Nautilus CCF-X2

Low start-up inertia is easy when the drag is set low. The difficult thing is to have low inertia when the drag is set heavy. These lightweight, fully sealed reels have a sophisticated braking system that generates 20 pounds of drag with less than 1% start-up inertia. Here's how the Nautilus CCF-X2 is such a lightweight reel with heavyweight stopping power: The sealed drag has two friction surfaces—cork and carbon fiber—for double the surface area. Hybrid ceramic bearings and TPX bushings keep the weight extremely low yet perfectly align the axle to ensure that the spool tracks true at all settings. An oversize drag handle takes six full turns to go from zero to 20 pounds of drag. And the screw-off spool goes from left-hand to right-hand retrieve in minutes. For more information, see the video below. Nautilus CCF-X2 ($435-$555 nautilusreels.com)