Cheap reels

[Blackbird]

I understand the mass produced Far East market accounts for a lot of cheaper reels, the higher end product still maintains a better build and material content, as with the likes of Shimano, Daiwa Penn etc. It certainly is not the case these reels are just 're badged mass produced rubbish. 

The reason Shimano reels last is simply quality of build and materials, and they can be serviced to this day. In fact Penn have a local agent to me who does repairs, very old school. 

Of course there is no denying without the Far East imports we would pay a lot more for everything, but I do miss the days when we actually manufactured goods, Hoover, Electrolux, Raleigh, British Leyland, the Mini, the mini skirt, Cadbury, Frys, Bovril, Carry on films, Spitfires, BSA, Allegro, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Beatles, the Queen, BBC, coal, HP sauce, Woolies, and Maggie Thatcher. 

Thank God I lived  through all that, some of it good, some not so, but all very real, not like now.

 

 

 

 

[chesters1]

Where did i say rubbish? I said mass produced to a price point.not sure home (british) production was that good why pay for a badly made expensive old fashioned item when you can get a decent cheap import.

Our fridge was made in 1957 it isnt well made it certainly isnt well constructed and its not that every fridge made in the same factory is still about ,we got lucky we dont abuse it but more importantly we are not replacing it because something prettier and cheaper both to buy and run comes on the market .The same goes for reels their only job is to hold line nothing more you use it to store line or let it out its not some magical fish catching device ! Remove the line its useless .

With cheap items you can hopefully get the warranty out of it then anything more is a bonus ,the cost means every year you can buy a new reel with some new bit of tech or colour or badge,you could look after it and it will last decades or you can fork out for a top of the range line holder but its not going to do anything different fish wont be suddenly attracted to your swim because they only like to get caught by shimanos

in my fishing life i have seen the fads come and go and anglers without a clue buy the most expensive kit they can but you dont need it cheap is just as good unless you like to be seen using it ,fishing tackle is sold because it catches the angler theres no magical rule that says brand A catches more than brand B i have seen brilliant anglers catch on really basic stuff and i havnt bought any new tackle since the 70's bar a couple of cheap daiwa baitrunners because i wanted that function  they are still fine but ofcourse to be in the "club"  of the needy i would have to chuck a perfectly working bit of plastic away and only buy the latest greatest bit of gear every year so people liked me and thought i was a great angler

Its your money but cheap doesnt mean bad (even expensive can go bad) it means choice and boy theres choice in line holders today and long may it last people can buy what they please i like cheap and then look after something it works for all ranges of price ,the reel in question is perfectly fine for the price ,if you want shimano thats your choice aswell but name today is no certainty of quality ask anyone having bought an ABU 704 or those dire mitchell plastic things of the past ,they were built to a price just as they have been for decades

PS the majority of things you mention dont exist anymore because basically they were expensive crap ,and people knew that and went elswhere once choice was available even the cheapest bit of plastic was better than an intrepid black prince but some like crap i have a few hundred intrepids but i would be hard found to call any decent ,they filled a gap just as chinese ones do today

PS i was astounded how much a black prince was when you convert 19/6 to todays money ,long live far eastern reels lol

As to this bit i think you are mistaking what i am referring to

"Well yes if you fall into the trap of buying rebadged Chinese reels you will come unstuck. I think you and most of us know what is a genuine model. Don't agree with you idea that a reel is merely a line holder, it really might be if you are not fishing for hard fighting species."

I dont mean clones or knock offs i mean reels made incredibly  cheaply by far eastern companies FOR what is seen as western based companies ,its not new! snooty orvis was using rebadged intrepid fly reels at a huge mark up and lowly BFR was making reels for many outlets

Edited June 23, 2021 by chesters1

[Tigger]

12 hours ago, Blackbird said:

I have bought tat too, and some awful Mitchell reels, after they sold out. Many get seduced by counting ball bearings, the quality of material is everyhing imo. I like Okuma, they offer a huge range and their baitrunners  are excellent. I bought some good Shimano reels and Penn too, in readiness for when my Shimano 5010s  pack in, the new ones are still in their boxes.

Mitchells!   

One of the worst reels i've ever used.  That was the so called good ones like the old 300, 410 and match.

There are some people who love em,but i'm quite confident that i'd prefer the modern Cheap reel S63 has just bought.  Maybe it won't last so long though.  I'd rather buy one every few months though than use a mitchell!

Sorry if i've offended the mitchell lovers .

