What makes a person…

[optimator]

43 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

The problem is that these cheaper brands are well known by those who buy them.  They are all over YouTube sponsoring fishing channels and reviews of their product.  Its very easy to come across these brands watching YouTube and the often undisclosed sponsorship is expressed as high praise by those touting the product.  Combine this with the light weight, high drag numbers and bearing count and the viewer can get sucked into believing they have discovered some hidden gem of a brand or product and that they savvy buyers. 

 

"Why get an old fuego ct when I can get an piscifun amoy m that is lighter with more drag for the same price?"  Not realizing that the alloy m isn't a proven platform like the fuego ct or talking braking system or what will happen when they need parts into consideration.  Interestingly piscifun has a strong YouTube based following and the two reels I have are merely adequate for the price but my actual hidden gem cheap reel, the johncoo ares, has zero presence outside of european pike fishing circles and aliexpress reviews.

 

That's why I don't believe 99% of the "YouTube Experts". They say how great this stuff is because they get it for free. 

[Tatulatard]

7 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

I think the question I'm now asking is is a CC80 and Abu Black Max really better than the $60 Piscifun? I don't have direct experience with either so I'm genuinely curious to hear from anyone who does and not just someone who says "Duh Abu and Daiwa are better".  

I would put all 3 in the same group if we are talking about the piscifun carbon XCS.  I would put the CC80 and black max 3 as dumb but reliable reels.  They are simple, plastic linear mag brake reels that are solid for what they are and have a proven track record.  The carbon xcs is much lighter, has a lighter weight dual brake spool that far surpasses the other two with light weight baits and casting performance but has worse construction and build quality.  Its the advanced but poorly made reel.  The carbon xcs has some highly questionable construction like self tapping screws into a plastic frame and a plastic clutch return mechanism. I like the way the reel palms and casts for $60 but its time bomb.  Pictured is the carbon xcs and alloy m insides.

Here is a black max 3 for comparison.

[Bankc]

On 6/19/2023 at 11:43 AM, Cbump said:

I asked this in a thread once and don’t believe anyone answered. I’m genuinely curious though. 
 

When you can get great budget reels from known companies (Revo X/Black Max/Silver Max, Fuego/CC80, SLX, Lews LFS) all of which can be had for under $100 especially gently used, what makes a person purchase reels like piscifun? 

More reel for the same money.  Often made in the same factory to the same specs, you just aren't paying for the name brand.  

 

Have you tried a Piscifun reel?  I haven't.  But I've got one of their tackle bags and it's great!  Forget "for the money".  It's just a really nice tackle bag.  I've got a friend who swears by his Kastking reels.  And I've got a Kastking rod that's much better than anything I've fished in that price range in a name brand rod.  Not that a Berkley Lightning Stick won't still catch plenty of bass, because believe me, it will!  But that Kastking Perigree II is the same price and fishes about two full classes above the Berkley.  

[scaleface]

I paid 40 dollars for Piscifun Phantoms and they have been solid performers . I now have five. I probably caught over a thousand bass with the first one purchased . There is a video on Youtube where a reel technician breaks down a Revo and  a Phantom and compares the two .  Its interesting. 

[GreenPig]

4 hours ago, Cbump said:

That’s the point of this thread. I feel like people don’t know you can get a Lews classic combo for about $60 and that is a pretty solid Rod/reel. Same with berkley lightning Rod or cherrywood and an Abu silver or black max. 
 

Sorry I just couldn’t see myself buying a brand online I’ve never heard of over an established brand you can go get at Walmart right now for the same money. 
 

I agree with the guy that says It’s Amazon marketing. 

My favorite pic of my Cherrywood 5'6" med.

[hunterPRO1]

On 6/19/2023 at 1:01 PM, Lmbasshunter said:

I’ve been impressed with the black max for $49. I broke my cranking reel and needed a reel fast so hit walmart and they had a bunch. I haven’t even replaced it with something better. Granted I only crank early in the season for maybe two months due to the excessive weed growth around here it’s held up well with 12lb mono. I’ll use it until it dies 

You're going to be using it for a while then

I've used one on my main frog/flip setup with braid for the last 8 years and it's still going.

I've broken 3 rods with that reel.

[WRB]

Piscifun reels look good to the entry level or casual angler and internet reviews are supportive. Without real world experience the novice buyer is trying to get a good deal within a budget. Entry level anglers are not thinking about future resale and replacement parts let alone maintenance.

Tom

[Jar11591]

6 or 7 years ago I was looking for a dedicated spinnerbait reel and was having trouble finding one in the right price range with exact specs I wanted, until I came across the Kastking White Max. At first I was really hesitant because of how unproven Kastking was but finally made the decision to give it a shot. 6-7 years later, it’s still slinging spinnerbaits a mile for me and functioning perfect. I would put this reel in the “workhorse” category. Has more catches than probably any other reel I own over the last several years. So now when I’m looking for a reel with certain specs and price and Kastking is an option, they’re in consideration.  

[Tatulatard]

As a connoisseur of cheap reels I am very familiar with how the plastic ones feel winding under load.  The thought of throwing spinnerbaits with a whitemax is unsettling.  It's unpleasant to think about.  I'm amazed one person can find it completely normal and to another its like scratching nails on a chalkboard.  The duality of anglers.

To add to this i think higher end reels made me into a snob over time.  I have owned many plastic reels from quantum, pinnacle and bass pro when I was younger and newer to the sport.  Didn't think they were bad at the time.  Seemed normal. 

[Dye99]

Alcohol or a lack of knowledge.

[optimator]

1 hour ago, Dye99 said:

Alcohol or a lack of knowledge.

Ha. Back in my drinking days I’d get random calls from my FFL buddy “hey your guns are in”. ?

