shimano fishing reel

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The use of CI4+ delivers a substantial weight saving on the compact Ultegra body making rod speed easier to generate when distance casting. To further increase casting performance the Ultegra uses 2 Speed Slow Oscillation line lay and an AR-C spool fitted with the new Hi-Speed Drag mechanism. Cold Forged HAGANE gearing and X-Ship produce powerful winding performance and 5 Stainless A-RB bearings plus a Shimano Roller bearing deliver supreme smoothness. The reel is protected according to Shimano’s latest innovation X-Protect which will guarantee to protect the reel’s inner parts against intrusion from water and dirt. The G Free Body in combination with the Parallel Body will help the angler to achieve long and accurate cast without unnecessary fatigue throughout the day. The new Ultegra CI4+ has a very compact body design which contributes to the feel of a compact and lightweight big pit reel.

FEATURES

Bearings: 5 S A-RB + 1 RB
Max drag: 15kg
Handle: single machined aluminium
Spool material: cold forged aluminium
Aero Wrap II – Aero Wrap and the advanced Aero Wrap II is a worm gear ascillation system with a specially designed pitch to create optimal oscillation speeds. This provides superb uniform line lay to reduce loss of energy during the cast. Aero Wrap II is considered one of the best line lay system in the world.
By combining Shimano water repellent coating and Shimano specially designed, water channeling, labyrinth construction, X-Protect provides high-level water resistance without sacrificing light gear and rotor rotation.
CI4+ is an advanced version of the original CI4. This highly technical carbon material maintains 2.5 times more rigidity than CI4. While improving lightness and rigidity, the body and rotor are further reduced in size and weight.
X-Ship system provides improved gear durability. By supporting the pinion gear on both ends with bearings, the pinion gear maintains precise alignment with the drive gear. This means the gears will stay in the same position under the heaviest loads. The added benefit is that friction between the spool shaft and gear are eliminated. This will enhance the casting performance of the reel with lighter lures, and allow for longer casts.
2 speed oscillation
G Free Body technology has been developed to shift the reel’s center of gravity closer to the rod. By moving the center of gravity closer to the anglers hand position, the G Free Body helps to reduce fatigue and enhance casting comfort.
Parallel Body is designed to improve dynamic line flow from the reel to the first guide. On many reels the spool is aligned slightly upwards towards the rod blank, but with Parallel Body it is at exactly 90° to the blank. The result is less line slapping the blank as it travels towards the first guide during casting.
High Speed Drag is the fastes drag function ever featured on a Shimano reel. Only very small turn on the drag knob will transit the drag settings from “free spool mode” to the “fight mode”.
Hagane Cold Forged Gears. With amazing strength and durability, the HAGANE Gear is at the very heart of the reel. Shimano, through the application of state-of-the-art technologies, gives you the long-lasting smoothness and pleasure that you feel when you first use a reel, over and over again. No cutting work is applied to the teeth of the drive gear. Instead the entire surface is calculated in minute detail by special 3D design and then formed by Shimano’s cold forging technology. The result is assured resilience. It’s the fruit of Shimano’s inexhaustible pursuit for durability; the strength and power of forged metal continues to represent the fundamental concept of Shimano reels.
Waterproof drag
Spare spool
2 line reducers
Ratio 5.3:1
Weight 440g
Line capacity (approx) = 230yds of 16lb (210m of 0.40mm) line, 0.30mm – 390m line

As an Amazon and Ebay Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

▶ SHIMANO ULTEGRA CI4 5500 XTC on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3oJC0n0 on Ebay: https://ebay.us/lNt2sX

▶ Korda Carp Line 1000m Spool on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rKmedv on Ebay: https://ebay.us/oVXUGM

▶ Rapala Fishing Clipper on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Lqgttg on Ebay: https://ebay.us/5BkS4k

▶ Shimano Ultegra CI4+ 14000 XTC on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BdPA7f on Ebay: https://ebay.us/J8wIyI

▶ SHIMANO Ultegra, XTD on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JtcL0l on Ebay: https://ebay.us/pBkha0

▶ Shimano Ultegra Spod XTD on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BeL3Bi on Ebay: https://ebay.us/X9qwqo

🛒 https://kit.co/fishingreligion

Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD unboxing and spool up Korda Carp Line

Till next time …

Author: Marina Kropec

Disclosure – if you buy anything using links found in this blog post, I may make a small commission. It doesn’t cost you any more to buy via these affiliate links – and please feel entirely free not to do so of course – but it will help me to continue producing content. Thank you for support.

