Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Reels are the hottest topic for TackleTour. Everyone wants to know what the latest and greatest is and how they compare to the old guard. What's the best for light stuff, or what's your suggestion for heavy cover. Do we really need different retrieve ratios? It's all in here.
DirtyD64
Pro Angler
Pro Angler
Posts: 3049
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:23 pm

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by DirtyD64 » Thu May 17, 2018 8:34 am

egore1 wrote:
This worries me. That super short distance from guide to spool does seem to make me worry some. Most don't mention it, but you and a few others have mentioned that it doesn't cast quite as well as the Metanium/Chronarch MGL...[/quote]

I get the impression my Chronarch and Metanium beat the Bantam's casting distance by a small margin. They all bomb lures to a distance that has me question the ability to get a decent hook set :D I wouldn't describe the margin as large.[/quote]

Good point, I would like to see a size comparison for the SV105 versus Bantam. I'm a proponent of ALWAYS larger handles (wish my Chronarch was the 96mm and Zillions came with 100mm), but the 100mm on my SV105 is a bit big. That being said, a smaller reel like the Alphas or Bantam should be perfect with a 90mm and I would be most interested in the XG so that's perfect. It will probably take me forever to see the Bantam in person, probably will have already made an order for something by then. Still cannot help but wonder what else is coming this year though...

Kingpin
Angler
Angler
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2018 12:31 pm

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by Kingpin » Fri May 18, 2018 12:10 pm

I ordered 1 and received the wrong model. If anyone needs a 6.2 for cheap,let me know. Otherwise what mods are being done to these reels? I have an XG model thats going for its first ride tomorrow. I will be ordering a carbon handle and updating some of the other parts with anodized stuff as I find it. Its early for a frog here but has anyone gotten a fair amount of time with this reel and a frog?

User avatar
TommyG
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 794
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:02 am
Location: Midlothian, Illinois

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by TommyG » Thu May 24, 2018 12:44 pm

Got some time with the Bantam Mgl Hg, spooled with 18lb sunline structure fc. Reel is bone stock, the first outing was a bit of a break in outing, started with 2 brakes and quickly added 1 more, had a lot of fluff with 2. After about 2 hrs. the line smoothed out a bit and casting was much better. The 2nd outing was very much improved as the line was much more manageable. Distance was much improved, with a 10in. power worm and 3/8 wt was in the 30-35 yd range. As the day went on casting was getting easier and was getting a bit more distance. All in all a very smooth reel out of the box, feels very good in hand, it's about the same size as the Sv103. The handle is a bit short for my liking but not a deal breaker. The knobs are very nice with no play.
Combo'd up with CNQ 904c I'm really happy with it. Being a daiwa guy for the most part, I did miss the clicky CC, but again, not a deal breaker by any means. The fine adjuster knob is very easy to move and very precise. So far so good!!

User avatar
johnD
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 470
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:16 am
Location: Lakeland , FL

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by johnD » Thu May 24, 2018 8:07 pm

If you take the spool bearings out and flush them on these high end shimanos , it's night and day difference.

lape0019
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 440
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:27 pm
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by lape0019 » Fri May 25, 2018 6:27 am

I'll be honest here.

When I first started seeing pictures of this reel, I thought it was going to be huge and was probably one of the uglier reels I had seen in a while. Then, I got to see one in person. This thing is tiny compared to what I thought it was going to be and is smaller than 90% of my other reels. It's just slightly bigger than a Curado 70 yet not as big as the Chronarch Ci4+.

I managed to get out on the dock and make a few casts with a Vixen and a magnum 110 and I was very impressed. It casts great ( I know these are heavier lures) but the smoothness of those gears is what really impressed me. It feels just as good as my CQ's yet has the compact body everyone desires.

I was honestly hoping I would not like it this much as I can see a few more possibly being obtained in the future.

User avatar
TommyG
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 794
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:02 am
Location: Midlothian, Illinois

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by TommyG » Fri May 25, 2018 6:30 am

I'm sure a bearing flush would be beneficial, but I wanted to fish it stock for a while to get a baseline.

