Bps Pro Qualifier Bc Reel – 5 Year Challenge – 4 Years Down, 1 To Go

[Goose52]

The test reel for the PQ 5-Year Challenge hit its fourth service anniversary on October 26 (today). I cleaned the reel this morning, fished it mid-day, and wrote this report in the afternoon.

 

Background:

Briefly, the 5-Year Challenge resulted from some board members expressing the opinion that the PQ reel was a “one-season” reel (it would be completely worn out after a "season"), and certainly wouldn’t stay in an angler’s arsenal for as long as 5 years. The subject reel is being used to test those opinions.

 

Other threads in this series:

 

BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5 Year Challenge – Interim Report (12-7-2011)

BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5-Year Challenge – A Speed-Bump On The Road To Paradise

BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5-Year Challenge – Three Years In

BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5-Year Challenge – Time To Pay The Piper! 

 

Current Statistics (based on documented catch data and assumptions as discussed in the 12-7-2011 thread):

Reel placed into service: 26 Oct. 2009
Months of service as of this report: 48
Number of “catch days” (days when fish were caught with this reel): 373
Number of fish caught: 786
Biggest fish caught: 48.6 lb grass carp
Biggest bass caught: 9.5 lb LMB
Number of cycles (casts & retrieves): 39,000+ (see note)

Note: Number of cycles is based on catch data, not on total days/hours of use. The reel was used many days where no fish were caught, especially during the winter months. I fish this reel nearly every day and actual number of use days probably easily exceeds 600-700. Actual number of cycles could easily be in excess of 60,000. Frankly, it is getting difficult to calculate the number of accrued cycles on this reel due to the significant number of days where it is fished, but no fish are caught – resulting in thousands of uncounted cycles.

Significant Events In the Last Year:

On January 25, 2013, I filed an interim report to detail a parts replacement necessary due to damage to the level wind system caused by debris lodging in the worm shaft (See the “Time To Pay The Piper” thread linked above).  Otherwise the reel has been mostly trouble-free for the past year (see the "When Plastic Trumps Aluminum" section below).

 

The biggest fish caught with the reel during the past year was this 34 pound grass carp:

 

 

The biggest bass caught with the reel in the last year was this 6.08lb LMB:

 

 

Special mention goes to the smallest fish ever caught with this reel, landed just a few days ago: a 1 7/16” minnow! It was a tough fight but I managed to land the fish   (And how the heck that treble drilled the minnow right through the eyes I'll never know.)

 

 

 

Previous Maintenance/Repairs:

December 2010 – Annual cleaning.

December 2011 – Annual cleaning. Replacement of line guide pawl at about 26 months of use. Interesting factoid – the pawl had probably made at least 320,000 passes across the worm shaft at the time of replacement.

July 2012 – Repairs / cleaning (see the "A Speed-Bump On The Road To Paradise" thread linked above):
Repair 1 – debris jammed the line guide pawl causing the pawl to create a burr on the worm shaft. Filed off the burr and thoroughly cleaned the reel.
Repair 2 – centrifugal brake wear – replaced the palm-side sideplate assembly.

 

January 2013 - Repair / cleaning / upgrade (see the "Time To Pay The Piper" thread linked above):

Repair –  replaced the worm shaft, line guide pawl, and two idler gears.

Upgrade – replaced the stock drag washers with Carbontex washers.

 

October 2013 – Annual cleaning.

 

Current Condition:

The condition of the internal parts of the reel are about the same as previously reported – some wear on the clutch return pawl that doesn’t affect function, and the centrifugal brake shoes have considerable wear (as reported in the "Speed-Bump" thread). Otherwise, things are looking pretty good inside. Externally, the reel has a bit more minor rash on the top of the reel, very little on the sides. Spool bearings are getting increasingly noisy but spin well when cleaned. If you are familiar with the whine made by Shimano Digital Control reels during a cast…that’s sorta the noise I hear when I cast this PQ – you get the audio experience of a DC reel without the high cost… Otherwise, the reel is fishable, but it’s readily apparent that you are not fishing with a new, tight reel.

As I mention with every report, this reel has not been babied, and has often been rode hard and put away wet. In winter, the reel is frequently rode hard and put away frozen, with ice still in the line guide when taking the rod out of the trunk of the car.  I still believe that much of the centrifugal brake wear that I reported back in July 2012 may have been a result of cold-weather service (air temps down to below freezing) - causing some of the grit and congealed oil film on the brake drum to become particularly abrasive - accelerating wear on the brass drum.

