Which reels of today will be valued in the future?

[KP Duty]

I was just browsing ebay, and ran across a scuffed up TD Zillion for $230.  Which of today's reels will be sought after in the future?  

[JMac603]

I'd be surprised if any. I'm so jaded by the quality of anything new and add covid and it all got worse. 

[NavyToad]

Shimano Stella is the only reel that comes to mind. Stellas have been at the top of the food chain for decades and I think they’re pretty rare. I’ve never seen a Stella in the wild. It’s not hard to imagine that the older models will be highly sought after at some point.

[FrnkNsteen]

1 hour ago, KP Duty said:

I was just browsing ebay, and ran across a scuffed up TD Zillion for $230.  Which of today's reels will be sought after in the future?  

Was there any actual bids at that price? I kind of went down the rabbit hole a bit buying various old TD Fuegos, TDX and TDZ reels. The ones in that upper price range tend to sit with no bids or at Buy Now stage with no movement.

 

The ones I have bought have ranged from $50 to $150 in various levels of condition. Recently picked up a very clean TDZ 103HL Type R that is the left handed pitching model for $130 I think.

 

The older classics like the Team Daiwa or the Shimano D and E series or Core series seem to hold good value. Don't know that much from today will hold up like that. Maybe some Steez or Conquest reels,...... Maybe??

[Skunkmaster-k]

Zebco 33

[thunderblack]

Shimano CI4 stradic

[WRB]

Check prices on the Asian portals, new reels with free shipping.

Tom

[MN Fisher]

I feel lucky - my two 'best' reels are a pair of Pflueger Patriarchs...one in 7.1:1, the other in 7.9:1...from ALF's used area for under $80 each. Other than a bit of boat rash, both are in perfect condition.

[garroyo130]

Anything limited or made in collaboration with someone else ... Megabasses, Dream Tackles, etc. 

[bulldog1935]

https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=76517

The essay I linked, I titled Paradigm baitcaster design - design changes on a reel model that became so universal, we wouldn't recognize a baitcaster today without them.  

Heading in a different direction, back to our OP question, Japan has an underground market in Isuzu bench-built synchro reels.  These reels are in such demand, the Isuzu-branded reels are sold by lottery, and the finishes they make for lure shops are sold in advance by reserve.  They also build Megabass Pagani.  

 

^ these two are mine ^

these two aren't.  

 

Historically, the reels that retain their original value in current inflated dollars were bench-built - if you go back 100 years, it's Meek, Talbot and Jack Welch Heddon (vs. mass-produced Heddon) bench-made Pflueger (vs. mass-produced) - Kovalovsky, Bogdan, Fin-Nor.  Valuable postwar mass-produced reels in today's market originally stood apart from the herd because of their quality and durability - green Penn, Ambassadeur.  

Here's one - Seigler USA bench-built lever drag.  

[thediscochef]

Whatever ones have the least plastic, so probably very few 

[KP Duty]

I think reels become desirable for a few diffetent reasons- durability, rareness/limited editions, undesired changes to current model, and cosmetic.  Current contenders IMO are the '19 Scorpion mgl (cosmetic...great burgundy/gray paint), Antares 70 (they might screw it up in the future by trying to lighten it up), Metanium shallow edition (may not last in the lineup) and Daiwa Steez limited (only because it's limited)   

[fin]

I’d like to believe that kind of manufacture still exists - that things are being manufactured with the intention of being passed on to the next generation, that parts are being made for the long term, that designs are standardized so parts are interchangeable, but I really don’t think what the future looks like. I’m not sure that’s even what the present looks like. It’s more like, ‘if it breaks, buy a new one’.

 

I guess there will always be collectors, to some extent.

 

With the way technology in fishing has changed so rapidly, it’s hard for me to see why someone would want outdated technology, like things that were once state-of-the-art that now seem way too heavy.

 

Maybe it’s because I’m not buying stuff in that price range, so I just can’t see it.

[Darth-Baiter]

no way.  built in obsolescense.   manufacturers today want us to upgrade to the latest and greatest.  

 

nothing will be collectable.  

[NavyToad]

@Darth-BaiterIMO today’s latest and greatest isn’t really better than what they had 25-30 years ago. They fixed backlash with centrifugal and magnetic brakes a long time ago. Minor (superficial) advancements have done little to improve reels beyond what existed 25 years ago IMO. “DC” reels may work, but I’m not on board and never will be. This is only my take on it and means next to nothing.

