Brand loyal with reels?

[JMac603]

Unfortunately I'm mental and CAN'T not use the same reels, rods, and line. It's a burden but it gives me agita if I bring different branded stuff out. 

[T2DM]

1 hour ago, webertime said:

Buy from the folks that make their own stuff.  In this case Shimano and Daiwa for me.

 

Exactly!!!

 

Look at their entire fishing tackle catalogue, it's pretty impressive!

[dodgeguy]

1 hour ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I’m not brand loyal.  I am loyal to the history and traditions of fishing.  What does that have to do with fishing reels?  I buy products from companies that have played a part in that history and tradition.  The Chinese are very good at copying products designed by others.   I’m sure I could catch just as many fish with a Chinese copy.  I want to reward those who got us where we are and are working to move us forward.  Shimano and Diawa are such companies.   There are others.  Most of the brands out there are just names slapped on reels designed and manufactured by others.   Some were once great companies that were sold to companies that are only interested in the brand.   There are many I’m not sure about.  I had great respect for Lew Childre. After his death his company was sold and soon after that the Lews brand was retired.  Then someone bought the brand and claims to honor the tradition.  I’m not sure what to make of Lews and won’t be buying any Lews branded reels anytime soon.

https://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/lew-childre-bass-tackle-pioneer

 

As far as I know Lew's never manufactured their own reels. They are made in Korea by Doyo not in China. 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

1 minute ago, dodgeguy said:

https://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/lew-childre-bass-tackle-pioneer

 

As far as I know Lew's never manufactured their own reels. They are made in Korea by Doyo not in China. 

 

I agree but there is no doubt that Lew Childre designed his products and some of his designs were revolutionary.   With today’s Lews branded products,  how much design is done by Lews and how much by Dojo?  I have no idea.

[bulldog1935]

The list of suppliers for Daiwa and Shimano is endless, and includes Doyo for Both. 

Here's Daiwa

Noteworthy, some of Daiwa's reels are built by Tica. 

Back to my first post, brand loyalty can be based on familiarity of function, but shouldn't be based on delusion. 

 

What Lew did was separate the LW from Freespool, and made the first reel that cast like the NLW reels of the ninteen teens and '20s since the 1918 Douglas patent, which Pflueger abandoned in 1928. 

First built by Shimano, who copied Lew's design and ended their business relationship. 

[NYWayfarer]

I have reels from all major companies. The brands I have had the fewest issues with are Lew’s, Shimano and Abu Garcia. My favorite reels both spinning and casting come from those brands.

[dodgeguy]

52 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I agree but there is no doubt that Lew Childre designed his products and some of his designs were revolutionary.   With today’s Lews branded products,  how much design is done by Lews and how much by Dojo?  I have no idea.

Doesn't really matter to me as long as they perform and have features I like.

[Cbump]

I’ve never had problems out of any reels. Except old school Round Abus that I fished hard for years. And those were easily fixed. They’re all pretty good these days. 

[T-Billy]

6 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I own Lew’s, Shimano, Daiwa, Kastking, and Abu Garcia across 7 reels. Can’t say my experiences with all of them would cause me to be brand loyal. 

I own the same brands. I don't even know how many at this point. More Lew's than any, but happy with them all. They all have their own place in th lineup.

[dodgeguy]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

The list of suppliers for Daiwa and Shimano is endless, and includes Doyo for Both. 

Here's Daiwa

Noteworthy, some of Daiwa's reels are built by Tica. 

Back to my first post, brand loyalty can be based on familiarity of function, but shouldn't be based on delusion. 

 

What Lew did was separate the LW from Freespool, and made the first reel that cast like the NLW reels of the ninteen teens and '20s since the 1918 Douglas patent, which Pflueger abandoned in 1928. 

First built by Shimano, who copied Lew's design and ended their business relationship. 

This is funny because of all the guys who knock Doyo but their reels may have Doyo parts in them. LOL !!!! With the way things have gotten so global you never know.It happens in automotive also. I love when BMW drivers knock Chrysler 8 speed transmissions but drive cars with the same unit in them and don't know how foolish they sound.

[Woody B]

I've got 3 Shimano's, 2 Diawa's, a Lew's and a 40+ year old Garcia Ambassador 5500C.  I use 4 rods which usually are equipped with 2 of the Shimano's and the 2 Diawa's.   I use the 5500C for deep cranks.  I put it on my MH rod when needed.   The Lew's and the other Shimano stay in the boat with my tackle.  If I have a line problem, bad backlash ect I'll put one of them on.   

