Are more ball bearings better?

[Glenn]

Here's my take.  What yours?

 

 

[Log Catcher]

I will put my Curado B and Citica D reels up against any of them for smoothness.

[BrianMDTX]

Hey! It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads, and I'm gonna need 'bout ten quarts of anti-freeze, preferably Prestone. No, no make that Quaker State.

[newapti5]

Within a certain brand, the more bearings usually is better.  Comparing reels across different brands, I wouldn't use the criterion of bearing numbers; there're many other factors to consider.  I would rather use MSRP.

[jbrew73]

The number of ball bearings is a poor indication of a reels quality or performance.

[JustJames]

The more bearing always better as long as they are good quality and where they are needed. The extras are called luxurious to add smoothness and fluid feel. The question is, would I consider bearing count before brand, size and comfort? Of course not, but I will not buy a reel with one or two bearings.

[FishTank]

I think bearings can have an effect on the quality of the reel but the quality of the bearings is primary.  So for an extreme comparison.... a Shimano Antares with 11 bearings compared to a "Brand X" reel with same amount of bearings that costs around $120 or less, the 11 bearings won't make the Brand X reel as smooth, it won't make it cast as far and it will not make fighting the fish any better or easier. The components of the reel need to be machined and made well too. 

 

For another comparison (I am going to do a background story on this reel later), I lost a Shimano Core 101MG over the side of the boat when we hit a large wake, this is its replacement and it's unique in and of itself. It will cast as far as any reel I have, it's super smooth, and can bring in some big fish with only five bearings. It also has been fished for 15 years in Texas up until I got it off EBay. 

 

 

[GreenPig]

Sometimes. I like to spin my knobs while I'm dead sticking baits.

[Bankbeater]

I worry about the reviews and the quality of the entire reel. 

[Jigfishn10]

12 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

Hey! It's all ball bearings nowadays. Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads, and I'm gonna need 'bout ten quarts of anti-freeze, preferably Prestone. No, no make that Quaker State.

You gotta be a true Fletch fan to be able to recite that scene...or at least a good cut & paste artist.

[BrianMDTX]

1 hour ago, Jigfishn10 said:

You gotta be a true Fletch fan to be able to recite that scene...or at least a good cut & paste artist.

I’ve been in aviation maintenance since 1978. Fletch came out in ‘85. I think every aviation maintenance technician active at that time had that quote memorized verbatim. 
 

And if you appeared to be some jackleg “know-it-all” wrench turner, guess what your new nickname was? ?

 

The “Fetzer valve” was the real kicker. That’s actually in a Fender amp lol. 

 

[Yuddzy]

The Daiwa Regal 1500XI I have (lower quality, Chinese made to my knowledge) tips the scale at 10 ball bearings. It's a very good reel for what it is, but there's far better reels with about half as many bearings from what I know. 

[Columbia Craw]

My old BB1N reels had THREE ball bearings and they were and are sweet. 

[bulldog1935]

I fished through a handle (sans BB) and two anti-reverse dogs on my first Lew's BB-1.  Luckily, Roys in Corpus bought up the parts inventory after Zebco stopped supporting the reels. 

My first Lew's Super Duty is almost as night-and-day better and more versatile over the BB-1 (even BB-25) as the BB-1 was over Ambassadeur, and definitely built to fish longer and harder. 

Fond memories are great, but it was an easy choice to retire my last BB-25SW.