[chesters1]

Most mitchell lovers like Intrepid lovers like myself dont use them but collect them! ,saying that at the time mitchells were excellent reels the CAP reels brought fixed spool reels to the poorer not everyone could afford an Altex (they were dire spare parts wouldnt fit etc),everybody started with an intrepid and saved for a mitchell because it was a step up lol now miniature bearings and cnc machines can produce better parts the old ones are seen through rose tinted specs 

[BoldBear]

At one time (up to the late 1970s) the Mitchell's used to be one of the better reels out there; and we're used by a lot of our top anglers; until Abu came on the scene with their Abu Cardinals and closed face reels; but there was little else to choose from back in those days. However there are still a few top Anglers who still use a Mitchell Match reel or an Abu closed face reel, and some still cling to Abu Cardinal 55's for surface fishing (me included very occasionally ) 

Although I still have my old Mitchells and other old reels at the back of a drawer I don't think they can compete with modern reels which now have far superior drags (meaning you no longer need to have your knuckles bruised when relying on the back wind), infinite anti reverse, much better gearing, wider and longer spools, and other useful functions such as the baitrunner function and secondary fighting drags and some of them even give the user the choice of either having single or double handles or both.

In my view almost all of my modern reels put nearly all of my older reels into the shade except for the odd Abu closed face reel and some of the classic centrepins both types of which can often still compete with; and sometimes surpass some of their modern variants. The modern version on the Abu 506 closed face reel for example is just a poor relation to the original Abu 506.

Keith

Edited June 23, 2021 by BoldBear

[Blackbird]

Chesters a reel carries more importance than you give it credit for. Try fishing the river Severn in flood chucking out 6 ounce leads 

Cheap reels would explode with that, let alone hooked into a hard fighting double figure Barbel, I guess it might be something you have not had the pleasure in doing. To say a reel is merely to hold line is comical.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by Blackbird

[chesters1]

A

3 hours ago, Blackbird said:

Chesters a reel carries more importance than you give it credit for. Try fishing the river Severn in flood chucking out 6 ounce leads 

Cheap reels would explode with that, let alone hooked into a hard fighting double figure Barbel, I guess it might be something you have not had the pleasure in doing. To say a reel is merely to hold line is comical.

 

 

There we go it even delivers 17.6 lbs whatever that means

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0836XTMV8/ref=twister_B083JXC5WW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Line holders come in all shapes and sizes ,this even comes with line to show thats all it is ,you put line on it ,you let line out of it casting then you put it back on reeling in .....its a line holder !remove the line it does nothing its designed to hold line ,even the fish can play its designed to let them have a bit of your line from your line holder if they try hard enough never seen one put it back on the line holder though strange that! Perhaps someone will invent an electric line holder ?whoops to late !

Little line holders are called reels big ones are called winches both do the same job both even have clutches we cant go breaking the line can we we would have to buy more line for the line holder

3 basic designs of line holders ,some have vertical drums ,some have horizontal ones but most have drums facing the rod i even have a crosswind reel it couldnt even make its mind up ,they hold line you know like cotton reels do

Some naughty companies try to hide the fact they are line holders by enclosing the forward facing drum ,but we wont get fooled will we ,we KNOW they are line holders dont we ,we open them up and guess what theyre holding line ! If not we get on and put some on dont we

But wait i could be wrong this is 2021 have i missed out on line holders that dont hold line but send it through a wormhole as you wind in into a magical 3rd time and space dimension  ,wow thats progress ! Any pictures?

Edited June 23, 2021 by chesters1

[Blackbird]

They are line holders now! 

Have you ever put your theory into practice using your little line holder attached to a hard fighting fish?

Of course not.

[chesters1]

How do you know

PS they have always been line holders ,they hold line ,theres even a clue look at the spool or box most will say what amount of line they will hold why would the silly manufacturer tell you how much it would hold if it didnt hold it ? It holds line the handle puts it back on after you have opened the bailarm to throw the line away ,it holds line its a line holder nothing more

Wow this guys line holder is a box ,shimano? Cant spot the badge

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wFpR9NhaGSU

You better tell him that cheap half plastic container will" EXPLODE" its so cheap ,probably a chinese box aswell tut tut good job its just a tiddler had it come from the severn..........

Edited June 23, 2021 by chesters1

[Blackbird]

Having a clutch to slow down a big running fish, having cranking power to retrieve, to be able to cast smoothly , shall I go on? But what's the point trying to talk any sort of sense Dave, you never have and never will agree to what is blindingly obvious to the rest of Humanity.

It's been you life's work