Penguino Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 What's the difference between the two? At the same price range, the two brands of reels have exactly the same specs except for the drag system. An example would be the Pro Qualifier and the Midas. Both are on discount now, and are the same price. The Midas has an extra bearing, and also has a duralmin/aramid drag stack, while the PQ only has an aluminum/aramid drag stack. Which one should I go with? Quote
chelboed Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 Doesn't matter. They're both owned by Bass Pro and produced in the same outsourced factory. The PQ is rated really well and well loved by the Bass Pro fans. 1 Quote
mhilgtx Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 Doesn't matter. They're both owned by Bass Pro and produced in the same outsourced factory. The PQ is rated really well and well loved by the Bass Pro fans. Is it an outsourced factory or it Brownings factory? I guess I got the impression BPS purchased Browning for the facilities. Just a guess though. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 What they bought was the Browning name and inventory. The reel are built in the same factory as the PQ, Pflueger, Revo, Lew's, and others. There might be a move coming toward another factory, the one Quantum uses. This is just speculation based on rumor. Quote
Brandon Moss Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 What they bought was the Browning name and inventory. The reel are built in the same factory as the PQ, Pflueger, Revo, Lew's, and others. There might be a move coming toward another factory, the one Quantum uses. This is just speculation based on rumor. DVT, where did you hear this tidbit from? To me that may be a tad bit disappointing. Bass Pro's equipment has always had a certain quality about it. I can't say the same for Quantum's gear. That's just my opinion. 1 Quote
BigBassLoveSenkos Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 I liked the PQ until I got a Lews. Browning could go away tomorrow and I wouldn't even notice. Now BPS the store is the greatest place on earth, I absolutely love that place! Quote
sprint61 Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 I just hate that browning symbol everyone puts on there vehicle. The ones with a buck head and doe head? I hate that even worse. Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 DVT, where did you hear this tidbit from? To me that may be a tad bit disappointing. Bass Pro's equipment has always had a certain quality about it. I can't say the same for Quantum's gear. That's just my opinion. Now where solid, just some banter during the big spring sale when the PQ was being blown out at $60. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime I wouldn't hesitate to grab a PQ. The Brownings and JM signature stuff is pretty much the same stuff but they charge a little for the name. You have to look close at the features and decide if the price is worth it to you based on that. Quality wise, they all come from the same place. Quote
FloridaFishinFool Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 Right now I am buying certain Browning reels when I can get my hands on them. I get the same feel and performance of Lew's and others made in the same factory, but at a much better price. I really like having the centrifugal and magnetic braking both easily adjustable on the outside of the reel. Triple carbon drag washers. 10 ball bearings with 4 of them in the handles. Super smooth. Great size- easy to palm. I absolutely love them! I have 4 Browning reels in use right now and I will be buying some more soon. I sure hope they do not change factories! Browning and Zebco are two companies I know have a long history with this one Korean factory going back into the 1980's, and when Bass Pro purchased Browning in 2005 Bass Pro kept that relationship and expanded on it by having them make their own line as well and now other well known brand names like Lew's and Abu Garcia are using this same factory. The way I look at it, is I will not follow the brand name, I will follow the factory output because this particular factory is producing some really good reels and has been for many years. One of my Browning reels made there dates back to 1995 and it is still in use to this day- it is a copy of the Shimano Calcutta made by Browning a decade before Bass Pro bought them. I recently had to put in a new set of gears and finding the right set of gears was not easy and took some time but I eventually found two lines of reels made from the same tooling- the Browning Aggressor and Quantum EX are identical reels made at this same factory. The gears are exactly the same size. So now that I know this, I can use gears from the 4:1 speed reels, the 5.2:1 speed reels which is what my old reel was to begin with, and now I have installed in it the 6.2:1 speed gears from a Browning Aggressor. I recently overhauled some Abu Garcia revo's and made careful note that the revo used the same yoke and drag washers and other parts same as the Bass Pro Johnny Morris series reels which were identical and interchangeable into the revo's. So as I said above... this one particular Korean factory is producing some really great reels today like the Lew's and others, and I plan on using reels produced by this one factory as long as they keep producing them no matter what the brand name is because basically, it is the same reel in different versions and with different brand names which don't mean squat to me! I'll buy what that factory puts out regardless of brand name. When ICAST rolls around, I plan on asking about this situation with the various brands on the show floor. 1 Quote
