# Hatch Icon vs Nautilus ccf x2



## MDebi (Nov 30, 2021)

I want to know what you guys think is the better reel. There’s an obvious price difference between the icon and the ccf x2 or x series but is the reel worth that much more. I know their both great reels but it seems like nautilus is more a saltwater niche company than hatch. Let’s say we’re talking 8wts.


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## ElLobo (Sep 14, 2020)

What’s cool about the CCF x2 is if you get the 8/10 wt model, you can have a spool with 8 wt line and ton of backing and the same frame will accept their 10/12 spool. So one reel (frame) can cover you from 8-12wt lines and backing capacities. Just swap out the spools


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## ReelBoi (Dec 17, 2020)

I’ve owned and fished them both and have mostly hatch now, so might be a little biased.

CCF - pros for me would be they sound great, the line pickup is awesome, drag smoothness and strength seems fine.

Hatch - pros would be good sound, good line pickup, great drag

My biggest beef with the CCF is how many drag turns the knob has (5-7). Also the spool cap can be almost impossible to remove at times. I fish a lot of hatch reels now because they just do everything well. There are reels that do one thing better, but they are a great all rounder. Also I would trust the durability of the hatch drag more than the CCF even though I’ve never had a problem with either.


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## Cory Michner (Jan 28, 2020)

Obligatory disclaimer of "it depends what you want"

I own 2 6/8 CCF X2's and 1 8/10 and have abused those reels for nearly 9 years. They are great, and they are very well-suited and designed and extremely reliable for the kind of fishing I do where dunking, burying in the sand, dropping on jetty rocks, etc, and general abuse is par for the course.

I agree 100% with @ReelBoi on the pros and cons of the Nautilus. I'll add a couple more:

Pros:
-Sealed exceptionally well - I've talked to plenty of folks whose experience with the CCF X2 is the same, and I have talked to enough who own Hatch (not sure if it's the Iconic) to steer clear. Happy to be corrected by Hatch owners on that
- Strong, smooth, dependable drag
-Big drag knob

Cons:
-The handles (while super comfy) are plastic and if they break it is really really tricky to get them off and replace with a new handle. I had to send mine in. Fortunately, the part that is most likely to break is at the very end of the handle and the reel is still usable, just not as comfortable. 
-There are only a few models of the CCF X2 (technically only 2 + the option to change a spool for a 3rd) so you may not find one that balances the rod well while having the right capacity

Pros or Cons, depending:
-I do wish it had a better outgoing sound, but I also like how quiet it is when I get to a quiet flat and am pulling off 40-50 feet of line (Pro for me)
-Sometimes I like the adjustability of the drag, sometimes not (more Pro for me than Con)
- The spool is not perfectly mated to the reel so if you do manage to bend the spool dropping it, etc, you can still use the reel. It also means that sometimes the line slips between (more Pro for me than Con, I know this from experience  )
-It's not a "flashy" or "blingy" reel (as you may guess, this is 100% a "Pro" for me 😂)

For me, the pros strongly outweigh the cons and the price is a big bonus. 

If I could do it over again, for my fishing, I'd either get a CCF X2 which is sealed really really well, or I'd get a Tibor so I can just open it up and clean it if there's an issue.

Depending on your needs and desires the above may matter or not, but hopefully some first-hand experience is helpful - good luck with your decision!


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## Gatorbig (Jan 15, 2021)

Love my 6/8 ccf x2 about to buy another. Nothing against hatch except not from Florida 





Vid on how to mod the drag adjustment on ccfx2 for less turns.


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## k_lindsey14 (Sep 8, 2021)

CCF x2 6-8 is a great 8 wt reel, balances great with more backing than you'll need for an 8 wt. Hatch makes a nice reel but for almost double the price and a heavier reel, I can't imagine going the iconic route is worth it.


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## Will Poston (Dec 26, 2016)

I had the frame on my Hatch fanatic9 (the previous model) bend, and Hatch wouldn't fix it. I had to bend it back myself. I much prefer nautilus reels. My CCF x2 10/12 hasn't stopped grinding for 8 years. I do prefer the silver king to the 10/12, however.


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## Nway93 (May 9, 2016)

You couldn’t pay me to fish a Hatch… I’ve seen lots of issues with them and had two fail on me. I know they’ve updated the seals on the drag but it’s still the same mechanism. Their service leaves a bit to be desired of too in my experience.

Personally I don’t like sealed drags of any kind because I’ve seen issues with all of them from my time working in a shop. However I’d say the ccfs had the least issues of any of them. I’d go with a Tibor (not the signatures) but if you’re set on those two options the nautilus is the way to go.


