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Old 09-16-13, 02:40 AM   #1
Stew
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Default Fishing Reels Direct from China

We all know that lots of reels are manufactured in China nowadays.

I was in the market for an inexpensive baitcaster and thought I'd try buying one direct from China from a Chinese company. So I did. This is my review of what followed.

The reel I bought is very common. It is branded with various Chinese company names but the reel is from the same factory, with a few minor changes, such as handle type and knob shape. I got mine for $30 new on eBay.

eBay and the U.S. and Chinese postal services has an agreement to ship small items from China to the the U.S. very cheaply and fast. Read about it here. I paid $4 for shipping and got the reel from China within a week. Go figure. Someone's getting a sweet deal and it ain't American consumers (see below).

The reel has some arguably pretty decent specs. You can read the specs in the Description section at this eBay page.

Some places online that sell this reel say it is manufactured with Swedish technology. The reel does look remarkably similar to the Abu Garcia Black Max series.

So, hey, it was only $30 plus change, so I thought I'd give it a try, at least so I could report about it to others.

I've now fished with the reel numerous times. Despite the apparently nice specs, I cannot recommend it.

The killer is the magnetic brake system, on my particular reel. It basically doesn't do anything. To prevent backlashes, the torsion knob is pretty much all there is. I can't really tell any difference between the 1 (least) and 10 (most) settings on the magnetic brakes. They don't really do anything.

IMPORTANT: in retrospect, these reels are very probably rejects from the manufacturing process in China for Abu Garcia that have been retrofitted with a new side plate bearing a Chinese name. If you buy one of these reels, the specific problem may be something different than what I experienced. But, very probably, they are ultimately reels placed in to the REJECT pile at the place of manufacture in China and then moved in to some RECYCLE bin and then bought by companies in China and then placed for sale. So, Caveat emptor.

I could have sent the reel back for a refund of my purchase price. But I discovered that the shipping deal did not apply to people like me--I'd have to pay the full normal price for shipping back to China, about $20, and it would arrive at snail pace. The sweet shipping deal was one-way and just did not apply to American consumers, only the Chinese shippers.

So, with a lesson learned, this reel is now a novelty paper weight on my desk. Eventually, I'll probably salvage the high quality line I put on it.

Last edited by Stew; 09-16-13 at 03:52 AM.
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Old 09-16-13, 06:18 AM   #2
lilmule
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Must admit thought about it myself,but seemed to good to be true with same number of bearings.
I did buy a spinning reel year ago for ten bucks it was ok.Last item I bought from china took about ten days to deliver and thought that was fast considering the distance.
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Old 09-20-13, 11:22 PM   #3
Bassboss
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No idea where ya got the Black Maxx look alike from.

This real had the same frame design as a pinnacle.
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