I bought a Curado K the other day mostly so that I could compare it with a 25 year old Bantam I have. I’ll have the new reel Wednesday and give it a whirl. Will be the 2nd Shimano I’ve ever bought and probably my last for reasons I can’t justify.

Don’t get me wrong, I have the disease. I just don’t believe the hype when I buy a new reel.

[garroyo130]

2 hours ago, fin said:

With the way technology in fishing has changed so rapidly, it’s hard for me to see why someone would want outdated technology, like things that were once state-of-the-art that now seem way too heavy.

 

Maybe it’s because I’m not buying stuff in that price range, so I just can’t see it.

 

Things don't always go forward. I think there's more than a few of us here that would take a Curado E over a K at the same price point. 

[Mike L]

@garroyo130

 

Absolutely!

I’d take an E over most anything made today by any manufacturer. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[FishTank]

I think it could be just about any reel from Daiwa or Shimano.

 

Reels seem to develop a cult following years down the road, look at the Shimano Curado B.  A solid workhorse reel that people loved. Shimano changed the platform and for about 15 years after that, they were still going for around $150 used. I don't think anybody at that time would have thought this reel would have had that amount of staying power.  I would say the same about the Core 100 and 50, as well as the Chronarch 50e. I have had offers for over $200 for each of the ones I have but I am not going to give them up anytime soon. 

 

Daiwa has had a ton of different reels that still have a high collector's market, like the Megabass TD-Ito, the Monoblock, the TD Sol, some of the Alphas, Steez Limited etc. 

 

As far as a current reel, I don't know.  I think the higher end reels like the Steez, Exist, Antares, Conquest, and Stella will continue to have a good resell value but to me it will be a niche reel with a short shelf life that will get people's attention. From Shimano, that might be a reel like the Antares MD or from Daiwa, the Silver Creek Stream Custom. 

 

 

[Darth-Baiter]

true.  for all you that love the vintage stuff, i understand.  the new stuff, wont have any extraordinary collector value.  nope.  those days are gone.

 

like Coleman lanterns and stoves.  there isnt a NEW lantern or stove, i imagine will carry on and have the vintage price thing.  no way.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Man this thread reminds me of something I think about quite often, "why can't fishing tackle and rod/reels be like guns in terms of value."  

 

Both are tools ultimately, but when I buy anything fishing related, I view it as a quickly depreciating good.   I feel much more guilty spending $600 on a rod/reel combo than on a G19.5 MOS for example.  

 

If you buy the right guns, ammo, and kit for said guns, at worst they'll hold their value while you get to still enjoy them provided you take care of them.  

 

I know fishing has it's exceptions, but for the most part these things don't hold value as well as some other collections/hobbies.   

[Columbia Craw]

Calcutta maybe.  My

[Captain Phil]

9 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

Calcutta maybe.  My

 

Absolutely.  A used Calcutta reel in good condition is better than most cheap new reels today.  For years, I bought used Shimano Chronarch Bantam 100s on EBay for $100 or less. They are fantastic reels for bass fishing.  Good ones are getting hard to find.  The Calcutta is a workhorse.   If you see someone fishing with one, they know what they are doing or got the reel from someone who did.  

[Bankc]

None.  

 

To be a collectible, it has to be both rare and desirable.  Everything made today is made in too great of numbers and won't be desirable in the future.  Technology will progress and make these current reels obsolete as users.  There will still be too many of them on the used market to make them rare.  And none of them represent any significant milestones in the sport.  The old stuff that people collect today will still be collectible, because they never were made in great numbers, and show the evolution of the sport.  They'll still be what collectors want.  

 

Now I say that, but if you had one of KVD's personal reels that he used to win the 2001 Bassmaster classic or something like that, then that would be very desirable and rare and increase in value over time.  That's the kind of thing collectors of the future would go for.  But as far as the regular fishing gear we all use, their value is going to continually be suppressed by the ever-increasing dump of newer reels onto the used market.  Even the high end and special edition reels of today will be replaced with more high end and special edition reels in the future.  Too much supply for too little demand.  

[king fisher]

The way I abuse my fishing gear, nothing I have will be worth anything, and the Bait Monkey will be sure I have the latest mid priced gear I can afford.

[bowhunter63]

If we go full circle Garcia Ambassador, Round never goes out of style