Piscifun reels?

[Tatulatard]

Anyone have experience with their reels?  I ordered the carbon xcs and their alloy m reel reel for two hank parker lews rods.  I saw a reel test review for the carbon xcs and he praised it but now i think he must be sponsored by piscifun or something because what I got while adequate is not living up to the hype yet. 

 

Curious to see if these reels are as good a cheap reel as the lews hp rods are cheap rods.  I got the carbon xcs in yesterday.  It's a small 5.5 oz alphas 800 sized carbon plastic reel with a dual brake,10 gram spool and carbon fiber handle. 

 

My impressions of it so far are that its ok and has some potential.

 

Pros: light weight and small.  Dual brake with a light weight spool and strongish magnets.  I was able to skip a senko with it pretty easily with brakes all on maximum and the spool tension set to remove slop.  I even made some really bad skips with and was expecting a spool blow up but it didn't punish me too bad.  Price is ok for $60.

 

Cons: very cheaply built.  Centrifugal brake aluminum cover is riveted on.  The aluminum has been pressed around 4 plastic tabs on the brake assembly to secure it in place.  Its why the brake plate on the spool appears dented.   There is no way that is serviceable.  The centrifugal brakes can't be replaced once they wear out.  The magnets don't wear out and can be used as a stand alone braking system so it has that going for it.  The clutch, kicker arm and pin on the kicker are all plastic.  The frame is carbon plastic and flexes.  The worse is that the screws are threaded into the plastic without metal thread inserts.  Regular disassembly and service runs the real risk of stripping the screws.  The thing is a time bomb.  

 

Still, it seems to cast real good from the bit of testing I have done.  It's going on a lews hank parker medium rod for some jerkbait and weightless plastics fishing.  The alloy m is going on an older silver version lews hank parker mh to skip jigs.  Both reels will be trying out the new basix flouro line next fishing season.

 

 

 

 

[newapti5]

 As long as you don't use it for any heavy duty stuff, I think it will be fine. My Piscifun experience was about 6 years ago, and it ended with a broken reel foot under normal usage. They (well actually Amazon) refunded me quickly though. Back then, they were just starting to gain recognition, and the product quality should have been improved since then.

[Blaine Donders]

Their plastic reels are typical for that price range.

The Alloy M and the Alijos are a whole different thing, and very competitive.

[Tatulatard]

9 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

 As long as you don't use it for any heavy duty stuff, I think it will be fine. My Piscifun experience was about 6 years ago, and it ended with a broken reel foot under normal usage. They (well actually Amazon) refunded me quickly though. Back then, they were just starting to gain recognition, and the product quality should have been improved since then.

I wish this reel had some more metal components even at an increase in weight.  I'd take a 6.5 oz dual brake 10 gram spool carbon plastic reel with a metal clutch and machine threaded metal insert pressed into the frame for $60 as a cheap reel.  The alloy m comes in at $67 on the chinease site.  These look promising but are magnet only.  

[scaleface]

I have three Phantoms and 1 Phantom x . The Phantoms have been top notch . One is going on five years and has caught a thousand or two bass . Its feeling a little geary with all that use but all my reels have done that after heavy use . Cast great . I highly recommend the Phantom , dont know about the others .  

[Tatulatard]

4 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I have three Phantoms and 1 Phantom x . The Phantoms have been top notch . One is going on five years and has caught a thousand or two bass . Its feeling a little geary with all that use but all my reels have done that after heavy use . Cast great . I highly recommend the Phantom , dont know about the others .  

That's some use.  How has the serviceability been?  Have the centrifugal brakes worn?  Are the screws threads metal?  

[scaleface]

12 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

That's some use.  How has the serviceability been?  Have the centrifugal brakes worn?  Are the screws threads metal?  

Good

no

yes

[MAN]

Mine didn't last that long...about 9 months on a slow year if I remember correctly.  They are cheap disposable reels with some good Kastking-influenced marketing.   Try one...you may get lucky like scaleface.    

[A kid from Canada]

I've got 2 seasons on my Alloy M, casting distance is impressive, brakes control the spool well as I rarely backlash it. It feels very solid but not very smooth which I don't mind for the price. It's just a beater reel for taking camping/quadding, I've got a few Tatulas, Alphas SV, and Zillion SV for everything else.

