Best Brand Bearings

[daiwaguy]

Hey all, I did a search and found some generic topics on upgrading bearings but nothing about the different brands and if there is a difference from brand to brand differences or comparisons. I was thinking about putting some Hedgehog BFS Air bearings in one of my Zonda reels for lightweight applications but was told that the hawgtech bearings are really great too. So it got me wondering what is the best option and if there is really a difference in the name brand/ well known manufactures that stand behind their Abec ratings. So for those of you who have upgraded and experimented with different brands of bearings chime in.  What did you prefer?

[Darren.]

I can verify HawgTech bearings are excellent.

I put ABEC7s into my Chronarch 50e reels and
the difference was significant. Can't speak to 
Hedgehog bearings, but I know others can.

[daiwaguy]

Thanks bud, appreciate the heads up.

[IAY]

Air BFS is nice because of the small SIC ceramic ball bearing that really helps it turn at low weight. I would go with them for finesse applications.

[FloridaFishinFool]

The title of this thread can mislead! What I mean is this... you asked for which brand is the best, but what is ironic is in the real world, there are only a few bearing manufacturers worldwide, so many of the "brands" being thrown around are all made by the exact same manufacturer. So it is endlessly humorous to me to read this brand or that brand is best when they are made by the same source!

I have preferred to skip American branding and simply go to the source, which for many "American brand names" is China. Even the great legendary Boca Bearings does NOT make any of the bearings they sell! Boca is a distributor that changes the bearings they buy from overseas manufacturers into Boca bearings once they hit the states. It is actually a re-branding! The company's VP even admitted this on another website forum I can dig up if you care to read it.

So now I just use ceramic hybrid bearings I buy directly from a Chinese manufacturer and save a ton of dough on them rather than buy the same bearings from an American re-branding company with a much higher markup price.

Braid fishing line suffers the same situation! When I did my research on the production of the gel spun plastic fibers a few years by digging around in the plastics industry periodicals and associations I found out that worldwide there are only about a dozen or so manufacturers who actually have the gel spinning plants that make the PE fibers for braid line- with more than half of them in China. But how many braid fishing line brands are there selling PE fibers? Hundreds? Kind of funny how all those brands have to seek out one of those dozen or so manufacturers to buy their PE fibers for their lines each brand trying to out weave, out dye, and out lubricate the next brand to outsell everyone else as the best made.

Going from memory which can be faulty, I think USA had one or two gel spinning plants, Europe, Germany, etc. had the others, and I think 7 are located in China- who makes the bulk of the world's supply of PE fibers.

I love the smoke and mirrors and game in the marketplace! I love to watch the gamesmanship going on by one to outdo the next.

I prefer to cut through the smoke and mirrors and buy direct and save! You can too! Here are 10 ceramic hybrid ball bearings direct from China for $35 and $4 shipping with no taxes. Try and buy the same thing from Boca costs about $120 plus shipping plus taxes. Hey that VP of Boca has to pay for his luxury car and big house some way off the backs of the American fishermen willing to pay their prices for an inflated brand name reputation for bearings they don't even make! But ssshhhhh! Don't tell anyone!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABU-SHIMANO-3x10x4-Hybrid-Ceramic-Stainless-Fishing-Reel-Bearing-ORANGE-A7-/251420138740?hash=item3a89cedcf4:g:ViMAAOxyXp5SO6NI

 

 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

You're on point as far as sticking to brand names as ABEC ratings have been known to be counterfeited. You'll never get a true picture of what any bearing offers until stick bearings have been flushed and oiled properly. Buying performance parts on a price only basis just makes no sense 

[rippin-lips]

I've tried some of those no name orange seals and they were not as good as boca orange seals. Not saying some of them aren't the same bearing boca uses but the ones I tried were not the same quality. My boca's are free so it doesn't matter to me anyhow. You can email them and ask where they are made and they will tell you in China. They aren't really hiding it. 

 

As for the original question I'd be looking at Zpi sic or the air BFS. Both are great!

[daiwaguy]

2 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

The title of this thread can mislead! What I mean is this... you asked for which brand is the best, but what is ironic is in the real world, there are only a few bearing manufacturers worldwide, so many of the "brands" being thrown around are all made by the exact same manufacturer. So it is endlessly humorous to me to read this brand or that brand is best when they are made by the same source!

I have preferred to skip American branding and simply go to the source, which for many "American brand names" is China. Even the great legendary Boca Bearings does NOT make any of the bearings they sell! Boca is a distributor that changes the bearings they buy from overseas manufacturers into Boca bearings once they hit the states. It is actually a re-branding! The company's VP even admitted this on another website forum I can dig up if you care to read it.

So now I just use ceramic hybrid bearings I buy directly from a Chinese manufacturer and save a ton of dough on them rather than buy the same bearings from an American re-branding company with a much higher markup price.

Braid fishing line suffers the same situation! When I did my research on the production of the gel spun plastic fibers a few years by digging around in the plastics industry periodicals and associations I found out that worldwide there are only about a dozen or so manufacturers who actually have the gel spinning plants that make the PE fibers for braid line- with more than half of them in China. But how many braid fishing line brands are there selling PE fibers? Hundreds? Kind of funny how all those brands have to seek out one of those dozen or so manufacturers to buy their PE fibers for their lines each brand trying to out weave, out dye, and out lubricate the next brand to outsell everyone else as the best made.

Going from memory which can be faulty, I think USA had one or two gel spinning plants, Europe, Germany, etc. had the others, and I think 7 are located in China- who makes the bulk of the world's supply of PE fibers.

I love the smoke and mirrors and game in the marketplace! I love to watch the gamesmanship going on by one to outdo the next.

I prefer to cut through the smoke and mirrors and buy direct and save! You can too! Here are 10 ceramic hybrid ball bearings direct from China for $35 and $4 shipping with no taxes. Try and buy the same thing from Boca costs about $120 plus shipping plus taxes. Hey that VP of Boca has to pay for his luxury car and big house some way off the backs of the American fishermen willing to pay their prices for an inflated brand name reputation for bearings they don't even make! But ssshhhhh! Don't tell anyone!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABU-SHIMANO-3x10x4-Hybrid-Ceramic-Stainless-Fishing-Reel-Bearing-ORANGE-A7-/251420138740?hash=item3a89cedcf4:g:ViMAAOxyXp5SO6NI

 

 

I knew most weren't manufactured here, i just trust them because they stand behind them and more or less guarantee the Abec rating. I would rather spend money knowing what it is being spent on. Good right up though.