The NEW 2012 Litespeed Hard Alox is Waterworks-Lamson's newest offering for this upcoming year.  How did WWL improve on what was already considered one of the greatest reels of all time?  Here's how.

New Features and Benefits:

• This is the lightest Litespeed Reel ever produced.
• Pocket milled spool face and counterbalance increases strength and stiffness while reducing overall weight.
• The handle was moved outward and the spool face flattened to assist in keeping your knuckles away from moving parts.
• The all new, redesigned drag knob allows better grip and ease of adjustability.
• Unique Type III Hard Alox Anodizing

Line Storage Format:  WWL's Large Arbor reels maximize the benefits of large arbor design by maximizing the arbor diameter-to-width ratio.  The spool is large in circumference and wide, so that line is stored in a shallow layer.  The increased circumference provides high retrieve rate and eliminates the dreaded line coil memory.  The wide, shallow line layer means there is little radius change as line is pulled from the reel.  This results in constant drag torque during those long runs and eliminates the risk of tippets breaking due to initial drag forces. 

Hard Alox Finish:  All of our premium reels (Vanquish, Waterworks ULA, Litespeed and Velocity) are offered in one fantastic finish only -- a proprietary combination of alloy selection and conversion coating that we call "Hard Alox".  The term Hard Alox is taken from the anodizing process itself, wherein the aluminum surface is converted to aluminum oxide.  By increasing the coating thickness and reducing porosity, our Hard Alox coating is much more durable than any other reel finish on the market. 

Hard Alox trumps the conventional and ubiquitous Type 2 anodization, a finish which emphasizes gloss and color selection over durability.  In place of Type 2 we offer you enhanced resistance to abrasion, impact, corrosion and a look that tells the story of beauty, which is more than skin deep.

Drag System:  The drag system in all of our reels consists of a pair of precisely matched conical elements which are drawn together with spring tension to produce variable rates of smooth rotational braking.  By reconfiguring the surface area of traditional disks into a pair of matching conical elements we were able to seal the drag completely from moisture, salt and grit.  And since the mass of the drag elements is centralized, the spools rotating mass is much lower which makes the reel more responsive to light drag settings.  Additionally, because the average radius of the contact surface is much smaller, due to it being conical and not a disk, start up torque is too low to even measure. 

Clutch:  Most premium reels rely on a pawl type clutch mechanism.  These are often vulnerable to stress related failures, contamination and wear.  All of our reels employ a Torrington zero-lash roller clutch.  This mechanism relies on the locking effect of a number of ramps and rollers to achieve torque transmission.  There are no "teeth" or "steps" to break off or wear out.  And the zero-lash feature means instant engagement.  This improves feel and eliminates "spikes" that the reel, line and leader experience when a typical pawl clutch engages.