Why do we buy these high end reels?
- This topic has 42 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated Nov 4, 2007 at 4:25 pm by
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Why do we buy these high end reels?
I was at a fly shop yesterday and I saw these nice Bauer, Nautilus and the new Loop Opti reels.
All high priced reels and all very tasty looking. Prices were as high as $600+. For a reel which all it probably will do is just store a plastic line!!!These brands keep making those even more expensive (and very sexy looking) reels year after year. Why do they make them? Probably because we fly fishermen keep buying them.
Although I own two Bauer reels, anything more than a click & pawl machined reel is totally too much for my fishing realistically… I bought the Bauers because I like how they look(ed). And nice looking reels seems to cost more than the not so sexy looking ones.
Are you real enough to tell why the heck you buy these over top reels for your fishing? ;D
Jay
There is several reasons why I have bought my Tibors, Nautilus, and Billy Pate. To begin with they are built to last, I plan on having these reels for many years and can look at the amount of money paid as an investment. Second, they are top of the line, I don’t expect to have any problems with them, and I know if I do the company will take care of it. Next, for the fishing that I do, steelhead and salt mostly, it is very nice to have a drag that is smooth and has a ton of stopping power. One reason that I bought my Pate was becasue of the anit-reverse, don’t care to have my knuckle busted. Just my 2 cents on the matter.
-Mike
When buying a reel, I look for:
1. Machined aluminum
2. cork drag (or a darn good synthetic)
3. ball bearings?
4. must be lightweight compared to other reels in it’s size class.
5. large arbor
6. craftsmanship/warranty…here is where the reputation of the manufacturer comes in.These factors will put me at a certain price point at which time I begin shopping.
While I will admit to being a gadget freak, I bought my Waterworks because of its flexibility. With my Force2 I got 2 reel sizes for the price of a reel and an extra spool which was very appealing when I laid down the money for the reel. Granted, I generally try to not pay retail and will search for a deal on my gear and try to save 25%-50% if possible, even if it means waiting a month for a deal to pop up. I will readily admit that my reel on a 4wt is overkill for most of my trout fishing, but like I said I am a gadget freak and Waterworks reels are just plain sexy and rock solid.
This discussion seems to happen all the time amongst trout fisherman and always seems to center around the quality of the drag, and I agree that 99% of the time it won’t matter if you have a click-and-pawl or a disc drag when trout fishing. However, if I ever have the opportunity to get a hold of that “once in a lifetime”
I chose the huge monster bones in the poll, but only because it implies exposure to saltwater. I’ve seen enough supposedly “saltwater safe” reels fail to live up to their claims.
I’ll put forward a couple of other perspectives…
There’s definitely a “bigger is better” mindset in American culture, and that often correlates to price, but it’s just as common in our culture to view items as disposable, and buy another after something breaks. There’s something to be said for making an investment in a quality item. Whether it be minimizing environmental impact or justifying cost over a lifetime of ownership, I don’t think I was suckered into buying any high-end reel.
I also haven’t seen and don’t foresee any dramatic advancements in reel technology during my time in fly fishing. If Abel Big Game reels are still considered one of the benchmarks, and their design hasn’t been fundamentally changed in 20 years, I can’t see any of my Tibors, Bauers, or Abels becoming obsolete anytime soon. Carbon fiber drags in the Charlton’s and Nautilus reels may be a viable alternative to cork, but you’d be hard-pressed to argue they provide any significant performance advantage. The only area where noticeable advancements are likely to take place is in weight reduction, and I don’t place much value in that area of reel design.
Finally, and this is really a pretty poor point… I like to understand how the drag on a reel functions. Pull it apart, look at it, understand it. I have no idea how the drag works on a number of reels on the market, and that bothers me for some reason.
I have a feeling that the point of this poll was to suggest that high-end reels are over-priced – or more specifically, a poor value. I’m not sure how to respond to that, other than to say I think over a lifetime of ownership I can justify the cost of a high end reel.
All that being said, if you’re not using the drag (I’m always shocked by how often I see this), and the reel’s never going to see saltwater, what’s the point? Buy a click and pawl and be done with it.
Ian, SOME reels in the high end ARE overpriced. You just gave the correct example by mentioning reels that fail. I won’t call names but also in the high price range many reels just aren’t worth their high price.
Not to mention that reels that are made in the far east fetching similar prices as reels that are made in the US just doesn’t feel right. I’m not talking about craftsmenship but the factor labor cost in the product price should be in balance.
If we are talking about purely what a reel is supposed to do: hold line and fight fish, I’m sure that you will probably land many bones on a simple click and pawl reel using rim braking. That’s how fishermen stopped these fish long time ago. But again, we evolved to cork drags and that’s fine.
High price of reels (or any other gear) is also the result of the call for service. If an item fails we want them to be replaced. This costs money and it’s simply transferred by the manufacturers to the buyer.
