Redington Zero Fly Fishing Reel, Lightweight Design for Trout, Clicker Drag System

TLDR: Fantastic reel that I'd reccomend to anyone on a budget.Pros:Unbelievably LightSturdyBeautiful FinishExtremely SmoothComes with Padded PouchCons:No Adjustable DragKinda Loud Click and PawlPretty Low Backing and Line Capacity"Wow". That's what I said when I picked this reel up the first time. I'm pretty sure the pouch it comes with weighs more than the reel. Without a doubt the lightest reel I've ever handled. The name "Zero" is definitely referring to the weight. The sand color looks great and compliments my Redington Classic Trout very nicely. Very easy to add a little pizazz to it by painting the lettering. Nice sound from the click and pawl, however it is a little obnoxious for the first few minutes. There is no adjustable drag system, only what resistance is provided by the click and pawl. Not a big issue to me since I fish all my reels with minimum drag. Pretty low backing capacity for a 4/5 reel, but I highly doubt it'll ever be used so I can live with it. Got about 45 yards of 30# Dacron backing and 80 feet of Rio Mainstream Trout DT5F line on it. Could get more line on it with a WF line, so I think it's more of an issue with my line choice than the reel design. Overall a very, very nice reel for the money and I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a nice budget reel.

I've only had this out once since receiving it, but it's lite and simple; just what I was looking for.I have a Orvis Battenkill III reel, the click & paw version, and was looking for a spare reel but they are extremely hard to find. The price for the entire reel was a little more than the Battenkill spare reel and it seems spare reels for the Zero aren't as hard to find for this model. I like the C&P version of fly reels for the simplicity and weight savings. I'm primarily using this for my euro nymph rod setup right now and it works well. I have one other C&P setup from Leland Fly Co. which I like so those are my only other comparisons. Some of my disc drag reels are Chinese knockoffs which were the right price but too heavy and no clicking sound on reeling in. I also had some freezing of the disc system in sub-freezing temps recently.I can see why some comment about the louder clicking noise. It is certainly louder than the other two C&P reels mentioned above but nothing I can't handle. Indoors it much more noticeable while outdoors while in the heat of it, I can't tell the difference. Compared to the Orvis, it's not as sturdy but I don't think that's a deal killer unless you're doing some rugged hiking while the reel is exposed. Even then I think this thing will take a beating. That said, you can certainly tell the difference between the Orvis Battenkill and this reel. There is a much wider price difference though so if you're looking for a good value on a C&P style reel, I recommend it. Oh, it also comes with a nice protective case whereas the Orvis was in a soft bag.

This reel is awesome. This is my first clicker drag reel and I'm honestly surprised at how much more I like it compared to a more expensive adjustable drag reel. The default tension is enough to hold the line in even when it's dragging in a current, but not so high that it's a hassle to pull out more line when you need to. The reel's design is super simple--which makes it very reliable and easy to maintain. It's also insanely lightweight. Functionally, the Zero is absolutely flawless. Aesthetically, it's also a win. The skeletonized design is neat and looks pretty cool with some fun colored backing.Not to mention the price. I got this on sale for around 70 dollars. For the money you just can't get much better. 10/10 would buy again in a heartbeat.1 Year Edit:I've now put this thing through the ringer after a year of hard trosut fishing. Very durable! The finish is of course dinged and scratched (as you'd expect from a die-cast reel) but the thing has survived sand, ice, mud, dirt--you name it.After extended use I have only 2 nitpicky issues with the product:1. I wish Redington would find a more scratch-resistant finish... or just find a way to CNC it2. It could use just a tad more retention to keep the spool under control when I strip out a lot of line quickly

So, while I realize this is a reel on the cheaper end, it is also a very simple reel which I do like. It is great for working with fish that aren't massive. It is a clicking style, so no adjustable drag which I am just fine with. I use the 2/3 with my 1wt Redington Butterstick, The drag on the 2/3 model is extremely light which again,I don't mind at all. The reel will fit 100 yards of 20# backing and your fly line. The clicking started out quite loud, but after fishing with it for two weeks almost every day, it has quieted down quite a bit. The only reason I am giving this reel 4 stars is because while reeling in a large rainbow, the main shaft had unscrewed itself and the entire spool came off in my hand. Had to yard the fish in by hand at that point. Just screwing it back in at the lake did not work because it came apart twice after that. Also, every time it came apart, while trying to put it back together, I had inadvertently wiped all the grease off the shaft, then the reel was very tight and would not spool out easily.In the end, I was able to fix the issue. I used blue loctite on the main shaft threads, then cleaned the shaft and applied silicone grease to the main shaft and spool. After taking on and off a number of times, reeling and running line out, the reel is completely back to normal and not tight any longer. So as a suggestion, if you purchase one of these, maybe consider adding loctite to the main shaft threads. I will be doing this to my other Zero reel I bought. But aside from that, it has been a great reel and I highly recommend it, bang for buck, it's a great reel if you're not too worries about drag.