CAUTION when reading ROD and REEL purchaser reviews

[Cranks4fun]

Have you ever tried to make a decision on a new purchase and browsed purchaser reviews? I was reading some interesting (entertaining) statements recently. I was reading reviews on a certain popular Shimano reel and nearly everyone was offering positive feedback. A couple of guys complained about backlashes or difficulty removing and replacing the sideplate (that's usually user error). Another guy had a clutch fail - it could have been faulty. Otherwise, the mechanical aspects, the sturdiness, smoothness, and general functionality of the reel were not in question, except for the statements of ONE guy! He claimed to have the gears "strip out" on TWO of these reels and yet no one else among the 56 reviewers had that experience. There is an important reason why I bring this up and why it is important for all of us who read reviews.

   At this point, logic and reason should kick in. How can one guy out of 57 users have the exact same failure TWICE and none of the other 56 guys experience that? Statistically, it seems highly improbable. What is MUCH more likely is that they guy is revealing one of three things:

    1) He really had the gears in two reels fail but it was because of abuse. It's hard to believe that gears would go before a modern, barely-used, $180 Shimano-quality reel's drag would spin. It is possible that it happened to him two times, but very unlikely. It has happened to him but no other purchaser, and it happened to him twice? If it did, there has to be a reason. He could be EXTREMELY abusive with his gear - I've fished with those guys! I have even been that guy years ago! Haha! Statistically, though, you gotta doubt this claim. To quote the worst president ever, "Come on, Man!" I just do not think this is a likely possibility even if he is abusive. This claim is, statistically, almost impossible. That brings me to the next possibility.

  2) He exaggerated the issue by claiming it happened twice to increase the weight of his complaint. To be less diplomatic, he lied! He was mad and wanted to punish the company and discourage others from buying a product which for him was, for some reason, less than satisfactory. He may have stripped the gears in ONE reel or it may have ceased to function for some other reason that he did not understand. BUT gear stripping in TWO reels when no one else among 56 users experiences that? I don't think so. You are free to believe that, but I cannot.

  3) The third option is that he's a rabid brand loyalist. He may not have even purchased one of these reels but he wants to make a strong statement. You may have met these guys. They love ONE BRAND, the one they use, and EVERYTHING else is pure junk! When discussing tackle, reels, rods, etc., these guys usually have only one statement in the discussion. It goes like this "XXXX brand, nuff said!"  Why is a brand name of any product ever "nuff said?" I am not condemning everyone who says, "nuff said" but everyone needs to be reminded that a brand name is never "enough said" to answer a reasonable person inquiring about the quality of a specific model. Imagine someone wanting to buy a vehicle to drive in the mountains, all-seasons, off-road. They are asking if a Ford Fiesta is satisfactory for those conditions. Others are suggesting other brands and models. imagine also that you have a great Ford 4X4 truck that handles the conditions they mentioned so you answer "Ford, nuff said!" At that point you are just being ignorant. Lots of Fords would fail under those conditions. Having a trustworthy Ford truck for off-road does not prove that a Ford fiesta is good for off-road. Brand loyalty has, in that instance, blinded you. Ford is not"nuff said"!

    Any company, yeah EVERY COMPANY, that continues to produce items over time is going to fail and miss the goal sometimes. You either lack experience or you already know that. Both Shimano and Daiwa have have occasionally produced some unsatisfactory rods and reels. All companies that have existed very long have done that.

   If and when rabid brand loyalists say anything more than "nuff said", it will usually sound something like this, "I've used XXXX brand reels for twenty years and they have never failed me. Every Quantum, Daiwa, Shimano, or ABU I'ver used broke within the first two months. They are all JUNK!" Haha! Those kind of extreme, absolute statetments are revealing to some, but some other less-discerning, inquisitive shoppers are misled by those kinds of dishonest claims. They do not realize, oftentimes, that the statements are being made by dishonest, emotional slaves to a certain brand. They, as a result, are misled.  

 

   It is OK to be brand loyal as long as you are not dishonestly brand loyal. We have Shimano guys and Daiwa guys and Lews guys, etc. and tha's great. You have found one brand that consistently satisfies you. It is OK to have favorites. My favorite reels are Daiwas but I have found and own good quality examples from many brands.

