A Question To Shimano Fans

[cjam93]

I want to start this by saying that I am not trying to start a fight or hate on a specific brand. I have noticed that people that fish Shimano more often than not are for lack of a better term fanboys. I do not mean this as an insult, simply that a lot of Shimano users seem to be Shimano or nothing. The exception it seems more often than not is Daiwa. Anyways, I have not had a lot of experience with Shimano baitcasters. I bought a Curado I after seeing all the talk, tried it and returned it pretty quickly. I will say I love the way it palms. However, the reel was not a very smooth one. I noticed that when I set the spool tension as I would with my other reels it made the handle turn almost stiffly like when you turn the tension very high.  One of the things I have started valuing a lot in a reel is the weight. In that category the Curado seems to lack when compared to other reels in that price range. 

 

Anyways, my question is what for you sets Shimano apart? What does Shimano offer in their reels that cause them to have such a following? 

[Bluebasser86]

I would say the proven track record and customer service are both pretty high up there on why people choose Shimano. They've been making a quality product for a lot of years and are willing to back it up.

 

I'm also guessing that it feels like all people who like Shimano are "Fanboys", because those are the ones who are most vocal about it. I love all my Shimanos, but I also love my Lew's, Okuma, Daiwa, Pinnacle, H2O, and Pfluegars. Everyone I fish with owns some Shimanos, but they also own other brands and like them very much as well. I'm not married to any 1 brand, don't get any benefits for being brand loyal, so I buy what I think the best value and fit for my needs are. I think a lot of fishermen are moving towards that view of things too. 

[EvanT123]

I don't have hundreds of dollars to try every rod or reel out there.

I've owned all the major brands and I would say the difference among them is marginal at best.

I like shimano for the resale value. I have a bunch and if it ever came to it I know I could get a reasonable return on my investment if I needed some quick cash. On the forums you see shimNos that might be a little beat up still go for a price close to new. It's very rare too see one go for half the original cost and when it does it's gone in 2 minutes.

The shimano reels I have purchased all seem to work well for me. Smoothness is hard to quantify for me so not something I worry about unless there is a noticeable grinding. I will say though my calcutta conquest is smoooooth.

I don't really clean my reels and have had some break and DVT fixed them for me. I think it's funny that people expect absolute perfection and ultimate longevity from a reel. It's a tool/product like anything else. tThere will be defects and design flaws. I've had and seen many models of cars break, washers/dryers, tv/electronics and everything else. Maybe there are forums with people whining about the quality of various products but I don't know.

Call me a fanboy but I get stuck in my ways. Shoot I have eaten the same thing for lunch for the past 2 years. My hard earned bucks are spent on things I know what to expect from.

[clh121787]

I think they have centrifugal brakes figured out very well. And that's one of the reasons I like them I hardly ever touch them. Ive had speedspool, smoke,revo,bps, and settled on shimano about 5 years ago. Until I have a reason to go elsewhere I'll stick with curados.

[roadwarrior]

Strong, smooth, silent and reliant.

 

May the Force be with you...

 

It's called the Posse, the Shimano Posse.

 

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVjt9rG5WJeQAwsUPxQt.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcwMDU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1hZGstYWRrX3NibnQEZ3ByaWQDOHRXTmZndTRUeWVseVZZdkM0ZXdTQQRuX3JzbHQDMARuX3N1Z2cDMTAEb3JpZ2luA3NlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzAEcHFzdHIDBHBxc3RybAMEcXN0cmwDMTgEcXVlcnkDYmVlciBmb3IgbXkgaG9yc2VzBHRfc3RtcAMxNDUwMDkzNzU1?p=beer+for+my+horses&fr2=sb-top-search&hspart=adk&hsimp=yhs-adk_sbnt&param1=20151007&param2=5b713d63-f55a-4cf3-b074-228f1190a5ec&param3=email_xp_1.15~US~pythondirect&param4=pd_gs_email_yahoo_b~chrome&type=pythondirect_em_cr

 

 

 

[Josh Smith]

The Ambassadeur guys just hang out on these threads and watch...

[John G]

To the OP,

I personally think that you would have returned your Curado I (if you even bought one) no matter how much you liked it because let's be honest, you are as much of a Shimano Hater as I am a Shimano Fanboy and Elephants would grow wings and fly before a Shimano Hater such as yourself would get on this or any other Forum and rant and rave about how great it is.