[scaleface]

 

[Tatulatard]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

 

This is EXACTLY the type of misleading infomercial masquerading as a "review" that makes these reels popular.  I own piscifun reels and I know what they are and can even recommend them at times but this is clearly a misleading infomercial.  I can't even get past a few min in before rage quitting the video.  The statement that piscifun plastic is "carbon fiber" and not actually plastic but abu plastic is just plastic is nonsense.  This followed a comment about how "the 1st thing you notice is how light the reel is" as if reading a from a teleprompter.  The Abu has the same plastic side plates as the entire reel of the phantom but has an aluminum frame.  Of course it's heavier.  100% sponsored and scripted fake "review".  These videos are EVERYWHERE for this brand and others like them and is the answer to the OP. I say this as someone who LIKES the phantom because it offers a dual brake with a real centrifugal brake and lighter weight spool at an affordable cost.  You just have to know you are getting a cheap plastic reel and be willing to tolerate that.  The misleading info in that video that paints the reel as something other than what it is angers me.  Just be honest.  Stop calling plastic with some nanometer long carbon dust mixed into the plastic for the sold purpose of preventing shrink after injection molding as the plastic cools, "carbon fiber".  This applies to everyone including lews calling plastic with carbon dust mixed from Tanso "made from Tanso material frame" 

 

OP, the video above is your answer.  That video outlines why people buy them.  Low information buyers are mislead by YT videos and coerced into buying these reels.  It's not that they are bad for what they are but that they are favorably portrayed by people on YT that are promoting the product without disclosure and are using careful wording to heavly imply things without actually making direct claims.  Eventually with enough real world experience with other reels not made from plastic at similar prices people who start with these types of reels typically move on to one brand or another.  I have seen this here with users starting out with kastking when it was sponsoring the forum and then moving onto lews once they learned more.  I guess it's a gateway but I don't like it.  The reels are fine but I hate the way YT content presents them.  Same with forum sponsorships like we saw with kastking.  

[optimator]

I’ve still got a Ryobi V Max 3 ?

[Tatulatard]

I managed to make it through the piscifun shill video.  I do like the way this platform uses brass threaded inserts for the side plate screws and where the clutch spring atraches to the frame.   Compare that to the plastic of the carbon XCS above to see how cheaply made the carbon XCS is.  

[Johnbt]

 I still think it would be fun to show up one morning with 4 or 5 of these and shock my friends at the ramp. They'd want to know what I did with my Steez and Metanium reels.   "Sold 'em."

 

 

 

 

Only $21. If you buy more than 7 it's $18 each.

[Pogues2300]

For all the references to the black Max. It’s literally the first bait caster I ever owned. I returned it and bought a daiwa tatula and never looked back. I suppose now after years of using a bait caster I could use the black Max but I wouldn’t want to. In this case I think it’s worth waiting a bit until you feel comfortable spending a bit more and you do indeed get rewarded with quality. 

[ska4fun]

On 6/19/2023 at 1:43 PM, Cbump said:

I asked this in a thread once and don’t believe anyone answered. I’m genuinely curious though. 
 

When you can get great budget reels from known companies (Revo X/Black Max/Silver Max, Fuego/CC80, SLX, Lews LFS) all of which can be had for under $100 especially gently used, what makes a person purchase reels like piscifun? 

 

Because it has very good reels for the price, under $100. There is no rocket science in noting this.

 

What astonishes more is people pay more than $50,00 in crap reels like the New Caius, Bass Rise, Bass one and several others from Shimano.  Or even more than $100 for a mediocre reel like Curado K.

 

I love how people are very demanding over cheap chinese reels, but condescending over Shimano crap sold at premium prices.

 

Concerning baitcasting reels, I have used all kind of cheap and premium JDM reels. The value for money in these cheap chinese reels is superb!

On 6/19/2023 at 9:16 PM, bulldog1935 said:

My guilty pleasure is Tica.  

The Taiwan company began with salt reels in 1960, and they make Daiwa's low-end spinning reels.  

I bought my first diminutive Cetus more a dozen years ago, almost for grins, and it fished hard in salt finesse for 7 years before I retired it with Shimano worm-drive upgrade.  Their IOS locomotive drive makes for exceptional long-spool line management.  From the smallest to the largest, they're built like tanks, fish long and hard.  

I hate the handles that come on them - they never match them properly for gear ratio - and I use that as an excuse to pimp them out with SLP Works, et.al.  

If you fish inshore with me and didn't bring tackle, odds are I'll loan you a Libra SX.    

  

 

If there's a why to Piscifun, it's that people are more concerned with price and light weight than they are with long service life.  

My Tica Dolphins were superb Surfcasting reels, my favorite ones, even more than my beloved Shimano Ultegra Surf.

[Tatulatard]

Those ticas remind me a lot of the old pflueger presidents and other pflueger spinning reels from that time that were highly regarded.  I wonder of there is a connection?  

[optimator]

50 minutes ago, Johnbt said:

 I still think it would be fun to show up one morning with 4 or 5 of these and shock my friends at the ramp. They'd want to know what I did with my Steez and Metanium reels.   "Sold 'em."

 

 

 

 

Only $21. If you buy more than 7 it's $18 each.

But they have Berarings & a Magmetic Brakes! 

[ska4fun]

26 minutes ago, optimator said:

But they have Berarings & a Magmetic Brakes! 

An probably cast farther than DC reels.

[Columbia Craw]

The box

[ska4fun]

How I make my Kestrel elite  understand it must have a lower performance than my pricey Curado BFS with a pathetic drag who gets loose with jerking and twitching?

[TnRiver46]

What makes a person………

 

give a rats behind what kind of reel someone else is using??

[Cbump]

What makes a person post twice on a thread without answering the question? No wonder you have 18k posts.