   Why is this issue important? First, because we can miss out on great products at good prices because of misleading reviews. Anyone can lie about a product in the review section for whatever reason. That is why I like products with LOTS of good reviews. Reviews from a large pool of experienced samplers/ users are statistically far more trustworthy. In those cases, a few dishonest guys will be overrun with much larger number of honest reviewers. Products with only a few reviews may be great, but it is hard to know by just a few reviews. It is hard to come to a solid statistical conclusion. You generally just have to take a chance if you want the item with only a few reviews or wait until more buyers chime in..

   Secondly, it is important because bad products do go on the market sometimes and we all want to avoid those purchases when possible. Deceptive reviews are just false facts, "fake news", from bad actors and they can and do affect buying decisions and cause people not to make the best choice. Sometimes the dishonest reviews are fairly obvious to the discerning reader, like the one I shared, and sometimes not so much. A guy can also abuse his gear horribly and when he damages the product, blame the company instead of taking credit for his own bad actions. 

  There are defective products even among good lines sometimes, but if a bad review seems highly improbable (when compared to others), or too bad to be true, it very likely is just that. I guess I need to add that good reviews can come from the same deceptive motives too. Some could exaggerate about how good a product is because of their brand loyalty. Some reviews really are just box openings, like when people review reels as "great" and then add, "but I haven't fished with it yet." Those reviews should probably not carry much weight. Read product reviews with caution. Also let me suggest that all of us can help and contribute to our collective wisdom by making honest reviews when we have good or bad experiences with products. 

[A-Jay]

I read reviews.

I'm still learning how to 'interpret' them.

Seems that may be a constantly evolving type of deal.

I can confidently say that I have benefitted from some reviews,

even some found on this very forum.

Hope that continues.

Paying it forward, I've even done a few; in thread form here as well as in videos.

Can be a little tricky offering the details on any product.

While I'm hoping to present information that is 'objective',

Often seems heavily opinionated and loaded with personal preference. 

Regardless of which side of the review one may be on.

A-Jay

[Dirtyeggroll]

I always read the worst / lowest rating reviews on most items I purchase.

 

if there are consistent themes it’s a red flag.

 

i find it’s pretty easy to identify trolls or people who are projecting other problems they have with other parts of their life or frustrations into their review.

[Cranks4fun]

9 minutes ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

I always read the worst / lowest rating reviews on most items I purchase.

 

if there are consistent themes it’s a red flag.

 

i find it’s pretty easy to identify trolls or people who are projecting other problems they have with other parts of their life or frustrations into their review.

I agree. Consistent negatives, even if they only show up 3 or 4 times in a list of reviews, usually catch my attention and cause a hesitation/ red flag effect. 

[Deleted account]

42 minutes ago, Cranks4fun said:

Have you ever tried to make a decision on a new purchase and browsed purchaser reviews? I was reading some interesting (entertaining) statements recently. I was reading reviews on a certain popular Shimano reel and nearly everyone was offering positive feedback. A couple of guys complained about backlashes or difficulty removing and replacing the sideplate (that's usually user error). Another guy had a clutch fail - it could have been faulty. He claimed others were saying this too but I could find no other reviewers saying that. I think he was just mad and that is understandible. Otherwise, the mechanical aspects, the sturdiness, smoothness, and general functionality of the reel were not in question, except for the statements of ONE guy! He claimed to have the gears "strip out" on TWO of these reels and yet no one else among the 56 reviewers had that experience. There is an important reason why I bring this up and why it is important for all of us who read reviews.

   At this point, logic and reason should kick in. How can one guy out of 57 users have the exact same failure TWICE and none of the other 56 guys experience that? Statistically, it seems impossible. What is MUCH, MUCH more likely is that they guy is revealing one of thre things:

    1) He really had the gears in two reels fail. It's hard to believe that gears would go before a modern, barely-used, $180 Shimano-quality reel's drag would spin. It is possible that it happened to him two times. It has happened to no other purchaser, but happened to him twice, ... and, again, to no one else? He could be EXTREMELY abusive with his gear - I've fished with those guys! I have even been that guy! Haha! Statistically, though, you gotta doubt this claim. To quote the worst president ever, "Come on, Man!" I just do not think this is a likely possibility even if he is abusive. This claim is, statistically, almost impossible. That brings me to the next possibility.

