SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

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Dalleinf
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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by Dalleinf » Mon Feb 18, 2019 9:26 pm

Abbor, yes, the JapanTackle article is great and so is Ulf Tingstrom supposedly allthough I have yet to try his UT tuned reels (the 1501 and 2501 are hard to find in good shape and if 3 gram is the limit I am not going to bother :lol:).
To me, having also read said articles etc., one thing is relatively simple theories and equations and another thing is practice where some finesse reels with linear mag brakes perform absolutely great also with regard to distance.
I hope that the Ald BFS will be great for you and also hope that you will take the time and inform us how it performs.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by abbor » Tue Feb 19, 2019 7:10 am

I can cast less than 3g with the UT tuned 1500C and 2500C, but 3g is the limit for what I would use if fishing the whole day. It's too much effort and hassle to try to cast lighter. The Alphas Air is much better for 1.5-2g, and 16 Aldebaran BFS is hopefully even better.

I'm an engineer so I like to understand the theory, and since I have several thousands of hours with experience of fishing with baitcasters, where I've always tried to optimize the performance of the equipment, I'm able to connect theory and practice. So when I read about a new reel I can tell based on specifications and design concepts if this can be an interesting reel for me or not. The implementation can of course be lousy even if the concepts are good, so it's of course first when I have tested it I can tell if I like it, but I often reject reels based on descriptions and specifications.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by Dalleinf » Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:04 am

abbor wrote: I'm an engineer so I like to understand the theory, and since I have several thousands of hours with experience of fishing with baitcasters, where I've always tried to optimize the performance of the equipment, I'm able to connect theory and practice. So when I read about a new reel I can tell based on specifications and design concepts if this can be an interesting reel for me or not. The implementation can of course be lousy even if the concepts are good, so it's of course first when I have tested it I can tell if I like it, but I often reject reels based on descriptions and specifications.
I am flat on the ground :D and appreciate your love of theory.
I have some reels that I feel do really well with 2-3 gram (2* Alphas ASC, PX68L w IZe spool, Conquest BFS w KTF spool, ABU Alc-bf7 and possibly a few more) and a very big bunch that does really well with 4-7 gram. Always on the lookout for reels that perform well with low weights and have considered the Ald BFS with that very very light Avail spool. That said, I rarely use lures that weigh less than 2 gram. The danish small stream fishing that I do does not call for very small lures - Mepps Aglia/Comet #2 and similar inline spinners are fantastic for seatrout and also work fine for brown trout. Mepps #1 gets too small in most situations. When I read the norwegian “Alt om Fiske” and https://www.hooked.no/hooked-tester/bes ... tsluk-2018 I am informed that heavy-ish spoons (eg 10g) are great for mountain lake trout fishing so I will give those a try this summer in Norway/Nissedal.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by abbor » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:29 pm

I got my 16 Aldebaran BFS a couple of days ago. The reel is a bit narrow to palm comfortably with my rather large hands. I don't like the adjustment wheel for the magnetic brake, several steps behind Daiwa. The lever to unlock the side cover is nice, even better than the T3 solution. I don't like the clicking brake, this is something I haven't had on a new reel for 30 years.

I spooled on 0.20mm mono, the only line I had available since I'm not at the place I have most of my fishing gear. The only suitable rod I had available was a Major Craft Corzza 652UL BF, I attached a 2.0g (I checked the weight) 2" plastic crankbait to give the setup a challenge. I started with the original magnet setup, but the brake is much less progressive than Daiwa Air so I followed the advice from Jun at Japan Tackle's and added two more magnets. I ended up setting the magnet brake to about 4.8.