 

When Plastic Trumps Aluminum:

 

Earlier this year, I noticed the clutch bar (thumb bar) getting a little loose. My initial thought was that the bar had cracked on the inside surface (it’s a plastic part) and that the nylon(?) shims on each side of the clutch bar were probably worn. I added a clutch bar and a set of shims to a parts order without disassembling the reel to determine the actual cause for the looseness. When the parts came in, I stripped the reel and quickly found the actual cause – wear to the aluminum frame caused by the action of the clutch bar. I went ahead and installed the new parts but they did little to tighten up the bar so I am not reporting them as necessary parts replacements.

 

In the photo below, note the vertical grooves (indicated by the red arrows) cut in the frame by the “legs” on the bottom of the clutch bar - this entire area of the frame should be completely flat. As mentioned, the clutch bar is is a plastic part but it does have some sort of plating on it. That plating, with perhaps the addition of grit and grime under the bar, were enough to actually groove the aluminum frame. Thus, plastic trumps aluminum in this case.  This is the causal factor for the loose clutch bar and potentially could be a source of an eventual frame crack.  I checked my other 5 PQs and this wear (to a lessor degree) is present - the severity based on the amount of use of the reel.

 

 

Summary:

 

After 48 months of use, where are we at?

 

Parts replacements:

 

Parts replaced due to wear:  (necessary) 1 line guide pawl, (optional) original drag washers

Parts replaced due to damage caused by debris: (necessary) worm shaft, line guide pawl, (optional) idler gears

Parts replaced (probably) due to my failure to maintain: palm-side sideplate assembly (to replace the brake drum)

Parts ordered and installed but did not fix the problem: clutch bar and shims

 

Lessons learned:

 

Keep the brake drum CLEAN and appy lube to the drum to prevent premature wear.

 

Accept that the dual-braking system (DBS), along with its advantages, has some disadvantages - added complexity and potential wear to parts that are not readily replaceable - like the brake shoes.

 

Closing:

 

That's it. Hopefully, I won't have another report until the reel hits its fifth service anniversary and I issue a final report in October 2014.

 

Will this PQ last another year? Stay tuned and we’ll find out...

[Jaiden]

Sweet reports. I love my PQ. After 2 years of use, mine still fishes like it did on the first day.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Nice report. It's cool that you've stayed on this so long. I'd like a nickel for every "initiative" or "project" I've seen fall by the wayside in the corporate world in a fraction of the time you have into this.

[bassboy107]

So, after four years, would you recommend this reel.

[Ima Bass Ninja]

Great report as always goose. I would also like to add that the use you have put this reel through would be in my eyes extreme. I would be hard pressed to say ANY $100.00 reel put throughout his kind of use would have zero problems. I have several pq's (most over 5 years old) and they still work great with no replaced parts. I also only fish with them about 1/4 of the time you have used this one.

Thanks for keeping up with this for 4 years!

[Arv]

Awesome report. Awesome dedication. Thanks for the update.

[Goose52]

Thanks guys.

 

Since we don't have a "castometer" instrument that we could attach to a reel that measures cycles, line-out/line-in, strain, etc.; establishing some conservative metrics and calculating the usage of a reel based on those metrics is about as close as I can come to offering an objective look at the durability of the reel.

 

Nice report. It's cool that you've stayed on this so long. I'd like a nickel for every "initiative" or "project" I've seen fall by the wayside in the corporate world in a fraction of the time you have into this.

 

Awesome report. Awesome dedication. Thanks for the update.

 

Thanks again.  This test has had considerable impact on the way I fish. Prior to this test, I would toss lipless cranks on all sorts of combos - it was a good way to keep all the combos exercised. Now, I use this reel nearly exclusively for lipless so I can put a lot of mileage on it. Thus, I have a lot of other very nice equipment gathering dust. I will be glad when I hit the five-year point.

 

So, after four years, would you recommend this reel.

 

Yes.

 

Great report as always goose. I would also like toast dd that the use you have put this reel through would be in my eyes extreme. I would be hard pressed to say ANY $100.00 reel put throughout his kind of use would have zero problems. I have several pq's (most over 5 years old) and they still work great with no replaced parts. I also only fish with them about 1/4 of the time you have used this one.


Thanks for keeping up this for 4 years!

 

The reel gets used a lot (nearly every day), in every kind of weather, with no babying.  It has been laid down on the bank hundreds of times while I handle/measure/weigh fish and that introduces the possibility of damage due to grit or other debris entering the reel.  She's had a pretty hard life so far.

