Im that kid that got himself in trouble growing up from pulling apart everything.  When the first cell phones arrived I ended up with my Dads, Moms, Aunts and Uncles in pieces before I could get them back together and working without anyone knowing using my dremel modded allen key.

I felt in similar position when I decided to take apart my Hardy Fortuna X2 for a little inspection on how the sealed drag works.  I managed to complete cock up the stacked plate alignment.  Gulp.  Im going to have to take the whole thing apart.

For the next hour Hayley listened to me gasp in amazement.  First at the O rings, then at the genius gaskets used under each screw.  My god.  This thing is built beautifully.

Im a reel abuser.  They get dunked in sand, Dropped on rocks, get tied to GTs, the works, and over the years Ive developed a hell of a knack for building and rebuilding reels.  But these boys had come up with some genius tricks.

To be honest its the most beautifully built thing I’ve seen in fly fishing. An inverse draw bar effectively, laser cut drag disks, 7 o rings, gaskets, the works.  Its like something that would come out of Space X.  Not only that, the design is as perfect as the build.  No finicky little stainless steel shafts, the spool fits into the post holding the assembly.

Hats off to the Hardy crew and Andy Mill.  Not only is it the strongest drag in the game, it has to be one of the lightest reels.  I use my x2 from 7wt to 12wt, but today I managed to complete the full set, X1, X2, X3, X4.  I don’t mind parting with my money on these.  A lifetime warranty means something on a product built this well.

This guy went through it too.  Not sure if he did the rebuild, that part taught me a whole heap of new skills using a very clever line of Loctite gasket makers.  So don’t do this to your Fortuna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG2diV49HQ8

breaking 20lb dacron during the trident tests: