House Brand Or Name Brand?

[pbizzle]

When given the option, would you rather buy a house brand reel with really attractive features like the Bass Pro Carbonlite or H2O Xpress Mystic or would you go with a name brand reel with average features like a Shimano Citica or an Abu Revo S? I would also like the reasons why you would prefer your choice over the alternative.

[flyfisher]

I don't mind buying house brand but since the manufacturers of house brand equipment can change from year to year i generally prefer the name brand items.  All that being said, i wouldn't hesitate to pick up another BPS PQ.

[Arv]

There's some nice house brand stuff, but for the most part I'll find name brand stuff.

[Fishwhittler]

I'll buy either one, whichever suits my needs.  Much more important to me than the brand is a certain reel's track record.  For example, the BPS Pro Qualifier has a positive track record a mile long; the old Daiwa Exceler's had an iffy reputation.  Given my choice I'd take the PQ.  Or, the H2O Xpress Mettle over any brand-name reel at the same price.  

 

Funny thing, most if not all house-brand reels are rebranded and/or slightly changed products from one of the big companies.  The Mettle, Manic, Menace and Mystic reels from Academy are based on the Laguna/Aird/Exceler EXE/Lexa 100 design; the older Cabela's Prodigy reels were rebranded Daiwa Advantage HSTA reels; and the BPS Pro Qualifier and Johnny Morris Signature Series reels are built by the same company as builds reels for Pflueger, Abu Garcia, and Lew's.  

 

So long as a reel has the specs and features I'm looking for, AND has no known quality/durability issues, I'm not picky as to the brand. 

[Dave P]

I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another BPS PQ either. I have "name brands" as well. It depends on what I'm buying and what I'm buying it for and who has a better price with the features I want.

[Sam]

Brand name.

[Trey Harpel]

JDM name brand..,

[.RM.]

Name Brands...

 

In 28yrs of servicing I have found, (House or Re-brands) have very little if any factory support........

 

Good Luck & Tight Lines! 

[CWB]

Brand of what? Line, rod, reel, baits? I have had several BPS products through the years without many issues. (find Gooses write up on the Pro Qualifier reel). My son broke an Extreme rod in his trunk so I took it back to BPS CS counter and told them it broke setting the hook. They said get a new one off the rack and exchanged it. All you can do is try and see what works for you. Might find yourself some bargains along the way.

[smalljaw67]

It depends on who is the manufacturer and the differences they make from their own reels. When Cabela's was using Daiwa, their house brand reels were the best buy you could get and the reason was that Cabela's  let Daiwa put their name on the product as well as the Cabelas brand. What you ended up with was a Prodigy Baitcasting reel that was basically a Team Daiwa Advantage, I still have one and it works as well as the day I bought it. The Tournament ZX spinning reel had an aluminum spare spool and was basically a Team Daiwa Tierra, the difference was it used a power T handle knob and where the Tierra had 2 corrosion resistant bearings along with the rest, the Cableas model had all regular bearings. The only problem with house brands is they don't always get built like that so they often use cheaper bearings in order to have a feature rich product at a low price point, the Cabelas example was different in that Daiwa put their name on it as well and so you got a Daiwa reel with very small cosmetic changes and little else, the parts were all good as I have both of these and both are going like the day I purchased them and they perform fantastic. That kind of case is the only time I get a house brand reel over a brand name.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

About the only house brand reel I recommend regularly is the BPS PQ. As for rods, line etc. I'd look at the features and if it looks like it will do the job and the price is right I would consider them along with brand name products.

[Fishwhittler]

My son broke an Extreme rod in his trunk so I took it back to BPS CS counter and told them it broke setting the hook. They said get a new one off the rack and exchanged it. 

 

That's technically fraud, though I doubt if you'd be sued for it if BPS knew.  I'll never understand the people who can do that sort of thing without turning a hair.  It's dishonest, it takes advantage of a system designed to help people—hey, the companies don't have to provide a warranty—and it's illegal.

 

Yes, I've broken rods.  Two Team Daiwa T rods, to be specific, which are covered by a five-year warranty.  Both times the rod was less than two years old.  One got closed in a window, the other had a ladder leaned against it.  I didn't send either one back.  I kept 'em until I figured out how to fix them.

[SudburyBasser]

Name brands for me -- I find them to be better made/more reliable in general -- but I have to say one of the best BC reels I own is a BPS branded reel.

