Josh Smith Posted June 28, 2014 Posted June 28, 2014 Hi Folks, I ran to Walmart to grab dog food. I usually avoid Walmart but the wife forgot to get some today. I figured I'd look at the fishing stuff while I was there, and noticed a Pflueger lineup. One Plueger baitcasting reel was magnetic, but one had centrifugal brakes. I believe it was called a Templar. What is the current school of thought on Pflueger baitcasting reels? Are any NOT made in China? I really like my ultralight spinning reel they designed, though I was leery of buying it due to its Chinese manufacture. I only went with it because it was the smallest I could find made in any country. Thoughts? Thank you, Josh Quote
timsford Posted June 28, 2014 Posted June 28, 2014 Pflueger reels are made in korea. Same as bps, lew's, abu garcia, and browning. Korean made reels usually have better build quality than ones made in china. I believe all the brands i mentioned are made in the same factory owned by doyo but i could be wrong on that. Dont be scared by the korean manufacturing though as most reels are made in korea, china, or malaysia. Only the higher end daiwa and shimanos are made in japan and the only mainstream manufacturer i know of in america is ardent and even then its only their highest end reels Quote
TorqueConverter Posted June 28, 2014 Posted June 28, 2014 Hi Folks, I ran to Walmart to grab dog food. I usually avoid Walmart but the wife forgot to get some today. I figured I'd look at the fishing stuff while I was there, and noticed a Pflueger lineup. One Plueger baitcasting reel was magnetic, but one had centrifugal brakes. I believe it was called a Templar. What is the current school of thought on Pflueger baitcasting reels? Are any NOT made in China? I really like my ultralight spinning reel they designed, though I was leery of buying it due to its Chinese manufacture. I only went with it because it was the smallest I could find made in any country. Thoughts? Thank you, Josh They are Korean reels badged as Pflugers. They not just made there, but the patents, design and everything else is Korean. If you could scrape up the cash for a minimum order you too could have your own line of Korean OEM reels badged as John Smiths. They're still good reels but they are competing against other Korean reels, often from the same OEM, such as Lews, Abu and BPS. I'd rather have the Lews branded ones myself. Pics are Korean Doyo reels Quote
Josh Smith Posted June 28, 2014 Author Posted June 28, 2014 That's disappointing. I trust South Korean manufacturing. I've had bad things happen with Chinese-made stuff. I'm also "that guy" who will buy a 1911 pistol, gut it of MIM parts, and replace everything with forged, milled, or even cast stuff by EGW, Brown, Wilson, etc. I need to go to one of the bigger cities with a pro shop and take a look at the reels there. Just an FYI: In 2014, Abu Garcia will re-launch its iconic Swedish made round reels with newly updated editions of its original Record, C4, C3, Pro Rocket and Morrum Swedish-made round reels. http://www.abugarcia.com/forlife and Made in Sweden ... so not all are Korean or Chinese, and I really like the round reels. My 5600 is stamped "Made in Sweden". Not sure how old it is, but Dad had it a while. He told me when he bought it once, but I flat don't remember. Josh Quote
TorqueConverter Posted June 28, 2014 Posted June 28, 2014 That's disappointing. I trust South Korean manufacturing. I've had bad things happen with Chinese-made stuff. I'm also "that guy" who will buy a 1911 pistol, gut it of MIM parts, and replace everything with forged, milled, or even cast stuff by EGW, Brown, Wilson, etc. I need to go to one of the bigger cities with a pro shop and take a look at the reels there. Just an FYI: http://www.abugarcia.com/forlife and ... so not all are Korean or Chinese, and I really like the round reels. My 5600 is stamped "Made in Sweden". Not sure how old it is, but Dad had it a while. He told me when he bought it once, but I flat don't remember. Josh If you are looking for a contemporary round, made in Sweden reel, look at the Abu Morrum. I hear it's not too big to use as a low profile bass reel. What you described with your firearms sounds a lot like "super tuning" a fishing reel. The Japanese reels such as Daiwa and Shimano respond well to super tuning and have an abundance of factory and aftermarket JDM parts available to hot rod your reel. Until some Steve Jobs like savior steps up in America, your best option for a low profile bass type reel is with a Japanese reel from Shimano or Daiwa because, quite frankly, the only other options are generic OEM Korean reels, AKA the Hyundai/Kia of reels. Quote