[Eric 26]

I have 3 Carbon X spinning reels that get used quite often. I have a Saex Elite casting reel which is a dual braked/different colored Ardent Apex Elite still available on overseas sites, I got mine when they were blowing them out and no longer selling them direct. And I have a Spark I paid around $35.00 for shipped to my door. The Spark won’t hold any adjustments longer than a dozen casts and wasn’t used much and will no longer be used. The Saex has honestly been an extremely enjoyable reel that I feel would benefit from a deep cleaning/service and the Carbon X reels have been used every time I fish. With that said I’m not targeting 5 lb plus bass but I’ve enjoyed them enough to recommend them several times on here. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on the Alloy M as I’m looking at one for a specific rod and I’m thinking it will be similar to my Daiwa CA80 that I’m a fan of.

[Tatulatard]

On 12/13/2022 at 1:48 PM, Eric 26 said:

I have 3 Carbon X spinning reels that get used quite often. I have a Saex Elite casting reel which is a dual braked/different colored Ardent Apex Elite still available on overseas sites, I got mine when they were blowing them out and no longer selling them direct. And I have a Spark I paid around $35.00 for shipped to my door. The Spark won’t hold any adjustments longer than a dozen casts and wasn’t used much and will no longer be used. The Saex has honestly been an extremely enjoyable reel that I feel would benefit from a deep cleaning/service and the Carbon X reels have been used every time I fish. With that said I’m not targeting 5 lb plus bass but I’ve enjoyed them enough to recommend them several times on here. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on the Alloy M as I’m looking at one for a specific rod and I’m thinking it will be similar to my Daiwa CA80 that I’m a fan of.

My alloy m is going to be a jig skipping reel.  I saw that reel test guy that stands on the bank and bombs baits to see how far they go as a "review" skip with it with no spool tension. He was throwing an easy to skip bait but if that dufus can skip then it must be capable.  He was struggling to skip with the lews skipping reel for reference. He's just not a good skipper.  

 

The issue with the alloy m is the price.  It's under $70 overseas but the us Amazon sellers all want $90 for it which puts it against the lews lfs at $100 which is a very similar reel from a better company but with a heavier spool. 

[Maxximus Redneckus]

You can get revo x with a metal frame for 70$ new sometimes 80$ reg ..and parts and ease of fixing up are a major...id lean that way IMO

[Tatulatard]

2 hours ago, Stale KracKer said:

You can get revo x with a metal frame for 70$ new sometimes 80$ reg ..and parts and ease of fixing up are a major...id lean that way IMO

I was seeing those today in the $80 range.  There are cheap shallow light weight spools for the black max that fit these for skipping. 

[Maxximus Redneckus]

21 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

I was seeing those today in the $80 range.  There are cheap shallow light weight spools for the black max that fit these for skipping. 

Yup on the Amazon. I cant find them again if u find them let me know thks

[ska4fun]

19 hours ago, Tatulatard said:

Anyone have experience with their reels?  I ordered the carbon xcs and their alloy m reel reel for two hank parker lews rods.  I saw a reel test review for the carbon xcs and he praised it but now i think he must be sponsored by piscifun or something because what I got while adequate is not living up to the hype yet. 

 

Curious to see if these reels are as good a cheap reel as the lews hp rods are cheap rods.  I got the carbon xcs in yesterday.  It's a small 5.5 oz alphas 800 sized carbon plastic reel with a dual brake,10 gram spool and carbon fiber handle. 

 

My impressions of it so far are that its ok and has some potential.

 

Pros: light weight and small.  Dual brake with a light weight spool and strongish magnets.  I was able to skip a senko with it pretty easily with brakes all on maximum and the spool tension set to remove slop.  I even made some really bad skips with and was expecting a spool blow up but it didn't punish me too bad.  Price is ok for $60.

 

Cons: very cheaply built.  Centrifugal brake aluminum cover is riveted on.  The aluminum has been pressed around 4 plastic tabs on the brake assembly to secure it in place.  Its why the brake plate on the spool appears dented.   There is no way that is serviceable.  The centrifugal brakes can't be replaced once they wear out.  The magnets don't wear out and can be used as a stand alone braking system so it has that going for it.  The clutch, kicker arm and pin on the kicker are all plastic.  The frame is carbon plastic and flexes.  The worse is that the screws are threaded into the plastic without metal thread inserts.  Regular disassembly and service runs the real risk of stripping the screws.  The thing is a time bomb.  

 

Still, it seems to cast real good from the bit of testing I have done.  It's going on a lews hank parker medium rod for some jerkbait and weightless plastics fishing.  The alloy m is going on an older silver version lews hank parker mh to skip jigs.  Both reels will be trying out the new basix flouro line next fishing season.