Penguino Posted March 9, 2015 Author Posted March 9, 2015 Right now I am buying certain Browning reels when I can get my hands on them. I get the same feel and performance of Lew's and others made in the same factory, but at a much better price. I really like having the centrifugal and magnetic braking both easily adjustable on the outside of the reel. Triple carbon drag washers. 10 ball bearings with 4 of them in the handles. Super smooth. Great size- easy to palm. I absolutely love them! I have 4 Browning reels in use right now and I will be buying some more soon. I sure hope they do not change factories! Browning and Zebco are two companies I know have a long history with this one Korean factory going back into the 1980's, and when Bass Pro purchased Browning in 2005 Bass Pro kept that relationship and expanded on it by having them make their own line as well and now other well known brand names like Lew's and Abu Garcia are using this same factory. The way I look at it, is I will not follow the brand name, I will follow the factory output because this particular factory is producing some really good reels and has been for many years. One of my Browning reels made there dates back to 1995 and it is still in use to this day- it is a copy of the Shimano Calcutta made by Browning a decade before Bass Pro bought them. I recently had to put in a new set of gears and finding the right set of gears was not easy and took some time but I eventually found two lines of reels made from the same tooling- the Browning Aggressor and Quantum EX are identical reels made at this same factory. The gears are exactly the same size. So now that I know this, I can use gears from the 4:1 speed reels, the 5.2:1 speed reels which is what my old reel was to begin with, and now I have installed in it the 6.2:1 speed gears from a Browning Aggressor. I recently overhauled some Abu Garcia revo's and made careful note that the revo used the same yoke and drag washers and other parts same as the Bass Pro Johnny Morris series reels which were identical and interchangeable into the revo's. So as I said above... this one particular Korean factory is producing some really great reels today like the Lew's and others, and I plan on using reels produced by this one factory as long as they keep producing them no matter what the brand name is because basically, it is the same reel in different versions and with different brand names which don't mean squat to me! I'll buy what that factory puts out regardless of brand name. When ICAST rolls around, I plan on asking about this situation with the various brands on the show floor So essentially what you are saying is that I could probably customize a Bass Pro or Browning Reel with parts from other reels? If that's true, then I will definitely just go buy a BPS or Browning Reel and then just go on Ebay and upgrade the drag or handle. Quote
FloridaFishinFool Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 So essentially what you are saying is that I could probably customize a Bass Pro or Browning Reel with parts from other reels? If that's true, then I will definitely just go buy a BPS or Browning Reel and then just go on Ebay and upgrade the drag or handle. Yep! I've been doing it for years now. I am rebuilding a Bass Pro ETX10SHLB right now I got off ebay for less than $30 and it is made in China, but also has many of the same parts inside as Korean made Browning reels and Korean made Bass Pro and the clutch mech in this particular reel is virtually identical to the Abu revo3's. This reel comes with a triple drag washer system, but not carbon, but that is easy enough to switch out. And I was surprised to find this reel actually has 4 ball bearings in the handle too so that is a bonus. But yeah, a lot of these reels are basically the same inside, just a different color and brand on the outside for a lot of them. But if you know your reels and what parts you want, it is best to just order direct from Bass Pro. They always charge like $5.59 for shipping any size order of parts so expect that too, but for most of their parts, they are priced really good. And I mean really good! For example, my Johnny Morris reel comes stock with cross weave carbon fiber drag washers. Bass Pro sells them to me for $1.05 each. No one, not even ebay can beat that price. A handle with ball bearings is $10.00. And keep in mind, for some of the parts they will sell you they are parting out other reels to get those parts, while a lot of them are new. Man this cheapo little Bass Pro reel is like brand new inside. No wear. Great shape. Does not need any parts. Just a good cleaning and lube job and bearing work or swap out and I can get years more of fun fishing out of this little 7.1:1 reel. Since this is my first Bass Pro reel made in China, it will be interesting to see how well it compares with the Korean made reels. If it is not as good or I just don't like it as much I will sell it as fast as I got it. Quote
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