Super User Gone_Phishin Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 I once met Pete Maina at a seminar and asked him who built his BPS muskie reels. His reply was that he had no idea and that all reels are made by "some factory in China." This was about 4-5 years ago, so you can add Korean factories to the mix these days. I'm not sure if his line of BPS reels have been updated since they were first introduced. Either way, at the very least, the first run of these reels are junk. Crap reels + skis = trouble, cussing, lost fish, lost baits, partner thrown overboard, etc... Quote
Super User cart7t Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 I have just disassembled one of the "New" version Pro Qualifiers. Here's what I've found. First, the palm plate release is a spring loaded pin vs the Pfluegers and Revo's which use a thumbscrew. A complaint of some Revo users has been the thumb, palm plate release screw coming loose under use. Mostly due to how an angler holds the reel. This spring loaded deal is NOT going to pop out under normal use. Graphite endplates. If it's good enough for a Shimano Curado..... Dual braking mechs are borrowed from Pflueger. The 6 pin spring loaded centrifugal and the 5 mag disc magnetic system. The brass main drive gear is huge. Reminiscent of the Johnny Morris drive gear. The drag stack looks similar to the Revo's but not the same. This reel has the nut handle attachment method vs the Pflueger style spin on handle. The crankplate has the main drive gear lube access port on the bottom similar to the Extremes. Not a feature available on the Revo's or Patriarchs though it may be more expensive to machine that onto a aluminum crank plate vs. Graphite. The inside mechanics are very similar though not the same. The actual measurements of this reel line up with a Revo exactly. I'm sure I could drop the guts of a Revo into this Pro Qualifier and it would work fine and vice versa. The spool tension knob is not a click type. All in all this seems like a very solid reel built on the same frame spec as the Revo and Pfluegers. I have no reason to see why this reel wouldn't last as long as the other main stream brands. As for the graphite? The stress points (under the main drive shaft, spool ends, etc. are properly supported by bearings. The fit and finish are in line with the name brands as well. On sale at $80, this reel is a good deal. Quote
Super User dodgeguy Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 a shimano calais has the spin on handle style also.i like it much better than the old fashioned nut on the end. Quote
The Rooster Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 The new Abu Garcia Orra SX has the lube port on the bottom of the gearbox like the Pro Qualifier and Extreme does. But I think that reel has graphite sideplates too. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 I have just disassembled one of the "New" version Pro Qualifiers.Here's what I've found.... Great report - thanks for taking the time to type it up. I have a vested interest in this thread as I have 3 of the 2009 model Pro Qualifiers, as well as a 2009 Rick Clun and a 2009 Prolite. I got all of these reels (except 1 PQ) on sale for $80. One of the PQs I got on eBay for $40 - after cleaning and lube - it works as well as the new ones so I think I got a LOT of reel for $40. All of these reels seemed to me to be good values for the money and with the features of higher-priced reels. Fit/finish and quality of components seemed good as well. I still plan on getting at least two more BPS reels - one of the new 4.7 ratios PQs, and at least one of the new Carbonlites. As for longevity - I guess time will tell... Quote
Incheon Basser Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 I once met Pete Maina at a seminar and asked him who built his BPS muskie reels. His reply was that he had no idea and that all reels are made by "some factory in China." This was about 4-5 years ago, so you can add Korean factories to the mix these days. bionic down ... china extreme up Korea... and i know who the OEM is ... Quote
Super User dodgeguy Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 I once met Pete Maina at a seminar and asked him who built his BPS muskie reels. His reply was that he had no idea and that all reels are made by "some factory in China." This was about 4-5 years ago, so you can add Korean factories to the mix these days. bionic down ... china extreme up Korea... and i know who the OEM is ... so why don't you tell us? Quote
Incheon Basser Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 The Korean OEM for those reels is a Korean company called Banax. they were owned by Daiwa in the 80's but became independent. The have there own line of reels here as well.. but pure fishing and Daiwa still produce reels through them Quote
KSRonH Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 cart7t, great report on the PQ. Sounds like for $80 bucks you can't go wrong. Quote
LAO162 Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 Cart7t, I'm hoping that in addition to the fantastic information you provided here, you can provide your subjective evaluation of these dual braking reels on my new thread... i.e. do they all perform similarly, or are there meaningful differences that justify significant price differences. Thanks Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 The Korean OEM for those reels is a Korean company called Banax. they were owned by Daiwa in the 80's but became independent. The have there own line of reels here as well.. but pure fishing and Daiwa still produce reels through them Interesting - Banax has an English-language web site - it's mostly dated 2005 but I hit one link that said that their site was under construction and would be updated by January. Here's a link: http://www.banax.co.kr/eng/com/com0101.asp Here's a photo of one of their reels... Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 Cart7t, I'm hoping that in addition to the fantastic information you provided here, you can provide your subjective evaluation of these dual braking reels on my new thread... i.e. do they all perform similarly, or are there meaningful differences that justify significant price differences. Thanks A great question for anyone that has an answer. I'm especially interested in hearing from anyone that has the new Pflueger Patriarch XT. The new XT weighs 6.8 oz and I'm wondering if the new 6.7 oz BPS Carbonlite is some sort of "decontented" XT. In any event, I will be getting a Carbonlite as soon as I can get one on sale! Quote
Super User J Francho Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 a shimano calais has the spin on handle style also.i like it much better than the old fashioned nut on the end. False: http://fish.shimano.com/media/fishing/SAC/techdocs/en/Low_Profile/05CL200A_v1_m56577569830570282.pdf Quote
Super User J Francho Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 This reel looks familiar.... Quote
