Okuma Obsidian Carp Reel Inc Spare Spool

How well is it built?

Okuma's C-40X carbon is the main story with the Obsidian. It's used for the frame, the sideplates and the rotor, and it's what keeps a 12000-size reel down at 520g, which is light for a big pit.

Okuma say the material is corrosion resistant too, and that's worth having on a reel that spends its life out on the pod in all weathers.

The moving parts have been kept light as well. There's an A7075 aluminium main shaft, an ultra-light spool and a screw-in aluminium handle, which I'd always take over a folding handle on a big pit because there's less to work loose.

The bail is a one-piece design, and the tangle-guard rotor is there to stop line catching behind the spool.

It's a smart, all-black reel with the Obsidian name picked out on the spool, and to be fair it looks the part sitting next to reels from the bigger names.

How well does it cast and retrieve?

Line lay is where the Obsidian should earn its place. The 35mm spool stroke, super-slow oscillation and worm shaft transmission all work together to lay the line evenly across a long spool, and that's what lets it peel off cleanly when you're casting at range.

The DLC Even Flow Roller is a good detail too. It's a line roller with a Diamond-Like Carbon coating, and that coating is there to cut friction and wear at the point where the line runs under load, which matters when you're winding leads and fish back from distance all session.

The retrieve is 103cm of line per turn of the handle, which is right in line with the big pits around it, so you aren't giving anything away when you're winding in to recast.

Add in the frictionless main shaft design, which is there to take resistance out of the wind, and I think it has everything I'd want from a distance reel.

How useful is the drag system?

The Obsidian uses Okuma's Carbonite drag system, which is rated to a maximum of 12kg. That's far more than you'll need for UK carp, and Okuma pitch it as a drag that stays smooth and consistent under pressure, which is what counts when a big fish takes line close to the net.

It's set from the knob on the front of the spool, like most big pits, so there's no baitrunner lever.

You fish it with the drag slackened off so a take can pull line, then tighten it once you're in, and anglers coming from free spool reels might take a session or two to get used to that.

If a quick drag is high on your list, the Daiwa Emblem's QDM drag and the Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD's Instant Drag are both sold on exactly that, so they're worth a look alongside it.

That's why I've scored the Obsidian's drag a touch below its casting, although the 12kg ceiling still gives you plenty in reserve near snags.

Is it good value for money?

The Obsidian sits near the top of Okuma's carp range, a long way above the Okuma 8K, and for the extra you're getting the C-40X carbon body and rotor, an aluminium shaft and handle, the DLC roller and a spare spool with two reducers.

Against the big names it's priced between the Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD and the Daiwa Emblem 35 SCW, and it holds its own on paper.

It weighs 520g, only 20g more than the Ultegra, and the spare spool and reducers mean you can carry two different line setups without buying a second reel.

It suits carp anglers who fish big pits and larger waters, want a light reel that won't wear them out over a long session, and like the idea of a spare spool loaded with a different line ready to swap in.