[deep]

Reliable casting. If anything, I like the SVS better than the old VBS. Still got 5 VBS Shimanos though.

 

I doubt other qualities are all that different in $100+ reels.

[Preytorien]

I'm a "fanboy" but probably for different reasons. 

 

I'm also a cyclist, and Shimano is one of the 3 current options you can select for drivetrain components. It's well known that Shimano for those parts are reputable for crisp, perfect, and durable shifting mile after mile. I've used them for years and had excellent success. Their brand reputation is second to none and is the reason the majority of teams in the Tour de France are using Shimano components, they speak for themselves. I'm sure sponsor dollars factor in, but with money on the line, a rider won't ride a brand that has a failure tendency.

 

When I got into fishing, which wasn't that long ago, it seemed a logical choice, and I must say I've been very pleased. I've never had a reel that didn't work very well and so far all have stayed very durable and reliable year after year. 

[Basswhippa]

I just completed two days of Umbrella rigging with a 20 year old Curado.  Not one problem.   That said, I have Swedish made ABU's that are just as old and older and almost as reliable.  I got to throw the new 7 gear ratio Curado HG (or whatever they call it) and I'll have to say I was impressed at the smoothness and power it had over the heavy rig I was throwing.  It sustained a strike at the boat by an almost 13 pound hybrid that almost took the rod out of my 6'4" boys hand.   After a 10 minute fight on 65 pound braid and a flipping stick,  it still felt brand new.   Also love my beat up Calcutta 100 I got Christmas 95.   It fishes like day one.  I do maintain my reels, but I'm no DVT for sure. 

[Sam]

Confidence.

It is all about confidence in a brand.

When one finds a brand they like one will stick with it until the brand deteriorates or another competitor produces a better and more product.

Once again, I like Shimano as I have not had any problems with their reels.

Wayne Knabe of Powhatan, VA, who repairs, rebuilds, cleans and refurbishes freshwater and saltwater rods and reels told me years ago that the highest quality reels are Shimano.

Now, with Shimano no longer stocking the Curado 200 parts and the evolution of Daiwa, Wayne has added Daiwa to his list of the three reel brands he likes to work on:

Shimano

Lew's

Daiwa

If you have had good results with Abu Garcia,  BPS, Cabela's, Pflueger, Field and Stream, KVD's Quantum, etc. then by all means stay with them.

It is all about confidence in a product.

Just like your favorite rods and baits.

Merry Christmas!

[bigfruits]

ive tried several other brands throughout the years but keep coming back to shimano. ive decided not to mess with anything else again.

 

all shimano on the mountain bike too.

[FloridaFishinFool]

... One of the things I have started valuing a lot in a reel is the weight. In that category the Curado seems to lack when compared to other reels in that price range. 

 

Anyways, my question is what for you sets Shimano apart? 

 

Hmmm... one thing that sets my curado i apart is the centrifugal brakes. Shimano has finally created a braking system that really works and works well with a minute external adjustment that has been missing in the past... I used my new curado i all this past summer and once I got it dialed in it was pretty much set it and forget it. And my new curado i is smooth.

 

Smoothness is directly related to just the two brass main drive gears pretty much- but can also involve the line guide gearing as well. So is it possible you might have gotten one with some gears that were not smooth? Possibly. I once bought a brand new curado G7 and right out of the box it was not smooth and I returned it for one that was. It happens.

 

I repair and rebuild and modify reels, so I definitely do not fit into the bag of being an all shimano kind of guy. I actually like and use reels that were made at one particular factory in South Korea- the same place where Abu, Lew's, Bass Pro, Browning, Quantum and others are made- all mostly made from the same tooling too so I can swap gears from a Quantum into a Browning or Bass Pro because they are the same size and made identical. Usually about the only difference sometimes is what the reel looks like on the outside.

 

It is kind of funny when I can open up a $300.00 Lew's reel and see the exact same set of gears I find inside of a used Quantum reel I bought on ebay for $25.00. Why the price disparity? A lot of it is just pure hype. When I need a set of gears I can sometimes just buy a broken reel off ebay for under $5.00 rather than a new set of gears at $30+.

 

Once upon a time I almost exclusively used only shimano reels, but today shimano makes up only about 50% or less of all the reels I use. And I have only one shimano rod and rarely if ever even use it.

