the same as the alphas air and alphas sv reels as its the same gears and drag. Mine didnt have much lube on the gears so a added a little grease and now it feels very smooth both free spinning and under load. No play in the handle, 5 bearings can (and will be added in mine) to further improve retrieve and feel. Drag is smooth, plenty if not over powered for the spool so no
Backyard cast test:
Spooled with 4lb Berkley mono on my 7'1" L feather i shot for the moon and tied on a tiny .6g bluegill jig which is the lightest ive ever attemped to cast on casting gear, set the brakes to 10 and slowly worked down the brake dial. At level 10 i was getting around 20 feet distance but you could tell the brakes were holding the lure back. Best results came from the brakes set at 7.5. Average of 10 casts was 33 feet (11yards) with a rod not designed for baits this small. This was with both overhead and side arms casts. I could put 10 casts into a 2 foot circle so its decently consistent for this weight of lure. I went as low as a 5 brake setting and could get over 40 feet but it was hard to control. A different rod/line combo would probably help but if youre fishing small streams and distance isnt an issue the air stream will go light. There was no wind when i tested which helped tremendously.

No play in the handle. You mean side to side or in and out? Hell my steez's, pixy's and Sv105's all have some in and out play on the handle.

[Dalleinf]

^^^^^^ x2
Yeah, and in my collection, my alphas and alphas air are among the worst - still nice reels though...
Sad that the air stream custom is out of stock at digitaka...

[ss30378]

Just recieved mine today. Some quick notes:
-Spool weighs 9.15g holds about 50yds of 4lb mono. Still has the same heavy bearing on the spool as the other air reels so weight is a bit deceiving.
-Fixed induductor!

Retrieve feels the same as the alphas air and alphas sv reels as its the same gears and drag. Mine didnt have much lube on the gears so a added a little grease and now it feels very smooth both free spinning and under load. No play in the handle, 5 bearings can (and will be added in mine) to further improve retrieve and feel. Drag is smooth, plenty if not over powered for the spool so no
Backyard cast test:
Spooled with 4lb Berkley mono on my 7'1" L feather i shot for the moon and tied on a tiny .6g bluegill jig which is the lightest ive ever attemped to cast on casting gear, set the brakes to 10 and slowly worked down the brake dial. At level 10 i was getting around 20 feet distance but you could tell the brakes were holding the lure back. Best results came from the brakes set at 7.5. Average of 10 casts was 33 feet (11yards) with a rod not designed for baits this small. This was with both overhead and side arms casts. I could put 10 casts into a 2 foot circle so its decently consistent for this weight of lure. I went as low as a 5 brake setting and could get over 40 feet but it was hard to control. A different rod/line combo would probably help but if youre fishing small streams and distance isnt an issue the air stream will go light. There was no wind when i tested which helped tremendously.

No play in the handle. You mean side to side or in and out? Hell my steez's, pixy's and Sv105's all have some in and out play on the handle.

I meant no backplay in the AR bearing. There is some wiggle in and out on the main shaft

[Dalleinf]

ss30378, how would you say the alphas air stream compares to the 15 Alde w KTF spool? (With regard to light lures)
I am looking for excuses to buy a reel that I do not really need...

[ss30378]

Id say from a casting standpoint the airstream has the edge with lightweights. The ktf aldebaran was neck and neck with my ss air and the alphas air was ever so slighly (3-5ft) behind. Ive since sold the aldebaran and ss air so i just have the alphas air to directly compare and with the same line and rod the air stream is 10ft ahead of the alphas air with a 1.95g pins minnow. That would mean distance wise in 5ft or so ahead of the ss air and ktf aldebaran. So is 5 feet worth buying another reel to you? Where im seeing the biggest improvement with the air stream is the easy startup of the spool. I think the smaller diameter gets spinning a bit easier making shorter pinpoint casts noticeably easier. Since i fish small clear water streams with fairly quick current accuracy is king for me to get bites.

I have a 12 aldebaran bfs arriving shortly ill be putting the 6g avail spool in and will test against that to give a comparison. But work is sending me out of town for a couple weeks so it will be a few weeks before i can report.