  2) He exaggerated the issue by claiming it happened twice to increase that weight of his complaint. To be less diplomatic, he's flat out lying! He's mad and wants to punish the company and discourage others from buying a product which for him was, for some reason, less than satisfactory. He may have stripped the gears in ONE reel or it may have ceased to function for some other reason that he did not understand. BUT gear stripping in TWO reels when no one else experiences that? I don't think so. You are free to believe that, but I cannot.

  3) He's a rabid brand loyalist. You may have met these guys. They love ONE BRAND, the one they use, and EVERYTHING else is pure junk! When discussing tackle, reels, rods, etc. in the forums, these guys usually have only one statement in the discussion. It goes like this "XXXX brand, nuff said!"  Why is a brand name of any product ever "nuff said?" I am not condemning everyone who says, "nuff said" but everyone needs to be reminded that a brand name is never "enough said" to answer a reasonable person inquiring about the quality of a specific model. Imagine someone wanting to buy a vehicle to drive in the mountains, all-seasons, off-road. They are asking if a Ford Fiesta is satisfactory for those conditions. Others are suggesting other brands and models. You have a great Ford 4X4 truck that handles what they need so you answer "Ford, nuff said!" At that point you are just being stupid. Lots of Fords would fail under those conditions. Brand loyalty has blinded you. Ford is not"nuff said"!

    Any company, yeah EVERY COMPANY, that continues to produce items over time is going to fail and miss the goal sometimes. You either lack experience or you already know that. Both Shimano and Daiwa have have occasionally produced some unsatisfactory rods and reels. All companies that have existed very long have done that.

   If and when rabid brand loyalists say anything more than "nuff said", it will usually sound something like this, "I've used XXXX brand reels for twenty years and they have never failed me. Every Quantum, Daiwa, Shimano, or ABU I'ver used broke within the first two months. They are all JUNK!" Haha! Thes extreme absolute statetments are revealing to the more logical thinkers, but some inquisitive shoppers are misled by the dishonest statements made by emotional slaves to a certain brand. Don't say stuff like that when it's not true!!

 

   It is OK to be brand loyal as long as you are not dishonestly brand loyal. We have Shimano guys and Daiwa guys and Lews guys, etc. and tha's great. You have found one brand that consistently satisfies you. It is OK to have favorites. My favorite reels are Daiwas but I have found and own good quality examples from many brands.

   Why is this issue important? First, because we can miss out on great products at good prices because of misleading reviews. Anyone can lie about a product in the review section for whatever reason. That is why I like products with LOTS of good reviews. Reviews from a large pool of experienced samplers/ users are statistically far more trustworthy. A few dishonest guys will be overrun with much larger number of honest reviewers. Products with only a few reviews may be great, but it is hard to know by just a few reviews. You generally just have to take a chance if you want the item with only a few reviews or wait until more buyers chime in..

   Secondly, it is important because bad products do go on the market sometimes and we all want to avoid those purchases when possible. Deceptive reviews are false facts from bad actors and they can and do affect buying decisions and cause people not to make the best choice. Sometimes the dishonest reviews are fairly obvious to the discerning reader, like the one I shared, and sometimes not so much. A guy can also abuse his gear horribly and when he damages the product, blame the company instead of taking credit for his own bad actions. 

  There are defective products even among good lines sometimes, but if a bad review seems, statistically impossible (when compared to others), or too bad to be true, it very likely is just that. Read product reviews with caution. Also let me suggest that all of us can help and contribute to our collective wisdom by making honest reviews when we have good or bad experiences with products. 

Breath slowly and deeply into a paper bag, and when you calm down search what I wrote on the subject of reviews a few days ago, and maybe revisit any statistics courses you may have taken while you are at it. 