DirtyD64
Pro Angler
Pro Angler
Posts: 3049
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:23 pm

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by DirtyD64 » Fri May 25, 2018 6:52 am

TommyG wrote:I'm sure a bearing flush would be beneficial, but I wanted to fish it stock for a while to get a baseline.
Any idea how hard it is to remove Silent Tune bearings on the spool shaft??? I have removed hundreds of Daiwa spool shaft bearings and it's very straight forward (w/ Hedgehog tool). I am just a Shimano noob and my Chronarch MGL has no spool shaft bearing.

User avatar
johnD
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 470
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:16 am
Location: Lakeland , FL

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by johnD » Fri May 25, 2018 8:13 am

DirtyD64 wrote:
TommyG wrote:I'm sure a bearing flush would be beneficial, but I wanted to fish it stock for a while to get a baseline.
Any idea how hard it is to remove Silent Tune bearings on the spool shaft??? I have removed hundreds of Daiwa spool shaft bearings and it's very straight forward (w/ Hedgehog tool). I am just a Shimano noob and my Chronarch MGL has no spool shaft bearing.
there's nothing to it.

DirtyD64
Pro Angler
Pro Angler
Posts: 3049
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:23 pm

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by DirtyD64 » Fri May 25, 2018 8:17 am

johnD wrote:
DirtyD64 wrote:
TommyG wrote:I'm sure a bearing flush would be beneficial, but I wanted to fish it stock for a while to get a baseline.
Any idea how hard it is to remove Silent Tune bearings on the spool shaft??? I have removed hundreds of Daiwa spool shaft bearings and it's very straight forward (w/ Hedgehog tool). I am just a Shimano noob and my Chronarch MGL has no spool shaft bearing.
there's nothing to it.
Ok was just checking. I know the Bantam has the O-rings and wanted to make sure there was nothing I would mess up. Probably a good idea to remove those O-rings before soaking in acetone, right?

User avatar
johnD
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 470
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:16 am
Location: Lakeland , FL

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by johnD » Fri May 25, 2018 8:31 am

DirtyD64 wrote:
johnD wrote:
DirtyD64 wrote:
TommyG wrote:I'm sure a bearing flush would be beneficial, but I wanted to fish it stock for a while to get a baseline.
Any idea how hard it is to remove Silent Tune bearings on the spool shaft??? I have removed hundreds of Daiwa spool shaft bearings and it's very straight forward (w/ Hedgehog tool). I am just a Shimano noob and my Chronarch MGL has no spool shaft bearing.
there's nothing to it.
Ok was just checking. I know the Bantam has the O-rings and wanted to make sure there was nothing I would mess up. Probably a good idea to remove those O-rings before soaking in acetone, right?
most definitely.

stingray23
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 478
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2013 4:31 pm

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by stingray23 » Sat May 26, 2018 6:59 pm

Couldnt resist anymore. I have an HG coming. :D

1nutinthewater
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 373
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2017 1:12 pm
Location: OREGON
Contact:

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by 1nutinthewater » Thu Jun 07, 2018 10:24 am

Any feedback on the comparison between the chronarch mgl and the new bantam?
Our tradition is that of the first who sneaked away to the creek when tribe did not really need fish

DirtyD64
Pro Angler
Pro Angler
Posts: 3049
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2017 4:23 pm

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by DirtyD64 » Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:35 pm

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uJOsLIUgEp0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn6oBK8oG38

There are some videos. Seems that a few have compared all the MGL (over $200) reels pretty close in casting.

Slazmo
Pro Angler
Pro Angler
Posts: 1511
Joined: Fri May 08, 2015 11:43 pm
Location: Gold Coast, Queensland. Australia

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by Slazmo » Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:24 am

Just put my order in for a Bantam MGL PG - $320 AUD...

See how this thing stands up...

Have been putting it off for months!

chreim20
Elite Angler
Elite Angler
Posts: 454
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:17 am

Re: Bantam MGL Who has their hands on one?

Post by chreim20 » Wed Jun 13, 2018 11:48 am

In the last month, I have casted the Metanium MGL, Chronarch MGL, and the Bantam MGL on the same rod using 30 pound braid on each, and I can cast further, with less effort using the Bantam MGL than the other two. It's a little heavier, but palms better and feels like a quality reel. Needless to say, I sold the metanium and chronarch. Their only advantage is they are lighter in weight.

Locked