It's full winter here so I tested out in the snow and the ice in the yard. The risk of overrun seems less than with the Alphas Air I was comparing with, but I got a bit better lengths for the best casts with Alphas Air. I have a feeling the Aldebaran will cast better with the lightest lures if using a deeper action rod. In the weekend I will be able to test with my Megabass Pagani AIR BAMBOO F0-61PB, I think this is will be a better match.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by Dalleinf » Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:09 pm

Thank you for the review.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by Edward78 » Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:54 am

I have the Alphas the SS and Aldebaran BFS, they are all fine reels but the Daiwa's cast and retrieve much quieter and smoother for the most part. The Aldebaran will cast further with 3g and above because Daiwa's Air brakes are over braked and hold them back but for the light stuff under 2.5G I think they are all about equal but the Air Brake is easier to tune and less sensitive.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:19 am

Edward78 wrote:I have the Alphas the SS and Aldebaran BFS, they are all fine reels but the Daiwa's cast and retrieve much quieter and smoother for the most part. The Aldebaran will cast further with 3g and above because Daiwa's Air brakes are over braked and hold them back but for the light stuff under 2.5G I think they are all about equal but the Air Brake is easier to tune and less sensitive.
Id pretty much agree in a nutshell. Retrieve and the AR play is better in the SS AIR. I will gladly put up with the cons of the Aldebaran BFS to be able to use the 16ALD15R spool from Avail. Transforms the reel
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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by abbor » Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:47 am

I've done more testing with 16 Aldebaran BFS and Alphas Air using the same 2" 2.0g crankbait as previously.

I now used a Megabass Pagani Air Bamboo F0-61PB for both reels.

As expected the Aldebaran performed better with a deeper action rod, but so did Alphas when casting a light low density lure like this.

Typical casting lengths were about 65'. Alphas managed 2-3' longer than Aldebaran in the best casts. With the brake adjustments needed for getting the longest casting lengths Aldebaran had the lowest risk for overrun.

The temperature during the testing was -2C (28F) so the lines soon became a bit stiff. I had the reels inhouse when not being used to try to keep the line soft. Other lines in higher temperatures can of course give other reults.

I prefer by far the Daiwa Air brake over Shimano FTB. The more progressive brake profile works better for me. I agree the Daiwa brake profiles are too aggressive. At one step I have too low braking at max spool speed and at the next step it's overbraked. A narrower inductor would make the brake steps smaller. With Daiwa Air and SV I'm typically at brake setting 2 to 3 in a scale to 10.

I find the lighter spool of Aldebaran BFS as a large advantage. I always center the line carriage before casting to reduce the line resistance (I even do it with T3 SV which has TWS). With Alphas the line carriage don't move when I reel with locked spool. It seems as my ideal reel would be a Daiwa SS Air with lighter spool and lighter narrower inductor. But I would need to change the gears to lower the gear ratio.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by LowRange » Sat Mar 02, 2019 3:12 pm

abbor wrote:I've done more testing with 16 Aldebaran BFS and Alphas Air using the same 2" 2.0g crankbait as previously.

I now used a Megabass Pagani Air Bamboo F0-61PB for both reels.

As expected the Aldebaran performed better with a deeper action rod, but so did Alphas when casting a light low density lure like this.

Typical casting lengths were about 65'. Alphas managed 2-3' longer than Aldebaran in the best casts. With the brake adjustments needed for getting the longest casting lengths Aldebaran had the lowest risk for overrun.

The temperature during the testing was -2C (28F) so the lines soon became a bit stiff. I had the reels inhouse when not being used to try to keep the line soft. Other lines in higher temperatures can of course give other reults.

I prefer by far the Daiwa Air brake over Shimano FTB. The more progressive brake profile works better for me. I agree the Daiwa brake profiles are too aggressive. At one step I have too low braking at max spool speed and at the next step it's overbraked. A narrower inductor would make the brake steps smaller. With Daiwa Air and SV I'm typically at brake setting 2 to 3 in a scale to 10.

