Low cost Chinese fishing reels and other equipment

[chesilpete]

I never look at make/price i just get what i can afford and want to buy.

I have 3 boat rods that i bought for £9 each 10 years ago, still ok i have replaced two tips at £1 each Criccieth Shop (great shop) still ok

I must admit i was given a Penn reel and that give me another 15-20yds cast when lure fishing

This is not an attack Mr Dutchman..... if you did not have a budget and could buy any rod or reel. What would you buy?.

 

[Dutchman]

This is not an attack Mr Dutchman..... if you did not have a budget and could buy any rod or reel. What would you buy?.

Pete not being funny but i could buy anything i wanted, but through life i have always been thrifty.

As i have said i fish off a boat 30-50ft and the fish i catch i can get on a £20 - £30 set up so i have no need to spend any more.

I have ample basic tackle to fish off beach.

And a few years ago i went a bit mad and bought a Penn spin/bass rod.
I use £15 reels

But i was given a Penn reel that out performed the £15 reels so i would maybe spend £80 on a reel, but to be absolutely truthfull that would grieve me.

 

[chesilpete]

Pete not being funny but i could buy anything i wanted, but through life i have always been thrifty.

As i have said i fish off a boat 30-50ft and the fish i catch i can get on a £20 - £30 set up so i have no need to spend any more.

I have ample basic tackle to fish off beach.

And a few years ago i went a bit mad and bought a Penn spin/bass rod.
I use £15 reels

But i was given a Penn reel that out performed the £15 reels so i would maybe spend £80 on a reel, but to be absolutely that would grieve me.

I get the thrift thing.... I dont do it but I 100% understand it.
I think that this probably cuts to the nub of it, for 75% of people finding the money to buy top of the range is doable.
But they cant see the advantage.....

 

[Dutchman]

I did when fly fishing buy a Reddington Red Fly rod second hand as it was how i felt a rod should be (perhaps a bit stiff for others) found they were guaranteed for life.
So bought a second one as where i fished easier to take two loaded with different lines than waste time swapping them on bank (there is a reason for spending for me) and had guarantee which then covered the two rods.
Good job as i broke twice, only had to pay for sending back.

 

[jambop]

Everyone has a choice, my choice is not to buy Chinese.
Its up to everyones conscience..... I work for a big German group and we will no longer buy anything Chinky

I am not about to deny anybody the right to buy what they want. I take it you must spend one hell of a time hunting for the products you need that are not made in China?
I do not need to search my conscience in any way to buy anything made in China, why would I ? To buy something made in Germany though? Strangely enough there I do have to think about it.

 

[chesilpete]

I am not about to deny anybody the right to buy what they want. I take it you must spend one hell of a time hunting for the products you need that are not made in China?
I do not need to search my conscience in any way to buy anything made in China, why would I ? To buy something made in Germany though? Strangely enough there I do have to think about it.

We have found replacement equipment from USA, South Korea, Taiwan, France and UK.
I would always try n buy British, this year I was going to update all our computer equipment, but the best I can do is just see how long we can keep using our old stuff.

 

[Thrasher]

I suppose the decision is whether to buy a Chinese made replica or a Chinese made branded product?

My Chinese purchases have been in the braid market, saratoga/Spectra etc.

 

[jambop]

I suppose the decision is whether to buy a Chinese made replica or a Chinese made branded product?

My Chinese purchases have been in the braid market, saratoga/Spectra etc.

I have no problem whatsoever buying anything from China be it replica or branded. A replica is exactly what it is a copy of an item made by another manufacturer. There is nothing wrong with that at all, all manufacturers do it to some extent, and nobody is trying to fool anybody it is perfectly legitimate. What I would not do is buy an item that is counterfeit. That is totally wrong because that is someone trying to sell you something it is not and using another manufacturers brand name to sell the product.
I really do not understand how or why buying a product, that is not counterfeit, made in China is in any way "conscionable". If a Chinese reel maker chooses to make an exact copy of an ABU reel and sell it I can see no issue at all provided they make no reference to ABU in marketing the reel.

 

[Grimleyfiendish]

A thing I think about now and again is the manufacturer of the top rods, whilst they are built over here, where is the Carbon cloth sourced ? Apparently there are only a small number of carbon manufacturers, and if the most competitively priced carbon cloth comes from the far East it would make sense to purchase it, even through a middle man that may be based in Europe/USA, now if the top rods used this carbon, and given that they also use components like rings, shrinktube etc already from the far East would this make them far Eastern rods ?
I know some will say it's an inferior Carbon (which I don't think is the case as you just purchase the standard of Carbon you require, Toray etc) Just a thought !!

 

[Beach]

Plus if you think your Gear has the Balls take a trip to somewhere like Ascension Island im sure the sharks etc there will show you how to turn it into bits of Scrap pretty quickly
@chesilpete @CKB

Last time I was Shark fishing, I was on a cargo ship anchored off Muscat. Used a mooring rope, meat hook and a 7lb lump of liver. Used one of the buoys as a float. Caught a massive tiger shark and used a derrick to haul it aboard. All our kit was made in UK ?

 

[jambop]

A thing I think about now and again is the manufacturer of the top rods, whilst they are built over here, where is the Carbon cloth sourced ? Apparently there are only a small number of carbon manufacturers, and if the most competitively priced carbon cloth comes from the far East it would make sense to purchase it, even through a middle man that may be based in Europe/USA, now if the top rods used this carbon, and given that they also use components like rings, shrinktube etc already from the far East would this make them far Eastern rods ?
I know some will say it's an inferior Carbon (which I don't think is the case as you just purchase the standard of Carbon you require, Toray etc) Just a thought !!

