Like a lot of Big-pit reels, the Wychwood Riot 65S doesn’t feature a freespool system, however, it does feature a very good clutch system that allows you to maintain control of the carp in fights. It’s also a very enjoyable reel to play fish with, a lot of reels we’ve tested work brilliantly but feel dull, this, however, feels alive and very real in fights. Value The Vader X RS does everything you’d want a carp fishing reel to ever do and it does feel good for a reel at this price point. That being said it doesn’t feel particularly premium or special but its a reel most anglers would happily use without any problem. Cheers. I’ve actually got the original riot as my spod reel. I’ve given it a hard time and the reel is OK but the drag has gone! Your experience with Fishing: You’ll no doubt have some history with buying Fishing, and you may have even bought products from the same brand, Wychwood, use this information to your advantage. You’ll probably have a good idea of how good the quality of the product was and any faults or floors you remember from it. Price: It probably sounds obvious, but there are links to the price you pay and the quality of a product. Try and set your expectations for the quality based on your budget. You wouldn’t expect a Rolls-Royce for the price of a Fiesta so bear this in mind when shopping.

For those who will be casting long-range, it may be worth considering the larger 4500A and the 5000A. The larger spool will also mean that you have a better line lay in retrieval due to the slower oscillations. Value We have been reviewing some items by Wychwood and have found some hidden gems. We first looked at their luggage range then looked at their rods, which I have to say are built perfectly, but it’s the reels that really shine when it comes to build quality. We had a look at three different Wychwood reels, The Wychwood Riot Big Pit Reel 75, Wychwood Solace Big Pit 65RDS and the Wychwood Solace Compact Big Pit 55QD which happens to be the same reel but it’s slightly smaller and more compact, ideal for lighter test curve rods. The Basia is arguably the best carp fishing reel ever made. There have been countless iterations of the Basia, making it among the most popular premium carp fishing reels. Nearly all of them are next to perfect but if money truly is no object and you want the best reel available, then the Daiwa 20 Tournament Basia 45 SCW QD is the reel for you.Brand: Wychwood are obviously a strong and recognisable brand for making great Fishing, so you’d expect Wychwood Riot Big Pit 65S Reel to deliver to these expectations. But always consider the brand when you’re thinking about the quality of the product you’re going to buy, and where quality is an important factor to you, look only at those well known brands (of course only if your budget allows). I had the old riot 65, had a set of 3, 2 broke and the front drag messed up on them both, the last one for relegated to a spod reel but that'll be going in the bin soon. I hope they'd have sorted this issue in the new models but I can't comment. The only con is, it’s not one of the best names out there for reels but if you can put up with that then there’s no issue at all. The machine cut aluminium spool is the base on which the graphite body and rotor have been built. Graphite is an exceptional material, and is simultaneously high-strength and lightweight. This makes it the perfect material for top quality reels, as it maintains performance whilst keep overall weight to a minimum. Compact Big-Pits has become fashionable among anglers recently because of their amazing capabilities and they are also often cheaper than full-sized big-pits. The Wychwood Riot 65S is a perfect example of this, it’s everything you’d want your compact big-pit reel to be, it has an amazing casting capability, beautiful line, and gorgeous aesthetics (which matters a lot!) Quality

One of the main reasons we have the Shimano Ultegra XTD near the top of our list is the perfect line due to the incredibly slow oscillations in this reel. We’ve compared it to reels double its price and we seriously can’t tell much, if any difference. It is perfect for casting long distances and targeting those larger fish. As you’d expect with a lot of products, quality is a very important factor for choosing products in the “Fishing” category. But it’s even more important to consider and get a feel for quality when you’re buying online because you aren’t given the benefit of being able to see and try the item for yourself. I also had a set of wychwood bait runners years ago and they went too so personally I won't be touching wychwood reels again. The Riot Big Pit 75 has a considerable amount more capacity at 420m again with 15lb line. Last Thoughts The okumas are larger than ss2600 I can't say in comparison to other 6000 reels. I have mine on 10ft xtractors and love them, I'm not against putting them on my 12ft rods either but I have my Penn's for that.

We love the Wychwood riot big pit 65 and the 75 for a number of reasons:

Shimano has been pumping out great quality reels for a long time now and we have no hesitation in recommending their products, everything we find on any Shimano reel is always practical and precise, their attention to detail is superb, and in our opinion, the Baitrunner one of the best carp reels in this budget.

When considered from all aspects, we think the Vader X RS is top value and a great option for new anglers or if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a reel. Quality Fights are also incredibly exciting on Shimano Ultegra XTD – which is important! It still is fun when fighting fish but it also provides plenty of control and it performs excellently in most circumstances, you have a great sense of maneuverability with this reel, providing that it is paired with an appropriate rod. ValueThe performance on the Fox EOS 12000 is also astonishing, this reel is a workhorse with some serious cranking power that holds up in the toughest of situations. Although it’s not the lightest Big-pit we’ve tested, it is probably one of the toughest and is built of high-quality graphite that is designed to last.

A lot of people use these just for their Spod and marker setups and they say the riot big pit reels cast much further than 100 yards. Personally I think these reels are too good to use for that alone. I would buy the 75 model for marking and Spod setups and the 65RDS Reel

Price analysis of Wychwood Riot Big Pit 65S Reel

If you’re an angler that does require long-distance casting the Shimano 10000RB will have a huge advantage over its smaller brother and you also get better line lay with the larger spool but it’s also quite a bit more expensive. Value