 

To maintain a certain quality and durability for a reel in my opinion requires a certain amount of metal inside. I prefer only aluminum frames. Bass Pro makes some real cheapo reels built on an all plastic frame. They work, but they also break too. So I won't cut weight down past a certain point because I want strength and durability.

 

I am also not a big fan of plastic housings, but this seems to be the norm these days. Even my new curado i is plastic on the outside.

 

I have used Abu reels with aluminum gears, but I have moved away from them, and now all of my reels have only brass gears inside and I am staying right there.

 

So if you want to sacrifice weight, how far are you willing to go I am wondering? Down to plastic frames and aluminum gears and plastic drag stars?

 

I would really like to know what you are using now that you like more than shimano.

[Logan S]

For casting reels, I prefer Shimano's braking systems over any other I've tried.  Doesn't mean its the best, just what I like the best.  For spinning reels I prefer Daiwa, I was a 'shim-bind-o' casualty...Had 5 Stradics that frustrated me to the point of swearing them off.  I've heard the issue is fixed, but I've been very happy with Daiwa's product so I see no reason to switch back.  

 

So I prefer both Shimano and Daiwa.  I even put Shimano reels on Daiwa rods...Just because .

[Dwight Hottle]

Longevity. 

[FloridaFishinFool]

Yeah Dwight, I hope you are doing well these days! I agree with longevity. I am still using an old shimano Bantam Black Magnum from the mid 80's on a flippin' stick and it is still in like new condition now 30 years later. You just can't break it. Built like a tank.

 

While on the other hand I have broken newer reels very quickly...

[Ohio Archer]

I'm still running the ones I bought in the '80s...Bantam models, all left hand retrieve.  Because back then Shimano was about the only ones offering a left hand real.  I also have a couple of Diawas that are LH.  BPS didn't have big box stores so all of them came out of the catalogs.  They all perform fine.  I even picked up a couple more off of Ebay for about $18 a piece a couple months ago.  With reels going for well over $100 a pop, why would I change?

[iabass8]

Jrob listens to coldplay

[Catt]

Solid as an anvil, versatile as a pair of ChannelLocks, dependable as a 30/30!

Calcutta 100A 30 plus yrs

Calcutta 100A 25-30 yrs

Calcutta 50A 20-25 yrs

Cardiff 100D 20 yrs

Cardiff 100D 15 yrs

All have original parts except the 50. I changed the paw!

[Josh Smith]

This reminds me that I need to fix my front shifter on my old Schwinn.

It's a Shimano shifter and the cable finally broke... 25 years after I got the bike!

Josh

[A-Jay]

I want to start this by saying that I am not trying to start a fight or hate on a specific brand. I have noticed that people that fish Shimano more often than not are for lack of a better term fanboys. I do not mean this as an insult, simply that a lot of Shimano users seem to be Shimano or nothing. The exception it seems more often than not is Daiwa. Anyways, I have not had a lot of experience with Shimano baitcasters. I bought a Curado I after seeing all the talk, tried it and returned it pretty quickly. I will say I love the way it palms. However, the reel was not a very smooth one. I noticed that when I set the spool tension as I would with my other reels it made the handle turn almost stiffly like when you turn the tension very high.  One of the things I have started valuing a lot in a reel is the weight. In that category the Curado seems to lack when compared to other reels in that price range. 

 

Anyways, my question is what for you sets Shimano apart? What does Shimano offer in their reels that cause them to have such a following? 

 

The question as to why any product is popular is almost always answered the same way.

 

It often revolves around price, quality and availability.  Ranking high in these characteristics offers a favorable reputation which can cause prospective buyers to look that way first.

 

When one does not have experience with a particular brand, as you have admitted, it can make it tough to understand the reasons for it's popularity.

 

As I see it, there are three basic paths to go about answering your question. You can either believe the reviews of those who do have experience using that brand.

Disregard it based on preconceived judgment or opinion formed without just grounds or sufficient knowledge.

Try it for yourself and form your own opinion. 

If you choose this route, I'd recommend becoming familiar with more than one model.

 

A-Jay

[cjam93]

Hmmm... one thing that sets my curado i apart is the centrifugal brakes. Shimano has finally created a braking system that really works and works well with a minute external adjustment that has been missing in the past... I used my new curado i all this past summer and once I got it dialed in it was pretty much set it and forget it. And my new curado i is smooth.

