KastKing Zephyr Reel: Super-Affordable BFS Hits the Mainstream

Even though I’d already seen photos, actually handling the Kastking Zephyr BFS (Bait Finesse System) Reel for the first time STILL surprised me with its gorgeous looks. BUT – can you fish with this thing? It is available at such an affordable price point – surely it has to be crap; right?

Well, in my best guess there will be plenty of people who love it and a (smaller) percentage of anglers who hate it.

Let’s dig into why after a quick heads up to let you know I've finally (after a year and 7 months!) added my Amazon (USA) and Aliexpress (Global shipping) Affiliate links to this post. These earn a small commission on qualifying purchases and are vital to the future of this blog.

What the KastKing Zephyr IS:

A CDM (Chinese Domestic Market) reel with a very light stock spool capable of casting really light lures down to around 1.7g. It does this while sporting beautiful cosmetics and a very low price-tag. Although featuring a carbon body, the aluminium alloy drive and brass pinion mean that the Kastking Zephyr feels much less “plastic” than most baitcasting reels at this price-point.

 It is supplied with good quality English Language instruction booklet and the manufacturers have acted on feedback from US anglers to modify and update the design as it came to market. Credit to Jimmy Ly of raWr fishing on YouTube for sending Kastking a 6-page document of notes – and then further feedback on prototypes from him and his channel subscribers – during development. 

I’ve embedded one of Jimmy’s Kayak fishing adventures with the Zephyr later in this article (where he’s looking to catch American Yellow Perch for dinner).

KastKing Zephyr Unboxing

Here's my unboxing experience and the very first impressions I got from this reel:

Because it is based on the existing “Crixus” platform – it is low profile (below); but noticeably larger than leading JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) Bait Finesse System reels. HOWEVER, this is one of the absolute cheapest reels on the market (whereas JDM BFS reels start around $350 and upwards).

Kastking’s tagline on the box reads “Affordable Innovation” which gives a very clear picture of what they’re aiming at with the Zephyr.

What the Zephyr is NOT:

It is not a super small reel (though it still weighs in at 5.6 oz (just under 160g). It is not an absolute top end “no expense spared” luxury offering with the absolute highest performance on the market.

However, its overall size is comparable to the Fishband GH100 and both of those reels are very comfortable to palm – so I do feel that people who dismiss the Zephyr on the basis of size are a little wide of the mark when all is said and done. 

Similarly, people who criticize it for not being a $500 JDM reel kind of have a point (it’s clearly not that). At the same time isn’t that already obvious??? I’m not quite sure where they’re going with that line of thinking. It would seem, to me, that you need to compare "apples with apples" across each price point in the market...

How I’m judging the KastKing Zephyr

I think my opinion should be based on whether the reel provides a functional and, ideally, enjoyable experience for its intended purpose. It also seems sensible to compare to other reels at a similar price.

On that note, here’s what I find fascinating when trying to compare the Zephyr with the GH100. On the one hand the Zephyr’s stock spool is significantly lighter. Yet, on the other hand, the GH100 has a dynamic braking system that could squeeze out some extra distance on long casts. I’ll talk more about those trade offs in my “casting” section below.

Given that I already like the GH100, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the Zephyr seems to feel nicer in the hand while using it. Time will tell, but there seems (to me) to be a more robust feeling to the Zephyr. I’ve mentioned the finish and the cosmetic choices already but, for me, it is a better-looking reel. 

Here are some basic specs:

KastKing Zephyr Specifications Summary

Measured Spool Weights

On my scales and on repeated measurements, the spool comes out as follows...

With the bearing: 8.81g

Without the bearing: 7.67g

Tuning the KastKing Zephyr BFS reel

Although there aren’t, to date, after market ultralight spools for the Zephyr – you can easily upgrade the bearings (step by step demo from 9min and 36 seconds on This Video) if you are looking to fine-tune the casting performance to your fishing style. Of course, the 7.7g stock spool should give a big advantage over other reels that also do not have “after market” spool availability.

What Bearing Sizes for the Kastking Zephyr?

(note, these will often be displayed as product code “1054” and “1034”).

These are the same sizings as for the Fishband GH100, so if you end up owning both reels and you upgrade one, you’ve the option of swapping bearings around. Alternatively, you might just want to add two sets of the same bearings to your basket (and hopefully avoid separate shipping costs)!

What is the Zephyr Like to Cast?

Casting Performance “Out of the Box”

Although I’ll be doing more precise comparisons against the tape measure between the GH100 and the Zephyr, I can say that my first impressions are good. In terms of overall distance with lure weights that are easy for both reels to cast (say 3g total weight) – then the reels appear to be in the same ballpark distances.

 My gut feeling is that those two reels trade off with strengths in different areas. The GH100 has the dynamic brakes (above) which can add extra distance by backing off the brakes according to spool and lure speed. Against that, the Zephyr has a conical line guide (below) that could cut down some friction resistance to casting – as well as the lighter spool.

What was noticeable is that the Zephyr, to me, feels somewhat better right out of the box compared to the initial performance of the GH100. Both reels come with greased stock bearings (as is normal). I get the impression that the Zephyr bearings have been greased a little more sparingly.