[roadwarrior]

I think the value of a review is based on your confidence in the person making the review.

I have a lot of faith in the opinions of our members.

 

[dodgeguy]

There is nothing wrong with brand loyalty until it becomes bashing every brand but your own. I find that Shimano and Diawa fans are the worst when it comes to this. Both companies make great stuff but just like you said they make some bad ones also. Shimano had a problem with spinning reels that would bind up if they got wet. They refused to acknowledge it.this was mid 90s to around 2005.  I personally love Lew's baitcasters and own nothing else . I prefer the value and features offered but I would never bash Diawa , Shimano or Quantum reels for no reason. Line reviews are the funniest. One guy will say a line springs off his spinning reel and tangles constantly. This is after 20 reviews that say the line is soft and performs well on spinning. In cases like this I laugh at the bad reviewer who spooled his line wrong.he probably has his reel facing up also. What you have to do is throw out the blatantly obvious fan boy reviews and the blatantly obvious dude who can't fish and is clueless And read the rest. 

[Cranks4fun]

4 hours ago, Deleted account said:

Breath slowly and deeply into a paper bag, and when you calm down search what I wrote on the subject of reviews a few days ago, and maybe revisit any statistics courses you may have taken while you are at it. 

Oh, I'm calm. Those things do not upset me as much as they concern me. I would love to talk statistics with you. I think it might help to send you some reading material on statistics and car-buying reviews. That kind of simple statistical analysis would apply here to fishing tackle too.

   You could get specific and tell me exactly what you disagree with and then we could discuss the facts. I like facts. I like getting specific in these discussions so we can compare apples with apples. How about you? Share your specific concerns about what I said and we can discuss where I might have overstated my case. Do you have specifics? You seem to be suggesting that you are educated in this field. You could help me by giving me some specifics.

 I don't claim to be a specialist but I do claim to be a discerning shopper. You could learn a lot on the subject by googling things like "trustworthy auto reviews". Car-buying and house-buying and marketing research is plentiful online and the principles can be applied to any retail market. If you are one of the "nuff said" guys, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I will gladly check out your post on the subject if you give me a title.

[PhishLI]

14 hours ago, Cranks4fun said:

Have you ever tried to make a decision on a new purchase and browsed purchaser reviews?

Not really, and here's one of the reasons. During the first year and a half that I got back into bass fishing I didn't go online to read anything or to shop. I had an "in" at a local retailer who allowed me to purchase and fish with several different brands of rods up to $220. As long as I applied a painter's tape gasket around the ends of the plastic wrap on the cork handles to keep them from getting stained I was allowed to "work them out" for a few days and return them if they were otherwise unscathed and the tags were carefully re-attached.

 

Long story short, I'm dumb, so I ended up liking and choosing several different models of 13 Fishing Omen Black 2s. I fished them in tough conditions and treated them poorly because of that. I was often sure they'd break when I'd be jacking a 5 pounder through 100' of dense lily pads, but nothing happened. Snagged roots and tree branches on the back cast, etc, nothing happened. None snapped. Didn't loose an insert. No loose handles. Nada.

 

It wasn't until I found fishing forums and learned that there was such a thing as Tackle Warehouse where upon reading reviews I found out I'd bought 8 junk rods that would snap or fall apart if I looked at them crooked. Meanwhile, 5 years later I'm still fishing with them all without incident. I read similar nonsense about Quantum reels before I bought any and, for me, once again not a single problem out of the 6 I have. I must be the luckiest dumb guy ever.

 

[Mobasser]

Ultimately, you choose for yourself. Reviews are ok, but we can always pick them apart. Keep an open mind.

[Cranks4fun]

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

Ultimately, you choose for yourself. Reviews are ok, but we can always pick them apart. Keep an open mind.

Yeah. We do have to make the ultimate choice ourselves. 

[garroyo130]

Specs > reviews

 

In the case of that reel with stripped gears, even if the review was legit, if it was purchased from a reputable manufacturer it likely has some type of warranty and you'll be fine. 

