One of the most common questions is, "What is the best reel between $150-$200?" Of course, most answers are the same thing repeated, but a new option has entered the ring, the Okuma Hakai.
The Hakai is incredibly light, 5.9 to 6 ounces in the standard models, almost a full ounce lighter than the closest competitor’s "workhorse" reel. Despite being incredibly light, though, it’s built for power. The Hakai has a Multidisk stainless steel and carbon hybrid drag that carries with it 24lbs of stopping power. It also features a 42mm oversized hardened machine cut brass main gear and an oversized handle to help winch the fish.
They’ve reduced weight with a Litecast magnesium frame (corrosion-resistant coating) and a carbon-injected star drag. It also has a patented super tuned Fliteshaft hollow stainless steel main shaft to reduce weight even further.
The standard models come in right- or left-hand options with three gear ratios; 6.2:1, 7.3:1, and 8.1:1, allowing a fisherman to cover the entire spectrum of techniques and cover nearly all their needs with one of the models of the Hakai. They also have the cool built-in feature of a dial under the drag star that you can adjust to indicate the line size on the reel, so no more wondering what pound line you have on the reel you've just picked up. It's right there on the reel without putting the old school sticker or writing on the rod/reel. All these features would have me thinking that it would be priced north of $200, but the Hakai is very competitively priced at around $170 and backed by a 3-year limited warranty.
I've used the reel for both fishing spinnerbaits and lipless baits, and it performed very well with both. I spooled it with 15-pound monofilament line. Casting is effortless, and retrieves are exceptionally smooth. The reel is small and easy to palm, making it a breeze to hold and fish all day. The six ball bearings and one quick set anti-reverse roller bearing make retrieving very smooth, so I could really focus on what my bait was doing and help with strike detection.
It took me a little bit to get the Velocity Control Centrifugal braking system dialed in, but once I did, I could cast further than necessary in most cases. The external magnetic cast control system made adjusting to fine-tune the reel simple and sped up the process of dialing it in. I've found that once I set it to my liking, no further adjustments have been needed, which is very nice not to constantly have to try to dial it in with every lure change. It handled fish after fish without issues, including a couple of stout individuals buried in the grass or wrapped around the timber.
After putting it through the paces, I can say that the Okuma Hakai not only looks and feels nice but performs like an actual workhorse reel that can be put through the paces day after day and keep coming back for more. It finally feels like a new contender has entered this previously stagnant pool of options.