To my knowledge some of the best fishing rods made come from Japan. The carbon fabric must come from somewhere out that way? What I don't get is that there are some people who will not recognise that China is at the front in manufacturing not an also ran. Many of the best Chinese manufacturers have state of the art CNC machining and factory machines they also very low production costs down to wages, in short they can make things to a very high standard at a very low cost. The cheaper stuff that is being sold here is being sold by British businessmen out to make money on the cheap the Chinese are not targeting our manufacturers British sellers see a market for Chinese goods . However some people buy these products and are perfectly happy with what they have bought... is there anything wrong with that?

 

[jambop]

Last time I was Shark fishing, I was on a cargo ship anchored off Muscat. Used a mooring rope, meat hook and a 7lb lump of liver. Used one of the buoys as a float. Caught a massive tiger shark and used a derrick to haul it aboard. All our kit was made in UK ?

My dad wad in the Navy before and just after the second war. He used to tell me when they were out in SA they would fish in the Indian ocean in much the same way and the entire crew of the destroyer he was on could have fresh fried fish and chips off one big fish. They would lower a small boat over the side to get the thing in?

 

[Trampster]

We have found replacement equipment from USA, South Korea, Taiwan, France and UK.
I would always try n buy British, this year I was going to update all our computer equipment, but the best I can do is just see how long we can keep using our old stuff.

I don't envy you having to update IT equipment from what I have seen recently. As an example, the 17" laptop I'm typing this on cost me £399 new around 6 years ago. Similar ones are selling 2nd hand now for £600+. To replace it with a similar new one would cost in excess of £1300. I was told that there is a shortage of laptops due to the amount of kids being schooled at home during the lockdowns, and the price of new & 2nd hand has rocketed because of this, plus limited availability from China where most electronic components are made.

 

[Beach]

I don't envy you having to update IT equipment from what I have seen recently. As an example, the 17" laptop I'm typing this on cost me £399 new around 6 years ago. Similar ones are selling 2nd hand now for £600+. To replace it with a similar new one would cost in excess of £1300. I was told that there is a shortage of laptops due to the amount of kids being schooled at home during the lockdowns, and the price of new & 2nd hand has rocketed because of this, plus limited availability from China where most electronic components are made.

I gave up with Microsoft a couple of years ago, now all our laptops, mobiles are made by that well known fruit company.

 

[Trampster]

I gave up with Microsoft a couple of years ago, now all our laptops, mobiles are made by that well known fruit company.

Can't be doing with that Apple stuff (a lot of which is manufactured in China anyway). Apples belong in Pies, and they never supply any Pastry with them! Anyway, Microsoft is only an IT software supplier - AFAIK they don't manufacture computer hardware. I'm very happy with my Acer Laptop & Android phone!

 

[AlanT]

Production of a lot of our fishing gear is in China. Plenty of well known brands formerly produced in the West are now made over there and even a lot of Shimano gear is made in China. Quality really depends on how much control the parent company has over the production and you have to factor in the continuous cost cutting that goes on in the manufacture of all consumer goods. I have four ABU multipliers that were made in China and they are all total rubbish not the fault of the Chinese but of ABU for not making sure their quality standards were maintained. Bet you could ship them a Zippy and they would replicate it down to the right carbon cloth and resin used probably for a tenner a blank.
Do not buy a Chinese made Landrover even the Chinese complain about them.

 

[Beach]

Can't be doing with that Apple stuff (a lot of which is manufactured in China anyway). Apples belong in Pies, and they never supply any Pastry with them! Anyway, Microsoft is only an IT software supplier - AFAIK they don't manufacture computer hardware. I'm very happy with my Acer Laptop & Android phone!

Hope you have a very good anti virus/maleware software for your steam engines. Windows are mean't for looking out of.

 

[Beach]

Production of a lot of our fishing gear is in China. Plenty of well known brands formerly produced in the West are now made over there and even a lot of Shimano gear is made in China. Quality really depends on how much control the parent company has over the production and you have to factor in the continuous cost cutting that goes on in the manufacture of all consumer goods. I have four ABU multipliers that were made in China and they are all total rubbish not the fault of the Chinese but of ABU for not making sure their quality standards were maintained. Bet you could ship them a Zippy and they would replicate it down to the right carbon cloth and resin used probably for a tenner a blank.
Do not buy a Chinese made Landrover even the Chinese complain about them.

Or Jaguar.

 

[Beach]

Can't be doing with that Apple stuff (a lot of which is manufactured in China anyway). Apples belong in Pies, and they never supply any Pastry with them! Anyway, Microsoft is only an IT software supplier - AFAIK they don't manufacture computer hardware. I'm very happy with my Acer Laptop & Android phone!

Compal Electronics Inc, based in Taipei, Taiwan, designs and manufacturers laptops for Dell, Toshiba, HP (Hewlett-Packard) and Acer. They currently manufacture 45% of all Acer's shipped laptops. 50% of Dell's outsourced notebooks come from Compal.

 

[Dutchman]

I recall some years ago when tapes were used in VCR's the different price of all makes you could buy.
It was reported that they were all made in the same factory and just branded differently.