It may, also, be that the particular “extreme speed” bearings chosen for the Zephyr could be slightly better – but it is very hard to say. My suspicion is that the main source of the difference (when considering only stock components) will be the spool-weights.

Where I noticed a significant difference with stock components in both reels is in the area of flip casting. It feels much easier to time that correctly with the Zephyr – making it easier to achieve a flatter, lower trajectory with the lure. Again, this is where the spool weight difference would be expected to show – if you have to release earlier to overcome inertia; timing on flip casts gets harder. The earlier you need to release, the more the bend in the rod acts to spin the spool (below, right) – rather than only throwing the lure forwards.

I found that, just based on the weights I have so far carried during cast testing, the reel coped well with a “cheb” weight of just 1.7g (with no hook or lure attached). The rods I’ve so far paired the Zephyr with are also probably not the absolute ideal choice for casting as light a lure as possible. With the manufacturers suggesting the reel can fish lures down to 1.5g – I don’t doubt that based on my experiences so far; and that really is quite amazing at this price point for a baitcasting reel.

Over prolonged use I have managed to get a loop of line trapped behind the spool inside the brake plate from time to time (when pushing the limits and blowing up the spool as a result!). Overall, in this respect the GH100 feels that there’s a bit more potential for getting line into he brake plate of that reel compared to the Zephyr.

With that said, neither reel approaches the tiny, precise tolerances of top end JDM reels – that is where most of the price differential comes from.

The only "budget" reel which I've owned which I've yet to get the line caught behind the spool is my Dark Wolf Ultra (but I know that some owners have managed it).

Something I am really looking forward to experimenting with is how the performance of the Zephyr and other comparable reels changes with various improvements to bearing performance. For instance, even putting very cheap ABEC 7 ceramic bearings (orange shield) into the GH100 really transformed its performance.

Even without upgrading to different bearings, I do want to assess the impact of de-greasing and then adding just a drop of low viscosity oil to the Zephyr bearings (and competing reels).

Casting Performance with Degreased and Lightly Oiled Bearings 

Coming soon – pending testing!

Casting the Zephyr with Upgraded Bearings

I’m working on documenting my testing process with upgraded bearings too (from Rorolure.com) and will continue to add my findings and videos to this article. In the meantime below is a one of Jimmy’s kayak trip videos to give you a flavour of the reel being used in a genuine fishing scenario.

Kayak Fishing for Yellow Perch with the Kastking Zephyr

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in the USA are really similar to the European perch (Perca fluviatilis) that many anglers are also familiar with. The US Fish and Wildlife Service set allowable limits for people to catch and keep according to the health and resilience of wild populations. Don’t forget to check local regulations, laws or etiquette when it comes to taking fish – because these vary around the world! With that said, here’s raWr Fishing’s Jimmy Ly on a quest for “keeper” size yellow perch using the Kastking Zephyr - complete with upgraded bearings...

(NOTE: You'll be able to hear the characteristic sound of DRY ceramic bearings - since you can run them without lubrication. Some people dislike that noise - but don't forget that it gives you an audio cue as to the speed of your lure even when you lose sight of it in flight...so it can be really helpful to avoid birds' nests):

So it’s pretty cool to see some of the different applications for ultralight lure fishing. Capturing some of that variety certainly helps illustrate why there is a different importance on each style of casting according to what style of fishing you do. The reason I mention this is that it can go a long way towards explaining why some people love a specific rod or reel – and others might hate it.

This is even before you get into just pure personal preference “just because”. Hopefully it’s easy to see why someone who is flip casting under branches at five to seven yards all day might have a different experience with a reel than someone throwing overhead casts as far as possible over open water.

Does the Kastking Zephyr Achieve its Aim of “Affordable Innovation”?

I have to say that I do really like the Kastking Zephyr BFS reel. It gives the user a really good fishing experience – in fact I’d say a great experience when you consider how affordable the asking prices are. Paired with one of many highly affordable UL baitcasting rods, the Zephyr definitely removes barrier to entry into enjoyable ultralight lure fishing with a baitcaster. 

It feels smooth and robust in use, it has nice fast line recovery – the casting brakes are more than strong enough and the clickable adjustment of brakes and spool tension is precise and positive. The carbon drag washers work well to avoid annoying “grabby” sensations at the start up point – and there is more than enough drag power for the intended Ultralight Lure application.

At the same time, there is not so much drag as to risk crushing the ultralight spool if you managed to load up with over-gunned line and hammering into a huge fish (or snag). 

While the pricing doesn’t leave much for any distributor or retailers (or bloggers!) aside from a giant like Amazon (Kastking like to focus on selling direct to the customer), the consumer certainly gets a lot of bang for their buck with that low retail cost.

 Sure, the build tolerances aren’t quite up to the very top level offerings in the market – and expensive metal-bodied reels machined to within micron-level precision will still beat it. That being said, how can a newcomer to BFS try things out without breaking the bank – and without having their fishing day ruined by inadequate gear? Or, how can the fishing-bum on a budget run several reels and rigs on several rods without selling their car?

Check Pricing and Availability on the KastKing Zephyr BFS Reel:

USA (Via Amazon):

Global (Via Aliexpress; Cheaper though with longer shipping times):

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Paul