MarauderYak Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 That Banax info is outdated. Banax does still make a lot of different reels for a lot of companies, but the upper end Pure fishing reels & BPS reels are not made at that factory. I've been to the factory that makes them recently. The Korean factory was just built a couple of years ago, but they've been making reels for quite a while. They've produced Pflueger reels for a long time, BPS reels for nearly as long, and helped Abu develop the Revo before they were part of Pure Fishing. Quote
Pantera61 Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 The Korean OEM for those reels is a Korean company called Banax. they were owned by Daiwa in the 80's but became independent. The have there own line of reels here as well.. but pure fishing and Daiwa still produce reels through them BANAX is still associated with Daiwa. Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 That Banax info is outdated. Banax does still make a lot of different reels for a lot of companies, but the upper end Pure fishing reels & BPS reels are not made at that factory. I've been to the factory that makes them recently. The Korean factory was just built a couple of years ago, but they've been making reels for quite a while. They've produced Pflueger reels for a long time, BPS reels for nearly as long, and helped Abu develop the Revo before they were part of Pure Fishing. Can you identify the company? Or do you have a confidentiality agreement? Is there a web site? Inquiring minds would like to know! Quote
Pantera61 Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 That Banax info is outdated. Banax does still make a lot of different reels for a lot of companies, but the upper end Pure fishing reels & BPS reels are not made at that factory. I've been to the factory that makes them recently. The Korean factory was just built a couple of years ago, but they've been making reels for quite a while. They've produced Pflueger reels for a long time, BPS reels for nearly as long, and helped Abu develop the Revo before they were part of Pure Fishing. Can you identify the company? Or do you have a confidentiality agreement? Is there a web site? Inquiring minds would like to know! take it from here: http://www.banax.co.kr/eng/com/com0104.asp Quote
MarauderYak Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 That Banax info is outdated. Banax does still make a lot of different reels for a lot of companies, but the upper end Pure fishing reels & BPS reels are not made at that factory. I've been to the factory that makes them recently. The Korean factory was just built a couple of years ago, but they've been making reels for quite a while. They've produced Pflueger reels for a long time, BPS reels for nearly as long, and helped Abu develop the Revo before they were part of Pure Fishing. Can you identify the company? Or do you have a confidentiality agreement? Is there a web site? Inquiring minds would like to know! It's an engineering company based out of Korea, with a factory in China as well. They don't have a web site. They are very well known within the industry, but their name wouldn't mean anything if you don't work with sourcing goods. I wouldn't give the name out myself, but if you know anyone working for a retailer that sells these reels, the name of the company is on the case packs the reels are shipped in. Quote
Super User cart7t Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 That Banax info is outdated. Banax does still make a lot of different reels for a lot of companies, but the upper end Pure fishing reels & BPS reels are not made at that factory. I've been to the factory that makes them recently. The Korean factory was just built a couple of years ago, but they've been making reels for quite a while. They've produced Pflueger reels for a long time, BPS reels for nearly as long, and helped Abu develop the Revo before they were part of Pure Fishing. Can you identify the company? Or do you have a confidentiality agreement? Is there a web site? Inquiring minds would like to know! take it from here: http://www.banax.co.kr/eng/com/com0104.asp These guys are obviously not producing Pure fishing products. There is nothing in the Banax line of reels that I saw that even remotely looks tooled anywhere close to a Revo or Patriarch. They do have a reel that looks similar to the BPS KVD sig reel. Quote
MarauderYak Posted December 15, 2009 Posted December 15, 2009 That Banax info is outdated. Banax does still make a lot of different reels for a lot of companies, but the upper end Pure fishing reels & BPS reels are not made at that factory. I've been to the factory that makes them recently. The Korean factory was just built a couple of years ago, but they've been making reels for quite a while. They've produced Pflueger reels for a long time, BPS reels for nearly as long, and helped Abu develop the Revo before they were part of Pure Fishing. Can you identify the company? Or do you have a confidentiality agreement? Is there a web site? Inquiring minds would like to know! take it from here: http://www.banax.co.kr/eng/com/com0104.asp These guys are obviously not producing Pure fishing products. There is nothing in the Banax line of reels that I saw that even remotely looks tooled anywhere close to a Revo or Patriarch. They do have a reel that looks similar to the BPS KVD sig reel. Ding, ding, ding. They DO make quite a few Quantum reels. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 Quantums, BPS, Pfluegers....who cares where they're made? They are definitely NOT Scottish, and you know what that means.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCrT96QJBfQ Quote
Super User K_Mac Posted December 15, 2009 Super User Posted December 15, 2009 Quantums, BPS, Pfluegers....who cares where they're made? They are definitely NOT Scottish, and you know what that means.... Not that there's anything wrong with that...... Quote
Incheon Basser Posted December 16, 2009 Posted December 16, 2009 That Banax info is outdated. Banax does still make a lot of different reels for a lot of companies, but the upper end Pure fishing reels & BPS reels are not made at that factory. I've been to the factory that makes them recently. The Korean factory was just built a couple of years ago, but they've been making reels for quite a while. They've produced Pflueger reels for a long time, BPS reels for nearly as long, and helped Abu develop the Revo before they were part of Pure Fishing. I have a friend who works at the Incheon Banax Factory and he says they make pure fishing reels.... i might have to ask him to take me on a tour... But banax is the largest and best renowned reel company in Korea.... their own line is all manufactured in the plant in China... the only stuff they produce in incheon is OEM's for other companies. Maybe the two companies are related or my friend is blowing smoke up my arse.. but he said he could get me an employee discount on any pure fishing reel I wanted... but i don't like pure fishing.. but I am buying all of the Banax Bait-caster line just for the collection Quote
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