I find the lighter spool of Aldebaran BFS as a large advantage. I always center the line carriage before casting to reduce the line resistance (I even do it with T3 SV which has TWS). With Alphas the line carriage don't move when I reel with locked spool. It seems as my ideal reel would be a Daiwa SS Air with lighter spool and lighter narrower inductor. But I would need to change the gears to lower the gear ratio.
You're in luck. There is a spool out for the Air reels with a thinner, tapered inductor and air brake. They're like $55 on Aliexpress.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/327140512 ... 1418565625

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by abbor » Sat Mar 02, 2019 3:29 pm

Excellent, I will order one immediately :)

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by hoohoorjoo » Sat Mar 02, 2019 4:42 pm

abbor wrote:Excellent, I will order one immediately :)
I am ordering one right now in black, to get rid of the red on my Alphas Air. Gonna go stealth on it. All black, like Johny Cash. 8-)
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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Sat Mar 02, 2019 4:48 pm

LowRange wrote:
abbor wrote:I've done more testing with 16 Aldebaran BFS and Alphas Air using the same 2" 2.0g crankbait as previously.

I now used a Megabass Pagani Air Bamboo F0-61PB for both reels.

As expected the Aldebaran performed better with a deeper action rod, but so did Alphas when casting a light low density lure like this.

Typical casting lengths were about 65'. Alphas managed 2-3' longer than Aldebaran in the best casts. With the brake adjustments needed for getting the longest casting lengths Aldebaran had the lowest risk for overrun.

The temperature during the testing was -2C (28F) so the lines soon became a bit stiff. I had the reels inhouse when not being used to try to keep the line soft. Other lines in higher temperatures can of course give other reults.

I prefer by far the Daiwa Air brake over Shimano FTB. The more progressive brake profile works better for me. I agree the Daiwa brake profiles are too aggressive. At one step I have too low braking at max spool speed and at the next step it's overbraked. A narrower inductor would make the brake steps smaller. With Daiwa Air and SV I'm typically at brake setting 2 to 3 in a scale to 10.

I find the lighter spool of Aldebaran BFS as a large advantage. I always center the line carriage before casting to reduce the line resistance (I even do it with T3 SV which has TWS). With Alphas the line carriage don't move when I reel with locked spool. It seems as my ideal reel would be a Daiwa SS Air with lighter spool and lighter narrower inductor. But I would need to change the gears to lower the gear ratio.
You're in luck. There is a spool out for the Air reels with a thinner, tapered inductor and air brake. They're like $55 on Aliexpress.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/327140512 ... 1418565625
Sweet. Nice to know there are more options for the 32mm spools
IG @hobie_wan_kenobi_fishing

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by abbor » Sun Mar 03, 2019 5:21 pm

Since I have a long history with UT Reel tuning of Ambassadeur reels I prefer blue tuning spools, so this is what I ordered for my Alphas Air as well.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by abbor » Mon Mar 11, 2019 2:33 pm

Alphas Air original spool with a HH Air BFS bearing weighs 8.365g, the honeycomb spool I've ordered is according to the information at Aliexpress 9.1g with the supplied bearing. It's the rotational mass which counts not the total mass, so if the honeycomb spool has less mass far from the shaft it can of course be better. I've read that SV spools get a less aggressive brake characteristic if the inductor is swapped to the type used for these tuning spools, so this should at least be an improvement.

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Re: SS Air or 16 Aldebaran BFS

Post by hoohoorjoo » Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:48 pm

abbor wrote:Alphas Air original spool with a HH Air BFS bearing weighs 8.365g, the honeycomb spool I've ordered is according to the information at Aliexpress 9.1g with the supplied bearing. It's the rotational mass which counts not the total mass, so if the honeycomb spool has less mass far from the shaft it can of course be better. I've read that SV spools get a less aggressive brake characteristic if the inductor is swapped to the type used for these tuning spools, so this should at least be an improvement.
My apologies to the OP for going off-topic, but I wanted to report my experience with the Ray's rotors on Daiwa spools. I purchased and installed the Ray's inductor repair kit on several of my Daiwa SV spools that had sticky inductors. They indeed do free the SV spool up. They still maintain good control, but with better distance. I did this to 1 SS SV spool and 3 Alphas SV spools. All 4 achieve better distance now. The SS SV spool is in a TDZ and it absolutely BOMBS anything 1/4 oz or better, with the magforce dial set to "3".
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