[Dalleinf]

Id say from a casting standpoint the airstream has the edge with lightweights. The ktf aldebaran was neck and neck with my ss air and the alphas air was ever so slighly (3-5ft) behind. Ive since sold the aldebaran and ss air so i just have the alphas air to directly compare and with the same line and rod the air stream is 10ft ahead of the alphas air with a 1.95g pins minnow. That would mean distance wise in 5ft or so ahead of the ss air and ktf aldebaran. So is 5 feet worth buying another reel to you? Where im seeing the biggest improvement with the air stream is the easy startup of the spool. I think the smaller diameter gets spinning a bit easier making shorter pinpoint casts noticeably easier. Since i fish small clear water streams with fairly quick current accuracy is king for me to get bites.

I have a 12 aldebaran bfs arriving shortly ill be putting the 6g avail spool in and will test against that to give a comparison. But work is sending me out of town for a couple weeks so it will be a few weeks before i can report.

Thanks a lot. You have told me what I need to hear. I fish small streams too and need to make pinpoint casts with small lures - esp. when the water is most clear / during drier times. I will just have to buy one...

[ss30378]

^^^^^^ x2
Yeah, and in my collection, my alphas and alphas air are among the worst - still nice reels though...
Sad that the air stream custom is out of stock at digitaka...

Japan lure shop has right handed ones in stock.

[faheem96]

Hand down it cast better than my conquest and aldebaran bfs.

[1nutinthewater]

Hand down it cast better than my conquest and aldebaran bfs.

I’m in!

[SSS]

Just recieved mine today. Some quick notes:
-Spool weighs 9.15g holds about 50yds of 4lb mono. Still has the same heavy bearing on the spool as the other air reels so weight is a bit deceiving.
-Fixed induductor!

Retrieve feels the same as the alphas air and alphas sv reels as its the same gears and drag. Mine didnt have much lube on the gears so a added a little grease and now it feels very smooth both free spinning and under load. No play in the handle, 5 bearings can (and will be added in mine) to further improve retrieve and feel. Drag is smooth, plenty if not over powered for the spool so no
Backyard cast test:
Spooled with 4lb Berkley mono on my 7'1" L feather i shot for the moon and tied on a tiny .6g bluegill jig which is the lightest ive ever attemped to cast on casting gear, set the brakes to 10 and slowly worked down the brake dial. At level 10 i was getting around 20 feet distance but you could tell the brakes were holding the lure back. Best results came from the brakes set at 7.5. Average of 10 casts was 33 feet (11yards) with a rod not designed for baits this small. This was with both overhead and side arms casts. I could put 10 casts into a 2 foot circle so its decently consistent for this weight of lure. I went as low as a 5 brake setting and could get over 40 feet but it was hard to control. A different rod/line combo would probably help but if youre fishing small streams and distance isnt an issue the air stream will go light. There was no wind when i tested which helped tremendously.

No play in the handle. You mean side to side or in and out? Hell my steez's, pixy's and Sv105's all have some in and out play on the handle.

I meant no backplay in the AR bearing. There is some wiggle in and out on the main shaft

handle backplay is more of a shimano/abu thing. Daiwa doesn't have it for ages now.

[sydluxer]

Yup went straight to plat and ordered when he mentioned that

[E73Bass]

The alphas air stream is an ultra light replacement for the discontinued Presso

[Schlag]

Broke mine in on a small river. It does a great job casting out light lures, but I'm still liking my Aldebaran 16 BFS w/ the KTF spool better. guess I need more time on the water with it. Wish I didn't sell my ML Presso rod, and will need to find something to match up with the reel. The Pixy rod was a little too powerful for some of the lighter jerkbaits.

[ss30378]

Beautiful fish and pics!

[Schlag]

Couple more pics from today. The reel casts lighter baits better than my Presso, but it's fussy, especially on a breezy day. Was mostly using a Duo Realis Minnow 80SP and LC Pointer 65sp. The drag is buttery smooth, and handled the larger fish in the current with ease. Was using Maxima 10 lb braid with 8 lb Tatsu leader.