Bearings & Smoothness aren't everything

[slinkymalinky]

I was having a chat today with another Raider and it raised a point that I thought I'd share.

A lot of us grapple with how to compare different reels and judge their quality. Everyone is looking for something different in a reel so I'm not about to tell you what's right and what's wrong.

Here's a couple of things to think about around a couple of the main criteria a lot of people use to judge a good reel:

1. Smoothness

We've all picked up reels in a shop, given the handle a couple of cranks, and fallen in love with the buttery smoothness. BUT, not all reels that aren't velvety are bad. If you ever use a reel with stainless gearing for example you will nearly always notice a slightly rough feel. That's a given with stainless... it's much harder than the alloys more commonly used which makes it usually a little 'rattly' but it's a lot stronger too.

Some reels are also buttery out of the box but because of soft gears or cheap bearings, deteriorate rapidly.

2. Bearings

A lot of tackle companies still make a big point of featuring the number of bearings in a reel and we're supposed to believe more is better. Good bearings at retail cost upwards of $10 each, so a 10 bearing real could potentially be $100 just for the bearings. I can buy bearings for $1-$2 each though... so can the tackle manufacturers. That's how they manage to sell 'many bearing' reels that seem like a massive bargain.

Not all bearings are created equal and a reel with 4 or 5 good bearings will be a much better bet than a cheap reel with 10 or 11. The cheap bearings have poor tolerances and don't last.

Cheers, Slinky

[slinkymalinky]

And I was just reminded to add to the list...

3. Drag Pressure

A lot of companies are also now advertising big drag pressures. Firstly, not all drags are created equal. Just ask anyone who goes popper fishing for GTs. It's not just the absolute max drag that's important in fishing but also how smooth it is, smooth progression as pressure increases, and also the minimising of 'drag inertia' (or 'startup drag' as it's often called... the possible spike in drag pressure just before it starts to give line... a good drag has minimal or none... a bad drag can have a huge spike)

A good drag is about materials, design & tolerances. Good ones cost money.

The other thing to say about drag is that some of the pressures are pointless. Why do you need 9kg of drag on a bream reel that's only going to be fishing 2kg line? And anyone who says they can fish a jig reel with 30kg of drag is either a titan or gilding the lily.

[woodch0p]

Another point I would like to add on top of slinky's comments on max drags. Alot of companies are advertising huge drags, whilst the drag washer and plates might be able to achieve these settings, other components of the reel sometimes cannot live up to the pressures. I've heard of spinning reel bails giving way, and flexing in the side plates of overheads plus handle issues on both such as threading and snapping. Just because your reel is capable of pumping out these drags doesn't mean they should always be used at the levels. And yes if your running 30kg of drag standup good luck holding on let alone doing anything else.

[Meh]

I wouldn't want to be connected to anything large with 30kgs of drag, recipe for disaster if you ask me.

For example, this guy can barley hold onto the rod and I doubt its anywhere near 30kgs of drag.

[Zdenk01]

Another point I would like to add on top of slinky's comments on max drags. Alot of companies are advertising huge drags, whilst the drag washer and plates might be able to achieve these settings, other components of the reel sometimes cannot live up to the pressures. I've heard of spinning reel bails giving way, and flexing in the side plates of overheads plus handle issues on both such as threading and snapping. Just because your reel is capable of pumping out these drags doesn't mean they should always be used at the levels. And yes if your running 30kg of drag standup good luck holding on let alone doing anything else.

I know someone who experienced this problem, while trying for a line class record & getting smoked by a tuna.

The heat generated from the amount of drag pressure, didnt end well. (This is an expensive brand reel).

The spool locked up & nearly pulled him in the water. Lucky a mate was holding on to him.

cheers

zed

[Basil D]

Great post slinky, good reading and knowledge

[paul.kenny]

Slinky, what are better bearings for a Barra spin reel (4000 size): ceramic or stainless steel ball bearings?

[iMick]

It's interesting you raised this topic because my little Daiwa Certate 1003 feels high quality but far from buttery, and not noisy, but not silent. It sounds like it's got good quality internals.

Mick

[slinkymalinky]

Slinky, what are better bearings for a Barra spin reel (4000 size): ceramic or stainless steel ball bearings?

G'day Basscatcher.

I personally think that ceramic hybrid bearings are wasted in spin reels. While they are also more resistant to corrosion, the real advantage of ceramics that I prefer, is their ability to reduce spool inertia and increase casting distance in baitcasters. The bearings in a spin reel have no influence on casting distance. Ceramic hybrid bearings are also by nature a little more noisy than stainless bearings... you certainly hear it when casting a baitcaster.

Given their extra cost, I'd not worry about putting them in a spin reel... particularly for fresh water. Stick with good quality stainless bearings.

Cheers, Tony

[arpie]

...It's interesting you raised this topic because my little Daiwa Certate 1003 feels high quality but far from buttery, and not noisy, but not silent. It sounds like it's got good quality internals....

Interesting comment there, Mick - I've recently bought an 'as new, used 3 times' 1003 & felt the same!! Tho Max Frost (local fishing guru) reckons it is fine, so I accepted his word on it! Haven't got to use it yet, being house bound still...... but can't wait to get back on the yak & give it a go on some hard pulling yellow fin bream!

Cheers

Roberta

[steze]

I'd love to see how many "men" can actually handle 10-15kg of drag pressure comfortably. I agree with Slink

Edited May 31, 2012 by steze

[chrisg]

It's interesting you raised this topic because my little Daiwa Certate 1003 feels high quality but far from buttery, and not noisy, but not silent. It sounds like it's got good quality internals.

Mick

That can also be the gear material being harder. Should last longer than cheaper softer material which initially often appear very smooth running.

C.

[sydangler]

I agree with the whole huge drag sanario I've blown up a saltist trying to fish heavy drag. And I've held on to 17-18kgs of drag on my Stella getting smoked By a monster king and I had to sit down and it nearly to ok the rod out of my hands.

A couple of tourist walking past couldn't believe it seeing me sitting on the ground leaning back praying it would stop running till my 80lb braid found the bridge pilon and bang all over leaving me lying there not knowing weather to laugh or cry

Edited August 3, 2012 by sydangler

[LWA]

I wouldn't want to be connected to anything large with 30kgs of drag, recipe for disaster if you ask me.

For example, this guy can barley hold onto the rod and I doubt its anywhere near 30kgs of drag.

Is that guy fair dikum, he's not a feild tester is he?

As you get spooled resitance increases and thus the drag naturally increases, if I'm loosing line on a run, there are plenty of circumstances where I would decrease the drag.