Hedgehog Air BFS Bearings

[deepblack]

Hi All,
Just an unsolicited plug here for these bearings, I recently installed a set in one of my Alphas' Rs' and the difference is just amazing it has turned it into a casting weapon!
Cheers,
John.

[ninjaman]

X2
The Air are the best I have tried ever and imho the Air BFS are just as good when you throw below the 1/2 oz rating. Simply amazing.

[ah_long]

I don't see a difference in performance between the AIR and the AIR BFS with the exception that the AIR with the Ceramic balls and stronger outer cage would last longer.

I'm sure the AIR BFS would throw heavier stuff just as well but it would strain the bearings.

The Alchemy oil is by far the best bearing oil I have used so far

[jamesdta]

Good to hear. Have mine arriving tomorrow for tatula type r(hopefully arrive soon) along with carbon fiber handle, oil, amd red handle nut, can't wait!

[DougL58]

Just got a set of the AIR BFS and the ZR bearings. Going to test stock and then apply Tungsten Disulfide. Expecting great results.

[Strewth]

Just got a set of the AIR BFS and the ZR bearings. Going to test stock and then apply Tungsten Disulfide. Expecting great results.

Thinking of trying a set of the AIR BFS and AIR bearings myself. Any updates on the field performance of these bearings? Any extra distance and are they quiet?

[ninjaman]

Just got a set of the AIR BFS and the ZR bearings. Going to test stock and then apply Tungsten Disulfide. Expecting great results.

Thinking of trying a set of the AIR BFS and AIR bearings myself. Any updates on the field performance of these bearings? Any extra distance and are they quiet?

They are quiet and perform extremely well. Of all high end bearings I have tried this is first time I can say; WOW! That really made some difference!
I compared to the ultrasonic cleaned stock bearings with Hedgehog Alchemy on my Airy Red Pixy. Not only could i cast longer with less efort but what surprised me even more was that I could cast about 1g lighter baits. These bearings are simply amazing and i now have Hedgehog bearings in most of my reels. They are not louder than other bearings.

[Strewth]

Interesting information, as I wanted to know how they compare against high quality stock bearings that have been cleaned and lubed. I have found the improvement offered by many "tuning" bearings to be marginal for straight casting with lures 5g and up. The shielded stock black Shimano bearings In the Scorpion XT1000 are excellent, as are the non-shielded Calais 100A bearings.

[ninjaman]

Interesting information, as I wanted to know how they compare against high quality stock bearings that have been cleaned and lubed. I have found the improvement offered by many "tuning" bearings to be marginal for straight casting with lures 5g and up. The shielded stock black Shimano bearings In the Scorpion XT1000 are excellent, as are the non-shielded Calais 100A bearings.

I usually always upgrade the bearings on my reels after cleaning and relubing them. I hardly ever see any noticable performance gain versus the upgrades, but still do it to test the performance and have a little fun doing it. But these bearings actually made me regain my faith in bearing upgrades for performance sake. I hate building up expectations out of proportion, but the bearings i have put in mu reels are compared to stock, ZPI and TG's that I usually use THAT good.

[daiwafan]

Mainly due to this post, I just received an EMS package from Japan. Inside was a spool pin remover, alchemy oil, three sets of air bearings and one set of air bfs bearings I just finished installing a set of airs in a SOL equipped with and alphas Ito spool. With the stock bearings I got 11.5 seconds of free spin with the spool tension set to no side play, spinning it with my finger.With the air bearings it went to 23 seconds. I like the results so far.

I have a set to go in a T3MX with a 1016 spool, a set to put in a Steez, and the bfs bearings are going into a T3 with a megabass IS spool. I'd probably already have the bulk of the installs done but my 4 month old kitten, who is mean as a snake, tried to eat my spool pin so I put the stuff up until he goes to sleep. I did manage to put the bearing retainer in orbit in the living room, but it later re- entered the atmosphere striking the tv, and was located, eventually, near my wife's feet.


Regards
Daiwafan

[Strewth]

Are the Air BFS and Air bearings unshielded on both sides?

[lpquick]

Are the Air BFS and Air bearings unshielded on both sides?

Air bearings are shielded on one side and open on the other. BFS bearings have sleeves which hold the bearings and clips are used to hold the bearings in place, these bearings are open from both sides. 3x7x3 have no clips which can give you problems when used in Conquest 50/51 reels.

[daiwafan]

A little update.

Cat finally asleep. Installed BFS bearings in T3 with IS spool. Before with stock bearing in mag side and megabass bearing on spool free spin was just over 8 seconds. With the new bearings it went to 18. I don't know yet if this will translate in to better performance on the water. Hopefully I will get to go to a local lake tomorrow to see before the really cold temps get here.

[daiwafan]

This morning temps were in the mid 30's but I had to try out the bearings in the SOL and T3. One word WOW. The SOL improved tremendously with the addition of air bearings. I went to a local lake where I had been tossing a 1/8 oz Texas rigged craw across a cove. With the SOL before I couldn't quite reach the rocks on the far side falling short by 2-3 feet. Now I can put the same lure 2-3 feet into the rocks. I also tried a strike king bitsy tube with a 1/16 oz head. The SOL would cast it, but nowhere near as easily or as far as the T3 IS combo. With the air bearing, casting is improved greatly on this light rig. Spool startup is noticeably faster.

With the T3 results were a little different, casting only slightly improved but the lightweight spool starts faster, if you can imagine that. All in all very pleased with the results. I decided not to add the airs to the T3 MX, at least not until I acquire a honeycomb spool for it. I will order some air BFS bearings for a PXR next time around.

[runmax08]

What rod were you using to make those casts with your sol?