[pbizzle]

That's technically fraud, though I doubt if you'd be sued for it if BPS knew.  I'll never understand the people who can do that sort of thing without turning a hair.  It's dishonest, it takes advantage of a system designed to help people—hey, the companies don't have to provide a warranty—and it's illegal.

 

Yes, I've broken rods.  Two Team Daiwa T rods, to be specific, which are covered by a five-year warranty.  Both times the rod was less than two years old.  One got closed in a window, the other had a ladder leaned against it.  I didn't send either one back.  I kept 'em until I figured out how to fix them.

Lots of times they'll replace it even if you straight up tell them that you broke it in the car door also.

[WRB]

It comes down to budget, big box store brands are less expensive and do not have the product support of name brands over more than a few months. Rods and reels can be returned to most store brands within a short time period, repair is almost impossible for reels, rods can be repaired. If your goal is to keep the rod and reel for several years, buy name brands; parts are available for 10 years or more, making repairs or upgrades easy. If resale is a consideration, brand names have value.

Tom

PS, Daiwa has entered the $100 reel arena with Exceler, $150 with Tatula, both good bait casting reels.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

The store brand reels I have bought all got returned for quality issues. Though a number of name brand reels I have returned exchanged as well do to issues so its a wash but will most likely stick to name  brand from now on. I do have a BPS crappie rod that is very nice but name brand for rods in future.

[CWB]

That's technically fraud, though I doubt if you'd be sued for it if BPS knew.  I'll never understand the people who can do that sort of thing without turning a hair.  It's dishonest, it takes advantage of a system designed to help people—hey, the companies don't have to provide a warranty—and it's illegal.

 

Yes, I've broken rods.  Two Team Daiwa T rods, to be specific, which are covered by a five-year warranty.  Both times the rod was less than two years old.  One got closed in a window, the other had a ladder leaned against it.  I didn't send either one back.  I kept 'em until I figured out how to fix them.

The point was not about fraud, but response that "house" brands don't stand behind their products.

[Fishwhittler]

The point was not about fraud, but response that "house" brands don't stand behind their products.

 

Okay, I just hope you're not suggesting that others do what you did.  

 

I've also dealt with BPS's reel-repair department, and I got the parts I needed with no trouble.  They even looked through their stockpile of parts reels and found the exact parts I needed; otherwise I'd have had to order a parts assembly that cost considerably more.

 

Academy doesn't carry parts for their reels, but their return policy is very good.  Plus, parts for the clutch can be bought from Daiwa; the Lexa 100 uses the same clutch as the H2O Xpress baitcasters.  The spool, brakes, and frame are a different story.

 

Cabela's also gets their reels from Daiwa, so if you can't order parts from Cabela's you can at least get them from the manufacturer.

[boostr]

I can't really say how good my equipment is due to not having them that long, but I bought two of the Cabelas Prodigy b/c and 2 of their Eagle Fifty m/f b/c rods, and they have worked fine. I do like the fact the reels are made by Diawa which is actually printed on the reel. I guess I'll find out how well they perform when I get into more heavy fishing starting in the spring.

[lmbfisherman]

I picked house brand, but I won't hesitate buying BPS PQs. 

[boostr]

When given the option, would you rather buy a house brand reel with really attractive features like the Bass Pro Carbonlite or H2O Xpress Mystic or would you go with a name brand reel with average features like a Shimano Citica or an Abu Revo S? I would also like the reasons why you would prefer your choice over the alternative.

Just a thought, maybe there should also be a "indifference" or "it doesn't matter to me" option

[Bankbeater]

Name brand hands down.

[new2BC4bass]

Lots of times they'll replace it even if you straight up tell them that you broke it in the car door also.

 

Fell face first into a rock pile and snapped two 4-inch pieces off the end of a Falcon Expert.  Called Falcon and explained exactly how it happened.  Cost me $80, but I got a new $200 from them.  I'm not complaining.  Didn't really expect anything from them since it was 100% my fault the rod broke.

[ww2farmer]

 Some house brand gear is very good, some is not. Two shining examples of the "good" are the BPS Pro Qualifier reels, and the BPS Cranking stick rods. Like many name brands, low end store brand gear is pretty much disposable stuff.

[pbizzle]

 Some house brand gear is very good, some is not. Two shining examples of the "good" are the BPS Pro Qualifier reels, and the BPS Cranking stick rods. Like many name brands, low end store brand gear is pretty much disposable stuff.

That's what I was trying to ask. If you can get a nice house brand reel for the same price as a name brand reel, which would you choose. I don't think a lot of people understood what I was asking.