I doubt most people consider getting gear as investing for a long term use. Today we mostly buy something to serve us for a period and after a while we get a new item that’s the hot thing to get. I rarely see anyone who still uses a rod or reel that’s older than 10 years. So where’s the supposedly LIFETIME ownership?…
What I’m saying is that for some items the price & quality we see these days are mismatched.
However, liking a nice piece of gear and buying them is fine too…
Jay
All good points Jay.
Just to put my comments in perspective, I can’t see the logic in spending a large amount of money on a trout reel and justifying it with superior performance (for average use…). To buy an expensive trout reel for aesthetic or other subjective reasons is a personal thing. So, all my comments are based on an environment where a reel’s drag will actually be used.
Lifetime ownership may be a bit overstated on my part – I plan to live quite a long time. But, to be fair, it’s only within the past few decades that reels have been made that are capable of delivering a lifetime of service (once again, not talking trout). But you’re right, the number of high end reels on eBay can’t be accounted for by people leaving the sport. A good number are probably being upgraded. As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.
But, I’m inclined to believe that low and mid-range reels are far more likely to be viewed as consumables, being replaced somewhat often for the next big thing. I don’t think that’s a good thing for anyone but the manufacturers.
As far as the high end reels being made overseas, you’re spot on. I don’t understand why they’re bought, especially at the prices they’re asking.
Oh well, I’m young enough to still have gaps in my reel needs, and the only ones that have been replaced were the cheap reels I bought when I started.
Good discussion guys.
I’m with Ian on this one. If your style of fishing doesn’t require a drag, why spend extar money on that particular feature.
The only fish I target in MI that I need a drag for are steelhead and my Teton reel that was under $200 has served me well, smooth and can set it to stop a massive steelhead if needed.
For trout, I see no pupose for the water I fish to have a really intense drag, I am currently using the Gunnison I just picked up, it seems bullet proof and requires no maintenance… Will last me the rest of my life likely. For small creeks, I love my little Fin Nor Fin Ite click pawl reel. I couldn’t be more content with the reels I have for the types of fishing I do. If you offered to give me an old hardy for my light trout reel I would gladly take it in place of my current click pawl reel but I see no need to upgrade at all. I can understand the desire to have a $600 reel when fishing salt though. I think my Gunnison that retailed for under $200 would be fine anywhere in the world for trout fishing and it is smooth like buttah with a solid drag. As for salt, I might be in trouble but Teton has an amazing drag in my opinion and can take the salt so maybe not. Off topic maybe, just felt like throwing in my opinion on reels.BTW – I voted that the marketing causes me to desire new reels, when I read about the latest and greatest I have to remind myself, I don’t need it.
Just to make a quick point about where some of the cost of our hardware comes from:
In any niche market a manufacturer has to look at what the expected life of his product is.
A few years ago we set out to design and build saltwater fly reel with a high end machining company, we wanted to introduce some innovations we thought were viable and necessary. To get to the stage of 6 prototypes for field testing was going to cost us $30,000.
I think its just bloody fantastic that we can buy high end reels IF WE WANT TO – and if we don’t want to -well we don’t have to either. I think its great to fish with the best tackle you can afford and not worry about what the other guy’s using. Its the same with camera gear – $10,000 for some bits of glass in a metal tube might seem pretty expensive too, particularly to someone who uses a happy snapper just as we shouldn’t get bothered by someone who takes happy snaps of pigeons in the park using an EOS 1DS Mk3 with a 400 f2.8 lens, that’s entirely their business.
I have looked for it on the net but unfortunately its gone – anyone see “The Rimfly Challenge”? A couple of guys set out to try and land a longtail tuna on a cheap Rimfly reel. I think they disintegrated three or four reels including one that ended in bloodshed.
Morsie
pride of ownership! 🙂
seems to work for those with click and pawl too! ( I know quite a few click and pawls that arn’t cheap!!!)
I love gear and theres something about a nice bit of machining that you believe will last a lifetime. 😎
Ever caught 4 to 8 pound fish on 6 and 7X? Trout reels do need drag and a very good one at that. With that said I think $300 should cover any Trout reel and to spend more is a waste. My Lamson LS was $99 on sale and it has an awesome drag system. It’s been getting put to the test all month.
I should have looked at this earlier.
I’ve done a number of “tear downs” on reels ranging from the Okuma to Lamson to Ross to Tibor.
First and foremost, I’m a certified gear freak!
I also deal almost on a daily basis with machinists and machinery. I really appreciate the design and workmanship in some reels but more than that, I get to put them to the tests at the tasks they were designed for.
Having had lost fish to sticky drags, stiction, poor start-up inertia, salt water corrosion and such I finally said no more.
I have everything from $50.00 plastc DanReels to old Orvis click-and-pawls to Charltons and use and appreciate every single one of them.
Plus, on the better reels anyhow, I can use them free for years should I decide to sell them.
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