Thread: Inexpensive Reels

Since it doesn't look like, I'm going to find parts for my old ABU Ambassadeur 156 reel, I needed to replace my everyday "banging around the Ramapo" reel without breaking the budget.

Bracing myself for "buying Asian"...I looked at:

• Ross Flywater 2 - $99
  Lamson Konic 2 - $129
  Battenkill Barstock III - $119
  Original Battenkill 5/6 - $85

Much to my surprise, the Ross appeared to have been made to very sloppy tolerances. There was obvious side play on the spool, things just seemed too "loose". I'd compare this one with the "under $10" Hardy knock-offs sold by Diawa and Berkley in the 70s...

The Lamson, was built much better, but it seemed unnecessarily bulky. I really can't say anything bad about it, but it's just not to my taste....IMHO, it "looked funny".

Both Orvis reels were made to very close tolerances. There might be some spool side play, but it was not detectable without better instrumentation than my sense of touch. Aside from cosmetics, there were some minor differences in the construction of the drag, clicker, and line guide.

To begin with the "Original Battenkill" is not the original. I have an original from the old days. The disk drag and palming rim might be considered improvements, but the line guide seems to have way too many parts.

I chose the Battenkill Bar Stock. It didn't have any line guide parts for me to lose (like I did on my ABU). The "clicker" wasn't as noisy (seemed "smoother"), and the drag seemed to be better designed.

After deducting the Ramsey Outdoor TU member discount and adding the tax, the bottom line was $114.60

IRONY:
I was temporarily using my old Orvis Battenkill "made in England" (by Hardy?), but I considered it "too good" for everyday banging around. I normally reserved it for one of the cane rods I used to take to the Battenkill River.

While I was switching the lines back, I noticed that the "cheap" Asian version has tighter tolerances, than the "good" English version (some of that may be fair wear and tear, but there was a noticeable difference).
RE: semi-related topic where we were bemoaning Hardy's outsourcing... http://www.njflyfishing.com/vBulleti...rdy-reels.html (Hardy reels)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EDIT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow-up 06/22/08

I finally had an opportunity to fish the new reel yesterday.
Ramapo River 06/21/08 (Ramapo River 2008)

While I didn't have an opportunity to "test" the limits of the drag & etc, fishing with it was a pleasant experience (more so than with the Swedish reel it replaced).

Pete:
I have never seen a Ross that wasn't. You might want to take a look at a Tioga #4 @ 120.00, USA made, I have four of them and would rate them right up there.

Don't know what weight you're after, but if you want a cheap, large arbor take a look at the Echo. I think it's okay for freshwater.

Randy

Harry, Randy:

I wasn't going to make the rounds of all the local fly shops. I limited my choices to what was available at the Ramsey Outdoor store in Ramsey. To be fair, I probably should have looked at the CD Series by Redington®, but I didn't.

If Ramsey had a broader selection, "Made in USA" would have been a factor.

Large Arbor/ Small Arbor, wasn't a factor, (backing is cheap). I was looking for something in the range of 3" - 3.5" outside diameter, with capacity for a 5 or 6 weight line and a reasonable amount of backing..... At my age, I have trouble taking up slack quickly with the 2.5" diameter reels that served me well in my youth.

But go ahead and share your recommendations for reasonably priced reels. The cost of fly fishing gear can be an intimidating factor, when a spin guy is contemplating joining our ranks.

Harry,
Do you really feel that Ross has bad machining? I have 6 Ross reels and have not had a problem. I use them for trout and salt. They are mostly 6 or more yrs old. The salt versions have many stripers, blue fish, albies and some big mahi to their credit.

babyblue:
The Ross Flywater, is not part of the main Ross line. It's part of their inexpensive "Worldwide" line, manufactured offshore. I had no intention of disparaging their more expensive products.

My surprise, was that Ross was willing to be associated with a reel that compared so unfavorably to outsourced, similarly priced reels, by other manufacturers.

BTW: Loose tolerances, aren't necessarily due to poor machining. They could be a deliberate part of a design. If a mechanism is expected to operate when dirty or slightly damaged, the engineers may allow larger clearances (eg. the AK-47 rifle).....and/or..... Mass production is less costly if parts don't have to be "fitted".

I can't speak to Harry's comment, I didn't examine any other Ross models.

Pete,
It was not directed at you, Harry seemed to lump all Ross reels in that category. I'm curious to see what he meant. I love my Ross reels.

Rich

Originally Posted by babyblue

Pete,
It was not directed at you, Harry seemed to lump all Ross reels in that category. I'm curious to see what he meant. I love my Ross reels.

Rich

Me too. You would have to pry my Ross Evolutions out of my cold, dead fingers.

I think they are excellent reels for their price point.

Babyblue:
When I was looking for some newer reels I looked at Ross but found some play in them, I don't know if this is by design or not. I looked at 3 or 4 of their models and it was present in all. This is going back about eight years ago, they may have changed since then. None were large arbor at all. Another reason I shyed away from them is that I prefer to have the spool caged in(prone to falls) and that protects the spool.

I have the Battenkill bar stock and Battenkill original. I love both of them and highly recommend them.

Originally Posted by BIGBOW

I have the Battenkill bar stock and Battenkill original. I love both of them and highly recommend them.

DITTO!!!

Cdog

Pete,

Good choice. The English made Battenkills were made by Orvis in England by a company they owned, I think called British Reel Works. Same for the CFO's. They also made the System reels for Sci. Angler.