Lew’s KVD Review

Inside the retail box, an angler will find the KVD reel inside a clear plastic bag. But that’s all that was inside the retail box purchased by Baitstick. There was no printed manual, no parts diagram, and no spare spool. There was also no apparent box inserts or padding for the reel to be kept in place and to prevent it from sliding inside the box during shipping from the Lew’s manufacturing facility in China.

Once out of the box, the Lew’s KVD created a good first impression, looking sturdy and solid with first handling. The first couple of turns of the crank on the handle were impressively smooth. The bail was fairly quiet and easy to flip as would be expected with a factory fresh product.

In order to enjoy a day of fishing on the water with the KVD it is necessary to tighten the drag and reel handle at the attach point, as well as add preferred line to the spool.

Field Testing the KVD

During field testing of the KVD, Baitstick found the reel to perform well and at the expected levels for the price of the reel and value promoted by Lew’s. The KVD performed well with the casting performance assessment and showed good catching range, comfortably casting an ⅛ ounce jig 50 yards with braid. With the retrieve performance assessment, the KVD’s 10 bearing-based mechanics showed a fluid smooth retrieving reel and showed good line lay upon retrieve. And the KVD has a well designed and comfortable handle. During the drag performance assessment, Baitstick found it easy to adjust the KVD’s drag, placed as expected on top of the spool. The drag performed without issue under different line pressure, both with slow and steady pulling on the line and with explosive jerks of line during fishing.

KVD in Comparison to Other Sub-$100 Reels from Lew’s

The KVD is part of Lew’s gameplan to expand its product line up with higher-end performance, while keeping affordability part of the overall value from the company. The KVD’s price of just under $89 is meant to keep the reel price still below the $100 boundary that many anglers hold as a limit of how much should be spent for a quality reel.

The release of the KVD is timed with the introduction of the Mach Crush reel priced even more closely to, but still below, the $100 mark. The two reels together fall into a price lineup that also includes the Customer Speed Spin also just below $100 and the Mach 2 priced at $80. With four reels filling up the space between $80 - $100, anglers may find the Lew’s lineup to be somewhat crowded and wonder where the KVD value falls in the mix.

The good news is that the KVD shares much of the advanced feature value that Lew’s has put into the reels at the premium end of its broader product lineup. The KVD shares the aluminum body construction of all the reels in the $80 - $100 price range. It also shares the C40 carbon material for the rotor construction (though the Custom Speed reel has a rotor made of C60 carbon). In addition, the KVD along with the Mach Crush and Mach 2, has internal gear and shaft components made from a mix of aluminum and brass components, while the Custom Speed reel has all aluminum core gear and shaft material.

The KVD shares several other features with the reels priced $10 above it and $10 below its $90 price point. The KVD shares the 6:2:1 gear configuration of the Mach Crush (<$100) and the Mach 2 (<$80), as well as the monofilament line capacity of 8/120 - 12/190 pound/yards depending on the model selected. Compared to the Mach Crush, the KVD shares a similar total weight range depending on models selected. All products share Lew’s one year limited warranty.

The KVD separates itself, however, from other Lew’s reels, with slightly higher ranges for recovery per turn on retrieval over the lower priced Mach 2 (31-35” versus 30-35” depending on the KVD model chosen). In addition, the KVD has a different max drag range of 14 - 18 pounds versus 8 - 18 pounds for the Mach 2 depending on the models selected.

There are differences between the KVD and the higher priced Mach Crush. The KVD has one less bearing in its internal design, with 10 total bearings for the KVD versus 11bearings for the Mach Crush. The KVD also lacks the sealed carbon multi-disc drag offered with the Mach Crush.

With all of the similarities across Lew’s products - yet some clear features separating closely priced products - the question still remains where the KVD stands as a unique value for customers choosing between the different models.