Baitcast reels don’t get any better than the Shimano Bantam 150A and 150HGA. Ultra-smooth, with eye-bulging casting performance, matched to the Zodias five-piece travel rod, it makes for an awesome combo.
The Shimano Bantam 150A is very similar in appearance and design to the outstanding Shimano Mentanium but is built on an aluminium frame as opposed to the Mentanium’s magnesium frame. Similarly, it delivers superb performance in the low-profile baitcasting stakes. Having a single-piece, core solid body, just like the venerable round-profile Calcutta’s, but sculpted into a sleek, low-profile design, is just like having your cake and eating it too!
Built around a salt-water proof, single-piece, aluminium alloy core solid body, the Bantam is designed to provide excellent rigidity and sensitivity while weighing in at just 215 grams, which is pretty good considering its all-metal construction.
Solid brass micro-module gearing, backed up by X-Ship pinion gear support and 8 silent-tune anti-rust ball bearings, ensures that winding this reel is silky smooth.
The Shimano Zodias Travel 610M baitcast rod and Bantam 150A make a formidable travel option, and it’s a pretty handy combo when you’re fishing your home turf too.
Shimano has enhanced this reel’s excellent casting capabilities by incorporating the MGL III spool which is thinner, lighter and better balanced than earlier versions, thus reducing vibration and inertia. Combined with the rigid reel frame, super-tuned spool and externally adjustable SVS Infinity centrifugal cast control, the Bantam is able to cast lighter weights with ease. The specifications reveal that the Bantam’s drag can dish out 5kg of pressure, which we were able to verify against a spring balance.
Our test reel is the 150A which features a gear ratio of 6.2:1. Other models include the 150HGA and 151HGA left-hand wind, which both feature a retrieve ratio of 7.1:1.
Our test reel was supplied with Shimano’s “Kairiki 8” braid line in 30 pound breaking strain of we which we were able to load an estimated 130 yards of line to the Bantam’s spool. While it handled the heavier line well, I think from an ideal casting performance, it would be better suited to thinner 20 pound test to extract the maximum casting potential this reel is capable of demonstrating.
The Bantam, just like its magnesium cousin the Mentanium, is also a smooth operator on both casting and retrieving duties. As we said earlier, this is a very good casting reel, no doubt due to the refinements Shimano has devoted to the build quality which includes a MGL III spool and the SVS infinity cast control braking system. Access to the SVS infinity cast control brakes and spool is via a recessed dial on the palming side-plate; a 90 degree turn of the locking ring will allow the side plate to be removed so that more or less brake blocks can be engaged. I found that activating two of the four centrifugal brake blocks, and choosing a mid-range external dial setting, provided ample cast control over a range of both hard body and soft body lures.
The Shimano Bantam has a 10 year warranty.
The Bantam was paired with the recently released Shimano Zodias Travel 2.08m baitcast rod rated for 4-8kg lines. The Zodias Travel 610M baitcast rod features a 5-section, high-power carbon blank mated with a full-hollow carbon monocoque rod butt for the ultimate in lightness and sensitivity. A Ci4 carbon reel seat and Fuji K stainless alconite guides and a SIC tip runner round out the hardware fittings of this high-quality travel rod.
Recommended casting lure weight range for this rod is 7-21 grams.
As a combo, this offering from Shimano makes up a neat travel package. It presents as a great option for anglers travelling to distant destinations as it will fit in regular luggage (with a packed length of just 46cm) without the need for additional bulky rod tubes. Once assembled and combined with the Bantam reel, it becomes a well-balanced outfit and one that can deliver precise handling throughout long casting sessions. Its light weight and sensitivity belies the fact that there is plenty of reserve power in the rod and it is hard to tell that this is a 5-piece unit with a lively barra cartwheeling in opposition.
The new Zodias disproves the notion that travel rods are a compromise when it comes down to light-weight refinement and performance once reserved for single-piece rods.
Shimano Bantam 150A RRP $655.00
Zodias Travel 610M RRP $439.00
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