 

If you focus solely on reviews you'll wind up buying nothing but KastKing and Piscifun since they have the most reviews (I believe many of those "purchased") and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. I too place more stock on opinions shared here but at the end of the day what matters to me may not matter to others. 

 

An example is the Curado K which is touted as a reel superior to the "I" series by most, including many members here. Yet every time I take it apart for cleaning, the fact that the frame screws into the plastic sideplate instead of the sideplate screwing into the aluminum frame and the fact that it has a plastic levelwind tells me that it is an inferior reel to the "I". 

[Cranks4fun]

2 hours ago, garroyo130 said:

Specs > reviews

 

In the case of that reel with stripped gears, even if the review was legit, if it was purchased from a reputable manufacturer it likely has some type of warranty and you'll be fine. 

 

If you focus solely on reviews you'll wind up buying nothing but KastKing and Piscifun since they have the most reviews (I believe many of those "purchased") and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. I too place more stock on opinions shared here but at the end of the day what matters to me may not matter to others. 

 

An example is the Curado K which is touted as a reel superior to the "I" series by most, including many members here. Yet every time I take it apart for cleaning, the fact that the frame screws into the plastic sideplate instead of the sideplate screwing into the aluminum frame and the fact that it has a plastic levelwind tells me that it is an inferior reel to the "I". 

  Great observation. I have the Curado K and I still have one of my earlier model Curados. I like both of mine but I still prefer my Daiwa Tatulas. Your statement about the plastic vs the aluminum screw threads is an objective, measurable kind of truth that makes reviews helpful. You did not get emotional or irrational and say, "Curados are worthless junk!" Instead, you made a clear concise, statement of fact. That's the kind of thing we need in reviews. Even if the gears do strip, the guy should give us the conditions under which they failed. He should give us believable facts and then state why he thinks the reel is junk based on those honest facts. I think a picture of the two reels opened with stripped gears exposed would have been more effective if the claim were real.

[Cranks4fun]

3 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Not really, and here's one of the reasons. During the first year and a half that I got back into bass fishing I didn't go online to read anything or to shop. I had an "in" at a local retailer that allowed me to purchase and fish with several different brands of rods up to $220. As long as I applied a painter's tape gasket around the ends of the plastic wrap on the cork handles to keep them from getting stained I was allowed to "work them out" for a few days and return them if they were otherwise unscathed and the tags were carefully re-attached.

 

Long story short, I'm dumb, so I ended up liking and choosing several different models of 13 Fishing Omen Black 2s. I fished them in tough conditions and treated them poorly because of that. I was often sure they'd break when I'd be jacking a 5 pounder through 100' of dense lily pads, but nothing happened. Snagged roots and tree branches on the back cast, etc, nothing happened. None snapped. Didn't loose an insert. No loose handles. Nada.

 

It wasn't until I found fishing forums and learned that there was such a thing as Tackle Warehouse that I found out that I'd bought 8 junk rods that would snap if I looked at them crooked. Meanwhile, 5 years later I'm still fishing with them all without incident. I read similar nonsense about Quantum reels before I bought any and, for me, once again not a single problem out of the 6 I have. I must be the luckiest dumb guy ever.

 

I have a 13 Fishing Omen Black series III Spinning rod that received pretty good reviews. I love it for finesse fishing. It was on clearance at our Academy so the price was great too. If a product works well for you, ultimately that is all that really matters. I know guys that say horrible things about those Duckett ghosts (white ones) and other guys love them. To me, if a guy enjoys fishing with a rod or reel, that rod or reel has passed the ultimate test for that guy.

[jbsoonerfan]

I would NEVER base a buy something that I relied off a purchase review to help me make a decision. Any ol Jack Wad could make a review. I would do actual research and determine what would be best to purchase. I don't care if I'm buying a reel, rod, chainsaw, impact drill or tires for my truck. I would put ZERO stock in a purchase review. If you do, well, that's on you. With the internet and the abundant amount of resources, one should know better.

[Trox]

I always do, but I am always VERY skeptical when reading reviews on rods or reels, and NEVER rely on a single source. If I'm ever considering buying a new product, I will read reviews from, at the very least, 3 other websites. 

