PENN TORQUE 40 REVIEW of the TRQ40

The new PENN TRQ 40

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
A great looking reel! Black and Gold finish. Nice!
A very light reel compared to reels of the same size. Much less bulky than the Saltist 50, Torium 30
or Trinidad 30.
Some nice finishing touches to the Star Drag, and Lock nut retainer plate - but almost shoddy
printing on the one Side Plate... a bit "plastic" looking, even though the reel is anodized
aluminium.
The handle has a soft grip touch to it. Nice.
Reasonably solid feel.

Manufacturers features:
Machined and anodized aluminum body and sideplates
Lightweight forged aluminum spool
Stainless steel main and pinion gear
Live spindle with free floating spool
Patented Versa-Drag system with HT-100 washers
Seven (7) sealed stainless steal ball bearings
Instant anti-reverse bearing with silent back up ratchet
Three Position Adjustable Ratchet Clicker
Switchblade Harness Lugs for Offshore use
LINE CAPACITY
I managed to get 450m of 0.34mm (50lb) Power Pro as backing, with 150m of 0.5mm mono.
Manufacturer claims are 30lb/350yards, which is the same claims as the Torium and Saltist. We
know that the Saltist takes 50m more than the Torium, but the Penn is at least 50m short of Saltist
line capacity.
LINE CAPACITY RINGS
Line Capacity Rings are another great new feature of the Penn Torque. Don't know why other
manufacturers haven't come up with this idea long ago. The lines give you a very good idea of
how much line you have left on the spool, without having to guesstimate. These rings eliminate
the question of how much line you have left when casting or fighting a fish. The three lines on
the spool flange let you know when you have 1/3rd, 2/3rd or a full spool of line. Also if you
respool often these lines give you a benchmark for backing with braid and topshot. A great
feature.
RETRIEVE
Comes standard with a 6:1 retrieve ratio, which is similar to Saltist/Torium/Trini.
The handle has the option of being moved to shorter handle for greater speed retrieve, or longer
handle for more torque. This is no different to the Saltist, Saltiga or Trini.
Retrieve on the reel is smooth, but not as solid and as smooth as a Saltiga.
The reel has the option of a Versa-Gear system change to 5.4:1 or 4.8:1 (bottom fishing), but these
need to be purchased separately.

INSIDES

Gears are precision machined Stainless Steel, including the Pinion gear.
The reel has 7 Stainless Steel bearings.
Forged aluminium spool that is anodized. The spool has a nice knurl in the centre, which allows
knotted line to grip the spool without slipping.
FREE SPOOL LIVE SPINDLE
This is what makes the Penn Torque 40!!
Both the spool and the spindle can rotate independently of the Drive train. In most other reels, the
spool spindle is fixed to the spool. In the Penn, the entire spindle shaft can be completely removed
from the spool.

This is the revolutionary Live Spindle design - the reason the new Torque is being claimed to be
the new standard in casting reels.
The improved configuration allows the spool to spin independently of the spindle and pinion gear,
which significantly reduces friction experienced from the extreme acceleration of the spool when
casting. Other reels using a fixed spindle design slow the rotation of the spool by design,
whereas the Torque spool spins on Ball bearings only.
Additionally the Live Spindle improves the retrieve of the reel because the spindle and pinion do
not need to turn relative to each other during heavy loads unlike fixed spindle reels that result in
a "tighter" retrieve.
On taking possession of the reel out the box, engaging free spool allowed the reel to spin for a
total of 3 seconds! Instantly disappointed, I put it down to the fact that the bearings inside had no
oil in or had dried out in shipping and shelving. I oiled the bearings with Rocket Fuel Tournament
and went for a few casts... big mistake! The reel spun uncontrollably with the Rocket fuel, even
with the Cast Control knob turned tight. Almost impossible to cast!

Later, opened up the reel and found the reason why. It was so badly gummed up with thick,
green grease, it was no wonder the reel wouldn't spin at first. After cleaning all the muck out and
lightly regreasing, relubing the bearings with standard Penn Oil, the reel spun for over 3 minutes
in free spool! Absolutely amazing stuff...
The Cast Control knob has a nifty design inside it. It allows you to set the Cast control precisely
with an audible clicker system. With the amount of spin this reel generates in free spool, it can
quickly be seen why it is necessary! Ever seen a 3 minute freespool from a stock standard out the
box reel?

Penn Torque 40 Freespool

INSTANT ANTI-REVERSE
The Anti-reverse chuck and clutch are Instant, as well as having a Double dog Pawl system, which
is only found on the Trini/Torium 50's. This fail safe is an awesome improvement in this class of
reel. Nothing worse than worrying about an Anti-reverse bearing that might fail.
DRAG SYSTEM
Excellently designed Drag Stack, with eared proper Carbon fibre Drag washers. Claimed drag
capacity of 25lb.

The Stardrag is solid, with a precision click system of tightening, similar to the Daiwa's.
The Drag system stack can also be arranged differently for different Drag settings - a somewhat
gimmicky claim... I somehow doubt whether anyone fishing this reel is going to ever want to use a
6lb or 12lb drag setting, when a 25lb setting is available at it's maximum.

RATCHET CLICKER
Has 3 positions - Off, light and heavy settings. A very useful feature for sliding rods in a pension
pipe.
The reel has 2 Harness lugs for offshore use - attachment to a harness.
SERVICING

Much more difficult to service than a Daiwa, and slightly more difficult than a Shimano. Too many
circlips, tiny balls and springs that are prone to shooting out at speed!
To open up the reel, one needs to first try find an Allen Key that fits the side plate screws... this is
irritating - you'd think a reel that costs as much as this one would include an appropriate Allen
Key!? C'mon PENN!! Now I have to add an extra tool to my service kit...
EDIT: I have since ascertained that the Reel does come with a proper Torx type
screwdriver... it was missing in my box. So use the correct tool for the job!

The reel was shipped cram packed full of thick green gunk grease... all of which needs to be
removed in order for the reel to attain it's desired performance. Had to scoop huge blobs of it off
just to see what's underneath??

The reel's insides are completely different to any other reel on the market, the RHSide Plate has an

"Inner Plate" that screws on to the frame of the Reel. The Side Plate then covers this. Very
interesting design.

OVERALL
This reel has already been tested extensively in the South African Rock and Surf context by
Wesley Peens, CASTSA, who has landed many huge critters with the reel, including several
200kg+ Raggies. So the reel is definitely built to stand up to the task.
The mechanical components of the reel are excellent, high precision machined pieces that have a
high tolerance - this is quality.
What sells the reel is it's Live spindle design, which makes it the most eminently castable reel on
the market. Claims of 30-50m increases in casting distances have already been reported. This is
the Casting reel of the future! That, combined with it's machined components, it's infallible antireverse system and improved drag system with genuine Carbon fibre washers, puts this reel out
there in a class of it's own.