Surprise reel purchase... Johnny Morris Carbonlite reel

[LCG]

I went into BPS with the intent of picking up a Daiwa Tatula 100 they had on sale. While at the reel counter, I saw a Johnny Morris Carbonlite casting reel. It immediately grabbed my attention because it looked very similar to my Lew's Speed Spool LFS. 

 

This model is the all black model and has a few upgrades from my lew's reels. Namely handle, side plates, and drag washers are all carbon fiber. Aluminum frame. Also has a clicking spool tension cap. It has dual braking, centrifical six pin inside and magnetic adjustment on the outside. Came in at 6.3oz and was on sale for $140, Daiwa was on sale for $200, regular price for Lew's is $140 (Canadian Dollars). 

 

It felt smoother than the Daiwa surprisingly and I could really feel the difference in smoothness when adding some force to the spool to simulate under load feel. 

 

So ended up walking out with the Johnny Morris Carbonlite reel in a 6.8:1 gear ratio. It's a gamble in that getting parts might be an issue down the road, or maybe not,, not sure as it is clearly a Doyo build. But the reel seemed to have a lot of nice upgrades. Only down fall is that it doesn't have a dual supported pinion gear. 

 

Paired it up with a new Daiwa Tatula XT MH-R casting rod. Looks and feels great. Can't wait for the spring. 

[Eric 26]

I had a Carbonlite 2.0 in white & gold colors. Although I didn’t care for the color the reel was a pleasure to cast as it had dual brakes, held its spool tension no problem and the drag was smooth while hooked up to albeit not large bass and crappie by any means but smooth nonetheless. The only reason I sold the combo off was the reel just didn’t fit my hand for some reason, I tried handling the new black colored version this past spring (2024) and as much as I wanted to like it there’s just something about the ergonomics that just don’t fit me. With that said I would hope you’re able to find any replacement parts needed even if you have to do a little cross referencing/searching as I previously posted I was able to do the same for my Piscifun Saex Elite which is the same reel as an Ardent Elite with a different color scheme. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy that reel and heck BPS has a really generous warranty and as I also reported on here I was really impressed with their service department which unfortunately is in Missouri but impressed me enough that I would have no regrets recommending them especially for a BPS branded product.

[Eric 26]

I’m also going to add I have a Carbonlite 2.0 spinning reel in 1500 size and again although I’m just not a fan of the white/gold and silver color scheme, I know it’s a Daiwa made reel and I will not be giving this reel up as it was a steal at $50.00 when I bought it during one of their annual spring classic sales. I will have zero regrets sending it into the BPS service center when and if I need to also.

[new2BC4bass]

I don't know anything about the JM Carbonlites, but if it is as good as my old gold colored Carbonlites, then I think you will enjoy the reel.  I bought 2 used ones as a package deal.  Very glad I did.  I used these 2 reels and a TD-Z 105H when learning to cast #5 Shad Raps.

[detroit1]

I have 2 Carbonlite reels that are close to 20 years old (?) a white 5.3, and a grey 6.4...they still work great although haven't been used much in the last few years. The grey is getting 50# braid and going on my frog / pike rod, replacing my Abu Record - that reel is smooth but too heavy.

[FrnkNsteen]

15 hours ago, LCG said:

I went into BPS with the intent of picking up a Daiwa Tatula 100 they had on sale.

 

...Daiwa was on sale for $200

Confused....

 

MSRP on the '24 Daiwa Tatula is $179 and the JDM version can be had on Amazon for $108. 

 

Not saying the Carbonlite is a bad reel,... I have the older white version in 8spd on a Duckett Terex series frog rod and it's not bad. Just confused on the pricing you mentioned.

[Rockhopper]

1 minute ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Confused....

 

MSRP on the '24 Daiwa Tatula is $179 and the JDM version can be had on Amazon for $108.

Canada

[GRiver]

I have two Carbonlite 2.0 reels, really like both. Haven’t had any problems with them. One is paired with the Carbonlite Rod, they are two of my favorite reels

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Shimano and Daiwa are the standard imo but Doyo is a good manufacturer. 

[LCG]

14 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Shimano and Daiwa are the standard imo but Doyo is a good manufacturer. 

100% agree. I am not brand loyal by any means, I have Shimano and Daiwa reels that I love. Just surprised me that this particular reel seems to be very well made. Time will tell. 

[FrnkNsteen]

5 hours ago, Rockhopper said:

Canada

Ahh! Got it. That makes sense. 

 

I have had many BPS reels in the past and they have been good. It seems that in recent years I got more bad ones than good so I stopped buying them. If you got a smooth one, it should be good for you! 

 

My Carbonlite frog reel has been good and I still have a couple of the special edition blue and silver Pro Qualifier 2 reels that are still good and smooth. Gave one to our granddaughter's boyfriend, but still have the other and it is still smooth as the day I bought it.

[LCG]

2 minutes ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Ahh! Got it. That makes sense. 

 

Our dollar sucks compared to the US dollar. Our shipping and taxes are even worse. 

[woolleyfooley]

I have a couple Lew’s that are over 10 years old and are still running great. Doyo makes good stuff in my experience. I’m sure that reel will serve you well. Post some pics!

[Dan N]

I own 8 various BPS reels, including a couple of the Carbonlite baitcasters, and like them a lot, I have owned others as well and have had no problems with any of them. I like the price point of the carbonlite line , both spinning and casting.Got some good deals on sales too.

[bowhunter63]

Been using Carbonlites for a long time . Zero complaints at all . Great Reels 

[newapti5]

On 12/30/2024 at 8:15 PM, LCG said:

Only down fall is that it doesn't have a dual supported pinion gear. 

 

Not necessarily a weakness IMO. I used to believe dual supported pinion reels were always better, but I changed my mind as my Abu Garcia ALX reel stays smooth after several years, even smoother than my Shimano Scorpion DC. I still believe that dual supported pinion is important for the smoothness and longevity, but so are many other things, like the manufacturing tolerance and materials.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

42 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

 

Not necessarily a weakness IMO. I used to believe dual supported pinion reels were always better, but I changed my mind as my Abu Garcia ALX reel stays smooth after several years, even smoother than my Shimano Scorpion DC. I still believe that dual supported pinion is important for the smoothness and longevity, but so are many other things, like the manufacturing tolerance and materials.

This is what I was thinking about when I posted prior. On paper, dual supported pinions are much better design. In real world applications the difference is much less noticeable in many cases. 

[LCG]

4 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

This is what I was thinking about when I posted prior. On paper, dual supported pinions are much better design. In real world applications the difference is much less noticeable in many cases. 

That's interesting, I guess I might have fallen into the marketing hype. You know far more about reels than I do, so I will take your word. Thanks for mentioning this.