It's also worth noting that most people don't post reviews 3 months after a purchase to tell the world that the product works exactly as expected... Most of the time, they need a reason to come back. e.g. something went wrong, it was actually a bad product, or that they just absolutely loved the product.

 

Here is how I see it normally going...

 

Scenario: 100 people bought Rod X

- 80 people "like the rod"

- 15 people "love the rod"

- 5 people "hate the rod"

 

We will never hear from the 80 people who "like the rod" as there is really no motivating factor for them to come back and post something like "works as expected". We will hear from about 11 or so people who "love the rod" and want to support what they feel like is truly a superior product. And then we will likely hear from all 5 of those who "hate the rod"...

 

If it plays out like that, you have about 16 reviews with a little less than 1/3rd of them being negative. However all are considered, I typically don't start to worry until the negative reviews start to get higher than 1/3rd of total reviews. If that happens, I will definately look into it... Any negative reviews that are like "The picture is lime green, but it's actually dark green, and I hate dark green" get immediately dropped from the equation and do not count towardds that threshold...

 

One final thing to note about negative reviews is to understand what they are actually being negative about. Sometimes you can actually tell the angling experience of someone who posts a negative review based on what they see as important, deal breakers, etc... for example, they bought a deep cranking rod but are complaining about the handle length being too long, making it hard to work a jerkbait.... Those are typically dropped from the equation as well  

[Cranks4fun]

I believe you are right, TroxBox.

[KP Duty]

Yea, just read a head scratching review recently about a 13 fishing crankbait.  The guy said he purchased '30 of them' and every one of them swelled and came apart....in 72 degree weather.  He finished with "I'll stick with my spro rk55's".  He was the only negative review  Made me think it was a spro staffer.

[jbsoonerfan]

2 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

Yea, just read a head scratching review recently about a 13 fishing crankbait.  The guy said he purchased '30 of them' and every one of them swelled and came apart....in 72 degree weather.  He finished with "I'll stick with my spro rk55's".  His review was the only negative review.  Made me think it was a spro staffer.

And there is the other problem. I HIGHLY doubt this person was a Spro Pro Staffer. More than likely just an idiot. But you assume a Spro Pro Staffer. See how this works? Anyone can post anything on the internet and then people just jump to conclusions. 

[Glenn]

At BassResource, we believe everyone should be able to make purchasing decisions with confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or fishing product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the content we create are objective, independent, straightforward — and free.

 

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.

 

Be assured that we’re absolutely inflexible about our editorial autonomy. We never allow sponsors to influence the content we create, the reviews we give, or how we operate BassResource.

 

 

Our goal is to be your most trusted ally in your pursuit of bass fishing. BassResource only partners with trusted and credible organizations, manufacturers, and other service providers. Our readers and members know that if we recommend it, then it's passed the high bar we set, but only because we have tested and used the products/services first, before we put our name behind it. Only then will we recommend a product or service to you.

 

In some cases, BassResource's editorial team may rate or rank certain products or services. These ratings or rankings are determined solely by the editorial team(s) without regard to any financial or advertising relationship that may exist with companies that provide the product or services.  Our partners are informed of this policy and must agree to abide by it before doing business with us.

 

So while I can't comment on reviews you see elsewhere, the reviews you see here by myself and the staff are honest and straightforward based upon personal experience with the products.

 

Glenn

[Cranks4fun]

13 minutes ago, KP Duty said:

Yea, just read a head scratching review recently about a 13 fishing crankbait.  The guy said he purchased '30 of them' and every one of them swelled and came apart....in 72 degree weather.  He finished with "I'll stick with my spro rk55's".  He was the only negative review  Made me think it was a spro staffer.

It definitely sounds like he's creating his own reality. So all 30 of his failed and none of the other reviewers reported that issue. Those are the kind of statistical improbabilities I am talking about. Nah... I definitely wouldn't trust that guy's claim.

5 minutes ago, Glenn said:

At BassResource, we believe everyone should be able to make purchasing decisions with confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or fishing product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the content we create are objective, independent, straightforward — and free.

 

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.