[kickerfish1]

Incredible data and evaluation. Even digging that whopper pushing the 2 inch mark!

Thanks for the update!

[bassmaster8100]

I hear a lot of good things about the PQ but I think the most impressive thing here is your reports and that you've stuck with it for 4 years already.

[cddan]

Great work!Thanks for your posts!

[Goose52]

.......Even digging that whopper pushing the 2 inch mark!

 

I don't want to take credit for it being a whole 2 inches - it was only 1 7/16" - under 1.5 inches....

 

[bigbill]

Great report goose I never expect anything less from you. I know goose from other forums. Bigbill

[Goose52]

Thanks Bill.

[Kevinator1]

Goose, thanks for the information...I've had a couple of Pro Qualifiers for about 4 years and both have been flawless. I also fish Revo's and Chronarchs but the Pro Qualifier is right up there. And guys, as hard as Goose has fished this reel, it probably means it is a 15 year reel for most of us. I probably get to fish 50 days a year so I can expect mine to last a long time with proper maintenance. And of course the best thing about the PQ........when it goes on sale for $80.00. That is a steal.

[The Rooster]

I think this says as much about Goose's durability as it does the PQ. 4 years is a long time to fish a reel that's obviously showing signs of wear. For me, I wouldn't even enjoy it anymore.

But, one thing I will say, if the test reel gave up and died tomorrow, and all you got was 4 years, it was still well worth it and I'm convinced it would go at least 10 - 15 years for me the way I fish. Nobody could say it wouldn't last 5 years after all this.

I might have missed it, but do you have a total cost including original purchase price and all replaced parts? It would be interesting to see what it costs to get where you are with it.

[Goose52]

I might have missed it, but do you have a total cost including original purchase price and all replaced parts? It would be interesting to see what it costs to get where you are with it.

 

Rooster - the reel was $80 on sale - hard to determine shipping because it was a combined order with other stuff.

 

Regarding parts replacement - the purpose of this test is to determine the durability/longevity of the reel. Thus, only parts that have "worn-out" should be factored.  The only part that has completely worn out so far is a line guide pawl - a common wear part in all BC reels - it was $2.10.  The palm-side sideplate assembly was replaced for brake drum wear - but that was my fault due to failure to maintain - still, lets call that a wear part - it was $14.  So, $16.10 plus shipping.  This is the total cost of parts related to wear.

 

For the rest of the parts:

• Drag stack: The drag stack was getting worn but would have been serviceable for bass for the length of the test; I chose to upgrade to Carbontex since I occasionally get to play with 40-50lb class fish. I don't consider this a necessary replacement - it was an upgrade (~$11 with shipping). 
• Worm shaft and related parts: Damage caused by debris jamming the worm shaft can happen to any reel, even a new one, so this cost is not related to wear. A new worm shaft, another line guide pawl, and (optionally replaced) two idler gears were $10.70 plus shipping.
• Clutch bar and shims: Unnecessary replacements due to my faulty diagnosis ($5.18 plus shipping). The actual cause of the loose clutch bar was wear to the frame.

So, $80 plus $16.10 plus some shipping cost = perhaps 600 or more days on the water and 786 fish up to 50 pounds.  I'm at about 14 cents a fish right now - pretty good value delivered I think...

[Goose52]

Goose, thanks for the information...I've had a couple of Pro Qualifiers for about 4 years and both have been flawless. I also fish Revo's and Chronarchs but the Pro Qualifier is right up there. And guys, as hard as Goose has fished this reel, it probably means it is a 15 year reel for most of us. I probably get to fish 50 days a year so I can expect mine to last a long time with proper maintenance. And of course the best thing about the PQ........when it goes on sale for $80.00. That is a steal.

 

I have fished 284 days so far this year (and caught fish on 223 of those days)...with this PQ reel used probably at least 75% of those days.  So, it indeed gets a lot of use! 

[kickerfish1]

Goose, any chance you would be able to comment on the PQs ability to fish resistance baits over an extended period of time. Thinking medium to large crank baits, 1/2 oz + spinnerbaits, and any other bait that would be classified as such. Thanks.

[Goose52]

Goose, any chance you would be able to comment on the PQs ability to fish resistance baits over an extended period of time. Thinking medium to large crank baits, 1/2 oz + spinnerbaits, and any other bait that would be classified as such. Thanks.

 

This particular PQ reel has tossed 1/2oz-5/8oz lipless cranks probably more than 95% of the time (I'd have to crack the Excel file to get an exact percentage).  So, lots of cycles due to the typically fast retrieve on a lipless, but with a lower resistance bait.