THANK YOU for all of your support, for visiting my blog, commenting, and sharing my posts with your friends and social media.

This video was not paid for by outside persons or manufacturers.

No fishing tackle or bait or anything was supplied to me for this video.

The content of this video, photos and my opinions were not reviewed or paid for by any outside persons.

Keep Reading

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Features Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD:

XT7 body

X-Ship gearing

Super Slow Oscillation

Cold Forged Aluminium ARC Spool + spare

Aero Wrap II

Floating Shaft II

Super Stopper II

Instant Drag

Hypergear

DynaBalance

Easy Maintenance

Four line capacity reducer collars

Gear ratio – 5.3:1

Line cap. – 315yds/12lb (290m/0.35mm)

Weight – 500g (18ozs)

Unboxing the green box

Information about shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD.

What is in this green box?

Well protected inside of the box.

Everything in the box neatly stacked.

A big like for the Shimano that a spare spool is also added.

Line reducers are also added for each spool (2x 3500 size and 2x 4500 size).

I didn’t add washers to the reel (I removed them from the spool after testing) because it winds the mono line unevenly (although that’s their purpose 🤔).

A detailed plan of how the reel is assembled. Very important to save it in case you are repairing the spool yourself. a detailed plan of how the spool is assembled. very important to save it in case you are repairing the spool yourself. although I recommend that you rather leave the spool repair to professionals.

Nothing new in this global market world.

Only the spool remained in the box. At first glance it looks like a little black machine 😎.

Gray screw (oil cap) on the reel covers the port where you add a one (1x) drop of Shimano Bantam Oil.

The reel is already greased at the factory.

For a silky smoothness and faster drag you can add carbon or ice drag weshers. I don’t have them, maybe i’ll buy them in the future.

Korda Carp Line – monofilament line

Added instructions and tips for using Korda Carp Line mono. Instructions come in handy for beginners as well as experienced anglers.

Following the instructions of the Kord, I soaked the mono in water for 2 hours (although one hour would be enough).

Line reducer

Because I don’t need 290 meters (0.35mm) of monofilament on the spool, I decided to use a line reducer (4500 size). Most of all, I was also interested in how many meters of mono will go to the spool when I use the line reducer (4500 size). I did not find this information anywhere on the official shimano site as well as on the various fishing forums. In my experience it should go around 200 to 220 meters.

Korda carp line monofilament is marked every 250 meters so after that I will know if more than 250 meters of mono went on the spool (although I doubt it will exceed that length).

Spooling Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD

I tie the mono to the spool with an arbor knot. This knot is very often used among anglers.

When winding the reel it runs extremely smoothly, which is due to the design and A-RB Shimano bearings.

As I had anticipated I did not get to the marked 250 meters. I haven’t noticed the marker anywhere yet, so in my estimation it went to the spool about 210 meters.

I have been looking for a carp and feeder reel for some time that would be light (500 grams / 17oz or less). It was also important to me that the spool be friendly to my wallet (around € 100 / $ 120), but unfortunately I didn’t find one for that money. So I decided to wait a little longer to save money and finally buy the long-desired shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD (ci4 will remain on my wish list – one day).

The first impression when I opened the box and saw the reell I liked it even more than I expected 😍. Compared to large carp spools, this one is really incredibly light and very handy. Sometimes I feel like I’m holding a slightly heavier spinning reel in my hands. At the time of writing this blog post with this Shimano Ultegra 5500 XTD reel I have not fished yet, so how it works in practice I will write in future posts.

Till next time …

…… tight lines and wet nets!

Author: Marina Kropec

THANK YOU for all of your support, for visiting my blog, commenting, and sharing my posts with your friends and social media. I am SO thankful for you!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Disclosure – if you buy anything using links found in this blog post, I may make a small commission. It doesn’t cost you any more to buy via these affiliate links – and please feel entirely free not to do so of course – but it will help me to continue producing content. Thank you.

Keep Reading