Captains Log / KOBO Testing

The KOBO Story

Why we built the KOBO Power Reel

INTRO

At KOBO we obsess about the details - whether we're fishing or designing new products, we want the best. Our journey began in 2010 when we first started swordfishing. We first started catching fish at night and quickly shifted to daytime fishing, though we had little success. After several trips over an entire summer we started to figure it out - our baits needed better rigging, improved dropping methods, how to fish our baits, the list went on and on.

Then we took a break, too long if you ask me. 2013 I moved cities to pursue a new job and fishing took a back seat. I always figured I'd be back and 2019 the Gulf of America was calling. We started swordfishing again and we really struggled to communicate between the wheel man and whoever was at the reel. When on the wheel I wanted to know the details - how much drag, how fast is the line coming in, how much line is out?

I started to think - why couldn't the reel give these metrics?

Hooked on Swords - 2010
Bitten with the swordfish bug we couldn’t get enough swordfishing - night and day. Fishing with a mix of anglers it was always hard to communicate metrics - distance in feet, line speed, or drag in lbs. Why could these features not be displayed on the reel?

Prototype - 2020
Initial proof of concept where we combined a conventional reel with off the shelf electronics. Low level field testing doing some bottom fishing. From the design aspect it gives us a feel for size, layout, and direction for our Beta 1 unit.

Beta 1 - 2021
2021 the first full system was field tested. A true custom mechanical system, electrical, and software were all working together. Our first seatrial for swords proved the value of a digital drag display. We were struggling with "fast" for Texas currents and had too much scope in the line to see the subtle bite clearly. We knew brining up our weight that it pulled 12lbs of drag at full speed, we were now pulling 15lbs. That 3lbs was enough to say "we're tight".

Beta 2 - 2022
A year later we take the feedback, abuse refinement, and produce our 2022 Beta 2 model. This design has components produced at our production suppliers to refine our manufacturing process. Further this will be our final system design. Yet what happens between 2022 and 2024? MORE REFINEMENT. This system is pushed further than the previous design, corrosion tested, and improved for manufacturability.

Production - 2024
2024 comes and its time to ship product. Our customer feedback has been phenomenal. The reasons we built the real are the reasons our fisherman are loving the reel. "We're able to dial in the drag like never before", "the drag is smooth", "the reel is killer fast", "we jump between 12V and 24V all the time", and these are just a few.

While KOBO is a new brand we've been in development for a few years now. We've pushed our product hard, received customer feedback, and have a product we're proud share with you.

We're always looking to test our product based on our customer feedback!