 

Be assured that we’re absolutely inflexible about our editorial autonomy. We never allow sponsors to influence the content we create, the reviews we give, or how we operate BassResource.

 

 

Our goal is to be your most trusted ally in your pursuit of bass fishing. BassResource only partners with trusted and credible organizations, manufacturers, and other service providers. Our readers and members know that if we recommend it, then it's passed the high bar we set, but only because we have tested and used the products/services first, before we put our name behind it. Only then will we recommend a product or service to you.

 

In some cases, BassResource's editorial team may rate or rank certain products or services. These ratings or rankings are determined solely by the editorial team(s) without regard to any financial or advertising relationship that may exist with companies that provide the product or services.  Our partners are informed of this policy and must agree to abide by it before doing business with us.

 

So while I can't comment on reviews you see elsewhere, the reviews you see here by myself and the staff are honest and straightforward based upon personal experience with the products.

 

Glenn

Glen, I hope you don't think I was attacking the Bassresource site or its members. If it seemed that way, I apologize. When I said "Purchaser Reviews" I was referring to those reviews we find at store sites like Academy and Bass Pro. By the way, I was not attacking those sellers either. I shop and enjoy both stores and support them financially with purchases. I intended to make that clear but I might not have. Sorry if my post came across as an attack on Bassresource in any way.

[CrashVector]

Lol...that's why I invalidate reviews like that 

 

My Garcia Revos are a good example....people in reviews talking about stripped gears or cracked side plates. Like tf are you doing to your reels?  Mine have been flawless.

 

When I review items I buy on yt, I'm careful to give an HONEST review that includes how long and under what conditions I use it.  

 

I'm not there to hype anything, but I'm not there to crap on anything either unless it truly was a disaster....which nothing I bought has been as of yet.

 

The closest thing to negative I've reviewed was my Symetre combo...which I still use a lot.  The rods aren't sensitive, but they're not worthless for sure.

[Phil77]

4 hours ago, CrashVector said:

Lol...that's why I invalidate reviews like that 

 

My Garcia Revos are a good example....people in reviews talking about stripped gears or cracked side plates. Like tf are you doing to your reels?  Mine have been flawless.

 

When I review items I buy on yt, I'm careful to give an HONEST review that includes how long and under what conditions I use it.  

 

I'm not there to hype anything, but I'm not there to crap on anything either unless it truly was a disaster....which nothing I bought has been as of yet.

 

The closest thing to negative I've reviewed was my Symetre combo...which I still use a lot.  The rods aren't sensitive, but they're not worthless for sure.

I remember seeing reviews about all Abu reels on a certain website complaining about the side plates flying off during the cast. It has happened to me once on a different make and it was completely my fault. I was on top of a school and in a hurry, luckily I was in a yak and the side plate landed in between my legs. I knew immediately it was my actions and no fault of the manufacturer. After seeing multiple reviews blaming Abu for poor design i chalked it up to BS or a dude who got in a hurry and deflected the blame. I don't put to much faith in reviews.

[Spankey]

I’ve read plenty of negative Abu Garcia reviews about Veritas Winch casting rods and the Veritas rod line as well as the REVO reels.  
 

Well I’m sure glad I didn’t accept what I’d read about them. The reviews did not smell right to me and had to take my chance on the CB rods. Glad I did, I fish a couple of them now and am more than satisfied with them. I have no complaints with a REVO Winch and REVO SX reel. 
 

I rather follow the middle ground of reviews if I’m looking for one. Tossing the 5’s and 1’s. 

[CrashVector]

4 hours ago, Phil77 said:

I remember seeing reviews about all Abu reels on a certain website complaining about the side plates flying off during the cast. It has happened to me once on a different make and it was completely my fault. I was on top of a school and in a hurry, luckily I was in a yak and the side plate landed in between my legs. I knew immediately it was my actions and no fault of the manufacturer. After seeing multiple reviews blaming Abu for poor design i chalked it up to BS or a dude who got in a hurry and deflected the blame. I don't put to much faith in reviews.

 

I have yet to have one of my side plates to just fall off.

 

Hell, I have to work at it to get them to come off to clean the thing.