 

 

 

 

It has affordable and very good for the price reels. Piscifun gained momentum with the cheap but astonishingly decent Phantom and Torrent reels.

 

And now, the Carbon XCS, wich I used some two weeks ago, have an absurd quality for the price. And casts like hell.

[Tatulatard]

2 hours ago, ska4fun said:

It has affordable and very good for the price reels. Piscifun gained momentum with the cheap but astonishingly decent Phantom and Torrent reels.

 

And now, the Carbon XCS, wich I used some two weeks ago, have an absurd quality for the price. And casts like hell.

The performance certainly is legit.  Tiny compact reel with a dual brake and a light weight spool.  I have don't very limited test casting and skipping with the reel over some water that hasn't frozen yet but it was in 23 mph winds.  Seems pretty good although no combination of brakes were able to match my daiwas casting into that wind but that is kind of unreasonable.  My only issue is the quality.  Compare the reel to their phantom which has a metal (although stamped) clutch and kicker, metal thread inserts in the frame for the screws.  It looks like it also gets a dual clutch spring too.  The carbon xcs gets none of those but is an otherwise good little reel.  Did they do it to shave a few grams?  I don't understand.  How are wood screws threading into plastic to hold the side plate on ok?  

[ska4fun]

9 hours ago, Tatulatard said:

The performance certainly is legit.  Tiny compact reel with a dual brake and a light weight spool.  I have don't very limited test casting ans skipping with the reel over some water that hasn't frozen yet but it was in 23 mph winds.  Seems pretty good although no combination of brakes were able to match my daiwas casting into that wind but that is kind of unreasonable.  My only issue is the quality.  Compare the reel to their phantom which has a metal (although stamped) clutch and kicker, metal thread inserts in the frame for the screws.  It looks like it also gets a dual clutch spring too.  The carbon xcs gets none of those but is an otherwise good little reel.  Did they do it to shave a few grams?  I don't understand.  How are wood screws threading into plastic to hold the side plate on ok?  

I didn't opeded it, but agree. Screws direct in the frame are a serious issue, since the threads will get loose after some few maintenances. A dual spring clutch is always welcome, yet, the quality of the springs is way more important than them double. See the problematic Curado K.

[Tatulatard]

Got the alloy m reel.  It seems like an ok reel.  I'll have to see how it casts but looks like a pretty basic aluminum frame reel with regular magnet brake.  Reminds of a lews lfs with a lighter spool. I hope that lighter weight spool helps in skipping.  Magnets seem a tad weak.  I get about 3/4 of a second of free spool at maximum magnetic braking with an empty spool which has me a bit concerned about skipping ability.  

 

Compared to the carbon xcs the spool is the same size as the carbon's but with a heavier stainless shaft, no centrifugal brake, the handle is much longer, the magnets seems individually weaker but there are more of them and the clutch and kicker are metal vs the plastic of the carbon xcs.  Overall the alloy m feels like a heaver application reel over the carbon xcs which seems more finesse orientated to me.  

 

Both reels were geary out of the box and absent of any grease on the gears.  A dab of cal's fixed that.

 

Size wise the carbon xcs has the same spool size but is a bit shorter and both side plate sit closer to the frame to make a more narrow palming reel than the alloy m.   This is especially noticeable if you palm the reel and reach your thumb across the frame and put it on the handle side plate in a jigging grip.  If not they feel about the same.

 

Paint finish on my alloy m is really bad.  There are lots of runs and low spots in the paint that are highlighted by the silver finish.  The carbon xcs is a a little better but not as noticeable because of the matte black finish.  

 

For $89 get a lews lfs if you want a regular magnetic reel. Get a dual brake, centrifugal or magz fuego ct.  They go for $67 on the chinease site and for that price they are okay.  $59 like the carbon xcs would be better since you are getting a worse braking system but in a more robust reel.

 

I'll report back after some use next year.  The alloy m is going to see all power fishing throwing jigs and frogs and the carbon xcs is going to be used for weightless plastics, light Texas rigs and some lighter topwater.  

 

I'll add pics of the reels with side plate and main gear removed tonight.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

Based on your review, that would be a definite "pass".

[Tatulatard]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

Hmm...

Based on your review, that would be a definite "pass".