Josh Smith Posted June 28, 2014 Author Posted June 28, 2014 If you are looking for a contemporary round, made in Sweden reel, look at the Abu Morrum. I hear it's not too big to use as a low profile bass reel. What you described with your firearms sounds a lot like "super tuning" a fishing reel. The Japanese reels such as Daiwa and Shimano respond well to super tuning and have an abundance of factory and aftermarket JDM parts available to hot rod your reel. Until some Steve Jobs like savior steps up in America, your best option for a low profile bass type reel is with a Japanese reel from Shimano or Daiwa because, quite frankly, the only other options are generic OEM Korean reels, AKA the Hyundai/Kia of reels. Hello, Thank you. What about these? http://www.abugarcia.com/products/import-products The Revos are made in Japan. I was looking at U.S. Reels, and brother, they're made in China now, darnit! I had high hopes. Josh Quote
TorqueConverter Posted June 28, 2014 Posted June 28, 2014 I believe those are Japanese Domestic Market (JDM), meaning that they are/were products specifically tailored for the Japanese market, because they have large mouth bass too, as well the the world record. I don't believe they are Japanese built, but rather Korean built and marketed towards the Japanese market. Generally speaking the Japanese favor, light weight and low capacity, easily spun spools on their baitcasters to fit their finessful approach to bass fishing. This might pain some people's buttox, but you're better off with a Shimano or Daiwa than any of those. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted June 28, 2014 Posted June 28, 2014 That's JDM does not mean made in Japan, and regardless of where the labor is sourced, the home company regulates specs, materials and QC. The Revo, Lews, Pfluegers, BPS, JM and some others are built on the same platform in the same factory. Quote
Super User aavery2 Posted June 28, 2014 Super User Posted June 28, 2014 We often say that BPS and Pure Fishing and Lews are all made in the same factory, while they do look a lot alike and share some technology they are in fact made in different places. A company in South Korea by the Name of Dawon Engineering produces reels for BPS while Doyo Engineering produces reels for Pure fishing, I do not have the facts on Lews but suspect that they may actually be made by Dawon because ot the head of Lews and his former association with BPS,it would make sense that he used his old contacts, but I have no proof of this. Here are link to the two companies, Dawon also holds 6 patents on reel design including the dual braking that is found in many reels. The only proof that Pure Fishing uses Doyo to build their reels is that I have been able to research and find import/export documents available online and many come from Doyo manufacturing with the contents listed as fishing reels. http://www.dawonengco.com/eng/html/company_1.php http://www.doyofishing.co.kr/goods/list.php?category=006 . Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted June 28, 2014 Super User Posted June 28, 2014 We often say that BPS and Pure Fishing and Lews are all made in the same factory, while they do look a lot alike and share some technology they are in fact made in different places. A company in South Korea by the Name of Dawon Engineering produces reels for BPS while Doyo Engineering produces reels for Pure fishing, I do not have the facts on Lews but suspect that they may actually be made by Dawon because ot the head of Lews and his former association with BPS,it would make sense that he used his old contacts, but I have no proof of this. Here are link to the two companies, Dawon also holds 6 patents on reel design including the dual braking that is found in many reels. The only proof that Pure Fishing uses Doyo to build their reels is that I have been able to research and find import/export documents available online and many come from Doyo manufacturing with the contents listed as fishing reels. http://www.dawonengco.com/eng/html/company_1.php http://www.doyofishing.co.kr/goods/list.php?category=006 . Hard to say who makes what sometimes. I have 8 Doyo patents on file - some of which, like the DBS system and spring-loaded sideplate release, are found on the PQ and other BPS reels, and other brands (see the scans below). It could be that the dual-braking system mentioned by Dawon on their web site home page: "...and Externally adjustable DUAL (magnetic + centrifugal) braking system." is actually the system used on the BPS Johnny Morris Carbonlite (JM-CL) which has an externally adjustable centrifugal system. One of our board members, who was resident in Korea and worked in the tackle industry, mentioned in a thread a while back that PQ, PL, the old blue Rick Clunn reels (which were later the RCX), and some of the other mid-price BPS reels were Doyo, but that the JM-CL was Dawon. And then, there is the manufacturing location. My early PQs had "Made in Korea" stickers - the later ones have "Made in China" stickers. So, either Doyo/Dawon (whichever is the original OEM) opened a manufacturing facility in China (Korean labor getting too expensive?) or just sub-contracted assembly to a Chinese vendor - who knows! I have no clue, for SURE, what factory the various BPS reels come out of ..................................at the end of the day I just catch fish with them............................ 1 Quote
Super User aavery2 Posted June 28, 2014 Super User Posted June 28, 2014 Doyo also owns a company in Qingdao China Quote
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