No Shimano, No Daiwa

[papabassin]

Cane pole.

There it is! Bingo

[spookybaits]

Toy machine

[Mike and Pike]

Toy machine

Meets;

Cane pole.

There it is! Bingo

Both childhood memory-ish

[Jason Penn]

i have no problems with oem/cookie-cutter reels, granted i haven't been as hard on them as a lot of folks are on their reels. i replaced a couple of 1st gen steez reels with the 1st gen bps carbonlite & pro qualifier tournament reels a few years ago, simply because they worked better for the applications (for me) i was using them for. i really don't think they will hold up as well as the daiwa reels over time, but i like buying new gear so i don't necessarily plan on keeping them over 3-4 years.

[Dalleinf]

I own Quantum Energy and EXO baitcasters, which I have been happy with. I think that I would also enjoy using reels from Lews, 13 fishing and many other brands. However, I am still a little perplexed that Lews are considered equal to or better than ABU...

ABU has great small low profile reels: MGX, MGXtreme, LTX, ALC, Aurora etc. They have some very nice medium-sized and large low profile reels: Revo Beast, Toro NaCl/Beast, Toro Rocket. And finally some tried and true round reels: Ambassadeur 1500-2500, 1600-2600, Record C6, Pro Rocket, Inshore/Predator, Beast, Mørrum, Special editions for the Swedish/EU market "from" Svartzonker and Ge Fan i Våra Vatten, Factory Tuned JDM models etc.
As mentioned above, aftermarket parts from Avail and ZPi plus UK based Rocket Reel Company or Swedish UT/Ulf Tingstrom Reel Technology make the ABU reels shine even more IMO.

On the Lews website I find three new generation reels (240-280 usd) that I will have to try.

For me it's the build issues. I had a Team Lite and still have a Revo Elite and I didn't feel the elite was worth the 380 they wanted for it. The team lite however was worth the 240 price tag to me. The thumb bar is more refined and it casted better. Strange since they are both Doyo built.

I agree that ABU low profile reels overall are not as refined as Shimano/Daiwa. I have also noticed the stiff-ish thumbbar mainly on my Gen2 Revo SX-STX-Premier. However, esp. the STX and Premier cast quite far with stock spools. With Avail spools they are great with >4gr lures.
My Revo Beast and MGxtreme both have less stiff thumbbars and are just very nice reels - although not in the same league as Conquest/Metanium.

380 USD is very steep for the Revo Elite, which I have seen on sale for 200 USD in Denmark (but did not buy after getting your advice :-)). For some reason many ABU reels are "very" expensive in the US - The MGXtreme is 500 USD in many US shops and I can find it locally for around 300 USD (although not suggested retail). Usually it is just the opposite - tackle is cheaper in the US.

[Teal101]

Have to be Abu. No other manufacturer other than Daiwa and Shimano have such a large aftermarket following.


With regards to 13 having their own tooling, what about Sixgill reels? They look awfully similar to me. Is 13 selling some of their reels to other retailers?

[LowRange]

Have to be Abu. No other manufacturer other than Daiwa and Shimano have such a large aftermarket following.


With regards to 13 having their own tooling, what about Sixgill reels? They look awfully similar to me. Is 13 selling some of their reels to other retailers?

Sixgills look like Kastkings/shishamos to me which are rebranda of some mystery meat chinese oem.

[new2BC4bass]

I am not going to read through all the posts to see what others would use. Personally the 2 reels I would pick are expensive enough for my pocketbook that I wouldn't have very many reels. Can't speak for longevity, but I am really impressed with my Helios Air and Primmus Xi HS reels. I've got some Lew's and Abus that I like a lot, but if push came to shove, I'd take those.

[Dug]

I would have to say, even though I like my Abus and my Okuma baitcaster, that I would if I had to choose, go with one of the BPS reels (which might be a Daiwa or Shimano rebranded) but I do like the prolite and carbonlite reels I have.

The other answer I was going to come up with is: if I can't have my daiwa reels, i don't want to play anymore..... but I do like hookin those black and bronzeback bass.

Dug

[DirtyD64]

This thread has kept me from feeling alone in the world. I really, really love my equipment and only make about $11 an hour till I finish school (2 more years of hell) so I really am proud of a $200-$300 reel. I just say this because I would be sick if I couldn't use my Daiwa's/Shimano. I would still fish without them, but it feels good to know I am not the only tackle crazy person out there.

[Frosty]

I don't know but I wouldn't need credit cards

[OhioChamp183]

I haven't owned a Shimano or Daiwa in a few years.

[Mike and Pike]

I haven't owned a Shimano or Daiwa in a few years.

I hope you fly fish.

[mylobass]

I guess I'd use the same pre 1980's Ambassadeur 4500 and 2500C's I've always used instead of the almighty gods of engineered obsolescence.

[johnnybassboat]

I am a Shimano guy, but have a few Lews for back up and for friends to use. So if you took away all my Shimano stuff it would be Lews for me.