Refurbished Lew's Tournament Pro's $100

[Hi Salenity]

So I am moving over to the dark side and have sold a couple of Curado's tn hopes of getting a couple more Pro's. I noticed a guy on Ebay selling "refurbished" TPs. I asked him for a price on 3 and he told me $300 for the 3 of them + $10 shipping!!! I was a bit shocked at the price so I asked him how scratched up they were before I committed to buy them and was told they were in good condition. I paid for them at around noon on Monday and had them by 2pm Tuesday!!!!!!!

I anxiously opened the box and to my surprise The first one I pulled out was in New condition with only a small scuff on the word SPEED (top left reel). BTW they did not come in the factory boxes.

The second and third looked good with what may be new side covers on them but the frames show some scuffs.

I am pretty sure They had all 3 been totally disassembled and cleaned and re lubed and oddly enough they weren't as over lubed as the Pro's I've bought new and I think they used different grease. I'm not sure but the bearings may have been replaced on them as they were super slow like the ones in a brand new reel. They will only freespool for a few seconds so They will need a good flushing. (maybe they re greased them?)

Now for the kicker ............. One of the drags did not work! I took the handle side cover off to see what the problem was .

The sleeve (part 50 if you have a parts diagram) was not in far enough this made the star drag hit the handle before the drag was fully released. This reel had 2 sleeve washers (part 49). This is an optional part that is a spacer. After removing both of them everything works fine.

The 3 carbon drag washers on that reel had been replaced and I'm thinking they may have been thicker than the others making the spacers unnecessary?

Oddly enough the drag washers are dry, I will probably put some drag grease on them that's how I have my others and they still have plenty of drag and I think it makes it smoother. Next I'll flush the bearings and spool them up so I can go toss some lead and report back on how they work. I'm curious to see if they are as smooth as my others.

Over all I'm happy with my purchase but I can see how others would be bent out of shape to say the least.

I just thought I'd give some incite to others on buying a used reel off Ebay. If your looking for a smoking deal on a great reel you may want to check Ebay for a refurbished Lew's it looked like they had several other Lew's reels besides the TP.

[MT2]

I myself have taken the leap into Lew's. I settled for the introduction Speed Spool model SS1SH to be exact. I paid $79.99 each w/free shipping. Still $20 cheaper than ***. I feel like a kid in awaiting the arrival of a package from Grandma. They should be here by the weekend. Ive used Quantums Energys for years, but last year I started using Pro Q's, but got tired of driving a hour to the local BPS to get a new 7.1 and they be sold out. I know there was other options to get them, but come on. Who doesnt like a excuse just to drive to the store and make the ole lady suffer like she does you in the clothing or shoe stores?

I have my eye on a guys Tournament Pro for $150, he says its basically nib, and I beleive him. We have made many deals in the past and Ive never been disappointed. Would of taken it over the 2, but I needed 2 reels. And was told the SS1SH is very similar to a BPS Pro Q. Dunno but going to find out.

[Hi Salenity]

Welcome to the dark side, LOL. I started out with the SS but I like the mechanical breaks in the T or TP but thats just me.