Maybe it will impress me on the water.  I really don't understand the hype behind the reel I read in yt comments and amazon reviews.  They are genuine comments but it seems like they are just regurgitating piscifun generated hype.  I think some it comes from YouTubers that are reviewing the reels without announcing a sponsorship giving the impression that that hype is genuine and not paid for and the people consuming the content blindly repeat it.  The use of INSANE in both the official piscifun and "the reel test" leads me to belive that there is some promotion happening here.  

[newapti5]

Social media promoting and marketing is the new norm in China market now. People in China, especially young people, don't buy much stuff from brick-and-mortar stores or Internet stores anymore; the new major shopping method for them is the "live streaming sales."  It's sort of like QVC channel, but with celebrity hosts, Internet live streaming only, and limited time window. The sales they make within a couple of hours of live streaming is stunning to say the least. 

[Tatulatard]

Pics of the guts.  You can see the alloy m's use of metal extends to the clutch and kicker where as it is some sort of plastic on the carbon xcs. Also gets dual clutch springs.  The little carbon xcs is growing on me despite the issue. Its cheap enough to be considered disposable.  Like a throwaway steez ct. 

[PressuredFishing]

It's copycat cdm stuff similar to kastking, it is comparable to doyo and banax factory reels, personally I've just gone fully cdm because you can find an identical model out of the same factory under a different name from half off. I also think piscifuns marketing is more trashy than yaliyabba, so that says something. Customer service is garbage compared to KK, KK will make it right, even if their product isn't a Shimano they have a better warranty than a 900$ g Loomis fly rod, and will outright ship an entirely new reel to your door shipping included, and send gifts, or upgrade your broken reel. 

 

To dumb my rambling down, I'd rather go KK or pure cdm of any brand, Seaknight is good,  tsurinoya are top of the line quality for cdm, sougayilang was bad but new rods are very good. And anything in between can be gem or trash. Bearking is another excellent brand I have tried, they are made in the same company as ifishband, which seems to be discontinued. You can also buy the new ifishband bfs reel from bearking with their logo (same specs)

 

If you don't want to order off of yaliyabba and the 50 hacker thrives BFE upcharges slightly but is a secure payment method with FAST shipping

[ska4fun]

On 12/16/2022 at 3:41 AM, PressuredFishing said:

It's copycat cdm stuff similar to kastking, it is comparable to doyo and banax factory reels, personally I've just gone fully cdm because you can find an identical model out of the same factory under a different name from half off. I also think piscifuns marketing is more trashy than yaliyabba, so that says something. Customer service is garbage compared to KK, KK will make it right, even if their product isn't a Shimano they have a better warranty than a 900$ g Loomis fly rod, and will outright ship an entirely new reel to your door shipping included, and send gifts, or upgrade your broken reel. 

 

To dumb my rambling down, I'd rather go KK or pure cdm of any brand, Seaknight is good,  tsurinoya are top of the line quality for cdm, sougayilang was bad but new rods are very good. And anything in between can be gem or trash. Bearking is another excellent brand I have tried, they are made in the same company as ifishband, which seems to be discontinued. You can also buy the new ifishband bfs reel from bearking with their logo (same specs)

 

If you don't want to order off of yaliyabba and the 50 hacker thrives BFE upcharges slightly but is a secure payment method with FAST shipping

Not copy cat per se, just brought from the same source, Banax.

 

Piscifun and Kastking have each one their own issues. KK released the Centron Lite BFS rod without doing any test in the model. The sop section is grossly loosely connected to the other one. This is GROSS!

On 12/15/2022 at 2:26 PM, Tatulatard said:

Maybe it will impress me on the water.  I really don't understand the hype behind the reel I read in yt comments and amazon reviews.  They are genuine comments but it seems like they are just regurgitating piscifun generated hype.  I think some it comes from YouTubers that are reviewing the reels without announcing a sponsorship giving the impression that that hype is genuine and not paid for and the people consuming the content blindly repeat it.  The use of INSANE in both the official piscifun and "the reel test" leads me to belive that there is some promotion happening here.  

The situation is explainded by delivering reasonable performance at a very low price. Just it.

 

PS: Doyo uses a plastic cluch system too.

[PressuredFishing]

1 hour ago, ska4fun said:

Piscifun and Kastking have eachone their own issues. KK released the Centron Lite BFS rod without doing any test in the model. The sop section is grossly loosely connected to the other one. This is GROSS!

Yeah absolutely, I got the Krestel elite and it's overbreaked badly and has tight but inconsistent spool tolerances depending on how you put the spool in.