 

Smoothness is directly related to just the two brass main drive gears pretty much- but can also involve the line guide gearing as well. So is it possible you might have gotten one with some gears that were not smooth? Possibly. I once bought a brand new curado G7 and right out of the box it was not smooth and I returned it for one that was. It happens.

 

I repair and rebuild and modify reels, so I definitely do not fit into the bag of being an all shimano kind of guy. I actually like and use reels that were made at one particular factory in South Korea- the same place where Abu, Lew's, Bass Pro, Browning, Quantum and others are made- all mostly made from the same tooling too so I can swap gears from a Quantum into a Browning or Bass Pro because they are the same size and made identical. Usually about the only difference sometimes is what the reel looks like on the outside.

 

It is kind of funny when I can open up a $300.00 Lew's reel and see the exact same set of gears I find inside of a used Quantum reel I bought on ebay for $25.00. Why the price disparity? A lot of it is just pure hype. When I need a set of gears I can sometimes just buy a broken reel off ebay for under $5.00 rather than a new set of gears at $30+.

 

Once upon a time I almost exclusively used only shimano reels, but today shimano makes up only about 50% or less of all the reels I use. And I have only one shimano rod and rarely if ever even use it.

 

To maintain a certain quality and durability for a reel in my opinion requires a certain amount of metal inside. I prefer only aluminum frames. Bass Pro makes some real cheapo reels built on an all plastic frame. They work, but they also break too. So I won't cut weight down past a certain point because I want strength and durability.

 

I am also not a big fan of plastic housings, but this seems to be the norm these days. Even my new curado i is plastic on the outside.

 

I have used Abu reels with aluminum gears, but I have moved away from them, and now all of my reels have only brass gears inside and I am staying right there.

 

So if you want to sacrifice weight, how far are you willing to go I am wondering? Down to plastic frames and aluminum gears and plastic drag stars?

 

I would really like to know what you are using now that you like more than shimano.

 

Right now I have a mixture of Lews, Okuma, and Quantum reels. My favorite is Lews. I have use BB1s for cranking, and then have a tournament lite as well. Those are my favorite reels. I have an Okuma Helios that I really like a lot, its just really comfortable. The Quantums are Smokes I bought at the classic because they had them at a really good deal. Two of them are holding up well and the other has drag slipping problems which I havent figured out. I actually really like the way the good ones I have preforms, but the bad one of the group has me wondering if the other ones are  going to stay solid or not. I appreciate the answer though thanks that makes a lot of sense.

 

 

To the OP,

I personally think that you would have returned your Curado I (if you even bought one) no matter how much you liked it because let's be honest, you are as much of a Shimano Hater as I am a Shimano Fanboy and Elephants would grow wings and fly before a Shimano Hater such as yourself would get on this or any other Forum and rant and rave about how great it is.

 

 

Im not sure why the attitude here, sorry if I offended you. I do not hate Shimano though, actually for years they were the only brand I would use in spinning reels. I only moved away from them recently because I was not crazy about the new smaller frames they used on the Sahara and Symetre. I have just never seen for me what made Shimano baitcasters set apart for so many people and I was curious.

[Raul]

 

 

Anyways, my question is what for you sets Shimano apart? What does Shimano offer in their reels that cause them to have such a following? 

 

They are like the Duracell bunny or like a Jeep, they just keep on going and going and going no matter what you throw at them. 

 

Daiwas are super refined ( I own a few ones ), Abus used to be great ( I also have a few ), Shimanos are not as refined but they stand punishment a lot better and seldomly let you down.

[kickerfish1]

Longevity, reliability, performance, resale value, and reel choices from round reels, to finesse to long distance not to mention tuning options and even super light weight reels. Seems to also have every price point covered from budget to rich folks.

[stkbassn]

For me I really love the ease of use. Shimano has always been less touchy save a few exceptions in my experience. I also love the quality look and feel of Shimano's save a few exceptions. I've always thought Curado's were very smooth. I am not a big fan of the 200I series and much prefer the D and E series to any Curado ever made before or after. I do not like the braking system on the I series, that's the only gripe for me. I thought it was pretty sweet otherwise. My Metanium and Chronarchs are smoother.