 

I have a 4.7 PQ on my deep cranking rod, and a 5.2 PQ on my heavy spinnerbait rod, but I don't fish either one enough to have any comment about durability of the reel for those applications.  But - aluminum frame, brass gears, brass driveshaft - they have the "makings" to hold out.

 

All this year I've had a Gen1/Gold Carbonlite reel on a medium cranking rod. The 26" IPT on this reel is workable for such duty...but I would prefer more like 22-24" IPT for medium cranking. I caught 126 fish on that reel this year but that's not enough service to tell me anything yet. It would be interesting to see how the aluminum gears and aluminum driveshaft of that CL hold up under long-term cranking service...but I may not fish that combo long enough to find out.  My other medium cranking rod is a St. Croix Legend Elite 7'2" mm with a Calais 100A on it - I like to use that from time to time too....

 

One thing that IS interesting is that the wear that I'm seeing on this particular reel is more related to the high number of cycles (casts and retrieves) - the wear on the frame due to clutch bar action tens of thousands of times and the wear to the centrifugal brake drum and brake shoes (due to my failure to maintain) but also due to those tens of thousands of casts.  I'm not seeing wear on the drive train parts - for instance, when I cleaned the main gear the other day it still looks new.  On an application where you work the bait with the rod tip, and the presentations tend to be slower, with fewer cycles, a PQ should last considerably longer than the test reel.

 

One thing for sure, I will not be running any more formal tests like the PQ 5-Year Challenge !

[lmbfisherman]

Awesome report again, BPS really has a winner!

[shootermcbob]

Goose, thanks for taking the time to provide this information for us. I think your report should put to bed the "disposable" reel claims. The time and dedication you have put into this project is impressive.

[kickerfish1]

Appreciate the additional feedback. Thanks for the dilligent recording keeping and quality info. Amazing job on your part! Sounds like it may work for what I have in mind for a resistance bait reel...

[Goose52]

Thanks to all that have posted - I appreciate it.

 

I think your report should put to bed the "disposable" reel claims....

 

One would think so...but my reports are full of facts, figures, and objective observations - not something that many of the folks on the board seem to care about. The reports are long and have a lot of words and many lose interest after the first paragraph or so.  So, I'm not sure I have accomplished much but I only have one more year to finish the project and I can move on...

 

MUCH more interesting, it seems, are the reel "reports" where a "brand-droid" will proclaim that his/her selected brand is the best, will never wear out or be damaged (even if run over by his truck) and he/she knows this for a fact because they fish the reel HARD!!!!!!!, or that they own two of them (one is still in the box) and they have never failed (they fish them once a week, for 8 months of the year....except the weeks when they didn't fish because they had to work...) and that they've lasted a whole "season" and handled that 4-pounder with no problem. Then, the Shimano-bots will load on and proclaim that the brand-droids are mentally challenged if they don't own a Shimano, and then it goes to mine is bigger than yours, my dad can beat up your dad, and on and on until thread lock. THOSE are the threads that get the most posts and views...................... :lol:

[The Rooster]

Haha. Love the word coinage of "brand-droid". Makes so much sense. Your descriptions of them are spot on also.

By my understanding, not considering the drag upgrade or original shipping costs, you've spent less than $100 on the reel, even with repairs. Nobody anywhere can argue with results like that. Also, you may feel you haven't accomplished much with this test but I think you have. You've given the people who want to think good quality reels can be bought for much less than they've been told a reason to believe they can. Not only that, but you have also proven that the lack of a mainstream brand name on a reel is not proof it won't last. Nobody will ever again be able to say house branded reels cannot last.

I think the Pro Qualifier was already developing a solid reputation for reliability before this test, but I wonder how much of that was even developed in ways similar to how you described above for "average fishing habits". I actually think most reel reputations are from that same type of promotion. For me, I think your test of this reel really drives home that the PQ truly deserves the reputation.

[Goose52]

Thanks Rooster.

 

Regarding the scope of this test, one might reasonably extend the conclusions to other mid-range BPS reels of similar design: the Rick Clunn/RCX/Carbonblack, ProLite, Gen1 Carbonlite, etc.; on the assumption that BPS would have specified with their OEM manufacturer similar requirements and quality of components as they did with the PQ.

 

Regarding other house-branded reels, like Cabelas, or the well-regarded Academy Mettle, someone ELSE will have to conduct those 5-year tests............................