 

I suppose there's no brand loyalty with me.  

[gim]

Pretty much all Shimano reels, both bait casting and spinning.  I do have a daiwa and an abu Garcia too.  I bought a Shimano SLX in March and its a fantastic reel for the price I paid.

[PhishLI]

I stick with Daiwa spinners, but for bait casters:

Multiple Daiwas

Multiple Quantums

Multiple Lew's

Multiple Shimanos

I'll have an Okuma Hakai and a Savage Gear SG6 soon.

 

If I keep a reel there's probably something about it that I find to be very good. Some are special, IMO. If you bumped into me at the lake while I'm carrying my usual 6 rods, you'd see a mix of the above mentioned brands. 

[RB 77]

Yup. Shimano only. Curdados, Calcuttas, Tranx and Stradics. If it wasn't Shimano, it would be all Daiwa. I just prefer the form factor better on Shimano low pro baitcasters. My saltwater conventional reels are all Penn. 

[NavyToad]

I have older reels from a variety of manufacturers, but my last 8 or 10 purchases have all been Lews or Daiwa. They work just fine and that’s all I’m interested in.

[Columbia Craw]

No.  I have a brand or manufacturer preference because of a specific design feature I find very effective.  I will not however box myself in to a single product line if I find another product superior or just different and enjoyable to use. 

[Mojo Bass]

Only own Abu rods and reels but I’ve owned shimano reels and st croix rods but have since sold them and am now exclusively Abu ??‍♂️

[new2BC4bass]

2 hours ago, PhishLI said:

I stick with Daiwa spinners, but for bait casters:

Multiple Daiwas

Multiple Quantums

Multiple Lew's

Multiple Shimanos

I'll have an Okuma Hakai and a Savage Gear SG6 soon.

 

If I keep a reel there's probably something about it that I find to be very good. Some are special, IMO. If you bumped into me at the lake while I'm carrying my usual 6 rods, you'd see a mix of the above mentioned brands. 

I'm also partial to Daiwa spinners (although I very seldom fish a spinner), and suppose it could be said that I am also biased a bit towards Daiwa baitcasters since I own more of that brand than any other.  But....I own and enjoy using 10 brands in total.  I own a few Quantums that I probably wouldn't own thanks to this gentleman's opinions on them.

 

The Okuma Hakai is a reel I am very interested in.  Love my Helios Airs.

 

One of the reels I love to use will be found in very few of the guys and gals arsenals on here (or anywhere).  The Pinnacle Primmus HS Xi was a love at first use.  It is the only reel I've taken to Florida (on vacations) that didn't need adjusting because of my having to change my casting stroke there.  This includes such reels as the Curado 201E7 and Daiwa Alphas.  (I'm a fan of both.)  My older Patriarch XT also did quite well with next to no changes.  It is another reel not often mentioned, but (for me) has been an excellent reel.

 

So not really loyal to just one brand.

[dodgeguy]

The Patriarchs were nice. Why Pflueger has stopped making baitcasters is beyond me. Pure fishing destroyed that brand.

[ike8120]

I am brand loyal to Kastking, have never had any issues with any of the 20plus reels I have.

 

[GRiver]

I’m not sure who makes what for who, so it’s hard to be “brand loyal”. I do know what ever reel manufacture have different standards for different “private labeling”, and the price reflects that standard too. I like Bass Pro, but the have different suppliers for different reels from year to year. I have a few different brands and I like them all.

I’m currently looking at some BFS rigs for a travel setup…. I thinking Kastking not sure yet.

[ska4fun]

Quite not. But I'm fond of Daiwa and Doyo reels. And have a special hate for Shimano newer gear.

[dodgeguy]

27 minutes ago, ska4fun said:

Quite not. But I'm fond of Daiwa and Doyo reels. And have a special hate for Shimano newer gear.

Why Shimano hate ? Bad experience ?

[soflabasser]

Penn and Shimano makes my favorite reels since they have proven themselves to be reliable reels for me. These reels have all the advertising they need from happy customers, unlike other companies that need to overhype their reels with ''pro staff'', and other people paid to sell the hype.

[FishTank]

I have reels from Shimano, Daiwa, Abu Garcia, Lew's (1), and Quantum.  I work on my own reels and a handful for few guys I know. Based on the 12+ years of working on them, I have my personal preferences. Each manufacture has had some QC issues or they have produced an all around bad reel. They have also produced some fun and functional reels to fish.  I think when you take apart a reel and put in back together it gives you a different perspective on what each brand brand is capable of.