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## birddog (Feb 21, 2019)

I don't have an Iconic, but my wife has a Finatic 7+ and I got a CCF-X2 over the summer. I have to say I'm really disappointed my in CCF-X2. The frame to spool tolerance is the worst I have ever seen. I can slide the the head of an 8wt SA Grand Slam line between my frame and spool. The spool release cap also has a tendency to get screwed on so tightly that I need to throw a towel over the cap and loosen it with channel locks to switch spools. Hopefully it's just a 1 off and no one else has a similar experience, but it has soured me on Nautilus (especially after I waited months to get it). I have nothing but good things to say about the Hatch.


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## Cory Michner (Jan 28, 2020)

birddog said:


> I don't have an Iconic, but my wife has a Finatic 7+ and I got a CCF-X2 over the summer. I have to say I'm really disappointed my in CCF-X2. The frame to spool tolerance is the worst I have ever seen. I can slide the the head of an 8wt SA Grand Slam line between my frame and spool. The spool release cap also has a tendency to get screwed on so tightly that I need to throw a towel over the cap and loosen it with channel locks to switch spools. Hopefully it's just a 1 off and no one else has a similar experience, but it has soured me on Nautilus (especially after I waited months to get it). I have nothing but good things to say about the Hatch.


@birddog those tolerances (as I understood it) are there for a reason - with tight tolerances, if you manage to bend the spool it renders the reel pretty much useless until you can bend it back into shape and even then it's pretty iffy. Wider tolerance on that reel means if you bang it up and bend it the reel can still be used.

I used to think it was a con until I experienced first-hand the benefit.

Not for everyone and, frankly, may be as bunch of marketing nonsense but I've actually experienced that scenario in real world circumstances. 

That wide sounds a bit too much, though - when I've seen it that wide it usually means I didn't really seat the spool correctly, worth checking out.


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## birddog (Feb 21, 2019)

Cory Michner said:


> @birddog those tolerances (as I understood it) are there for a reason - with tight tolerances, if you manage to bend the spool it renders the reel pretty much useless until you can bend it back into shape and even then it's pretty iffy. Wider tolerance on that reel means if you bang it up and bend it the reel can still be used.
> 
> I used to think it was a con until I experienced first-hand the benefit.
> 
> ...


I'm not somebody who gets upset when my leader slides through, but the full line (and the head of an overweighted line at that) is a bit much. I've changed the spool a lot going between the 8/10 spool and 10/12 spool and gotten used to seating it. If I don't seat it correctly I can't even get the spool cap to engage with the frame, so it's pretty easy to tell when I'm doing it wrong. Anyway, just 1 person's experience and not the original topic, so I'll stop hijacking the thread now.


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## Bonesonthebrain (Jan 2, 2020)

You likely do not have the spool seated fully. Noticed a large gap on one of my CCF X2’s and was like WTF. Take the spool off, when you put it back on wiggle it back and forth and it will then drop down and seat correctly. I have a 6/8, 8/10, 10/12 and Silver King, all have pretty tight fit when put together correctly. On mine you can engage the cap with it not fully seated. The drag side of the spool should be totally flush with the frame, if not it is not seated.

If you really do have as much clearance as claimed, then Nautilus should make it right. Would be interested in seeing pictures.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Hatch sucks. Nautilus if you have to pick between the two, but Tibor or Shilton it's the way to go imo.


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## BrianD (Nov 27, 2021)

@Will Poston …did the guys @ Hatch give any kind of reason why they wouldn’t do anything? Was there no solution offered at all?
As someone who has a decent stable of Finatics, this piques my curiosity.


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## birddog (Feb 21, 2019)

Bonesonthebrain said:


> You likely do not have the spool seated fully. Noticed a large gap on one of my CCF X2’s and was like WTF. Take the spool off, when you put it back on wiggle it back and forth and it will then drop down and seat correctly. I have a 6/8, 8/10, 10/12 and Silver King, all have pretty tight fit when put together correctly. On mine you can engage the cap with it not fully seated. The drag side of the spool should be totally flush with the frame, if not it is not seated.
> 
> If you really do have as much clearance as claimed, then Nautilus should make it right. Would be interested in seeing pictures.



Since you asked, here are some pics. The first 2 show the line fitting between the frame and spool, and I took the spool cap off after to show that it is seated properly.


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## Bonesonthebrain (Jan 2, 2020)

I would take it up with Nautilus, all of my reels are much tighter and my 8/10, 10/12 has different machining than yours. All the gaps on mine are about half the diameter of the fly line.


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## Bonesonthebrain (Jan 2, 2020)




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## skinnydip (Mar 27, 2016)

i have both and had to send my finatic back for frozen handle which they seemed to know was a problem, they fixed it cheap 15.00. My nautilus never an issue. I am not sponsored by either. small study sample


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