Abu Garcia WTF's

Reels are the hottest topic for TackleTour. Everyone wants to know what the latest and greatest is and how they compare to the old guard. What's the best for light stuff, or what's your suggestion for heavy cover. Do we really need different retrieve ratios? It's all in here.
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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by DirtyD64 » Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:29 pm

My wife fished a 7'4" M Vendetta for 1.5 years and it held strong. Caught our personal best smallmouth of 4.3lbs which isn't bad for AR. The Gen 1 Revo Premier spinning crapped out though and that's when they sent her a 2016 Revo Premier 30 to replace it. We didn't want that cheap metal reel seat on the Vendetta to scratch the carbon fiber frame of the 2016 Premier so I bought her a 7'6" MH Ike series rod. It feels like the Vendetta with a much better Fuji reel seat and the last 1/4 tapers great then it's solid backbone. Has a 3 year warranty and is pretty sensitive for a $150 range rod, when she doesn't fish, it makes one hell of a shaky head/weedless tube setup. I also got a fair deal, $117 delivered, so that helped too.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by mark poulson » Mon Apr 23, 2018 7:01 am

I've had good luck with the Veritas line.
They were on sale, so, naturally, I bought some. :lol:
I use their winch series cranking rods, and frog rods, too.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by Salty Parrot » Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:52 pm

So from the tackletour review on the Revo X i decided to buy it, all I have to say is that its not bad for a 100 dollar reel, compared to my Steez A, hmm well its not bad its kinda nice.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by Jason Penn » Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:00 am

Im still using a gen 1 premiere, and also an alx 8:1. I havent had any problems with either.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by dgalex » Mon May 07, 2018 3:25 pm

Man, I didn't reelize (pun intended) we had so many quality control engineers on this board. I started out on the round ABU 5000s and 5500s in the 70s and 80s, and became a Curado fanatic in the 90s. I've bought nothing but Shimano reels since then: CU 200Bs, CU 100Bs, 50MGs (five), original Metanium MG (2), Metanium MG7, Alderbaran. Also, Calcutta 50s, 100s, and TE 50GT. I think I've got a couple Citicas too.

I say all this for "street cred." I'm a Shimano, man thru and thru. Never owned a Daiwa. Not interested. The MG reels have been so enjoyable that I have not bought a new reel for some time. However, I did buy a REVO MGXtreme2 last year for $275 and it's been fun, fun, fun. I suppose I should have double-checked the board first to remind myself that any reel not built on the Japanese mainland is pure trash. But heck, I would have missed out on all the fun fishing with my ABU POS.

I agree it's not worth list price, but none of them are to me. I seldom pay list price, so that's kind of a moot point. Anyway, I've been throwing buzzbaits, superflukes, and T-rigs on the MGXtreme2 for about a year now and have enjoyed it immensely. It's tight, it casts a mile, and has a superb drag. So, if you think this is trash, please send me your trash. Whatever dudes. All you "experts" crack me up. I love my Shimanos, but there's nothing wrong with the ABU I'm using.

David in OK

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by timsford » Mon May 07, 2018 10:01 pm

Personally I'd rather have a daiwa or shimano than the competition from any no matter what the price point. The only doyo reels I've used that stayed in rotation for any length of time were the ones with externally adjustable centrifugal brakes. I liked them but I still prefer daiwas braking system and shimanos and daiwas I've used in the 150-300 price range felt more refined. That being said I wouldn't turn my nose up if I received one as a gift or got a good deal.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by Oolie » Tue May 08, 2018 12:35 am

SSS wrote:1- Why are their reels still don't have a bearing supported pinion gear? ](*,)
I understand why that may be a concern for you, it was for me as well, until I examined the reel more closely, the pinion rides with very tight tolerances on the disconnected portion of the spool shaft, AKA the spool tension shaft.

Said shaft is indexed by three bearings, one under the tension cap, and one on either side of the spool.

The only time the pinion is under load, it is engaged with the spool.
So in that respect you should be examining the support of the pinion as a spool-tension shaft-pinion body.

It seems indexed well enough, as I never had gear wear issues like I did with the non super-free green curado B's.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by surge » Thu May 10, 2018 11:20 am

dgalex wrote:Man, I didn't reelize (pun intended) we had so many quality control engineers on this board. I started out on the round ABU 5000s and 5500s in the 70s and 80s, and became a Curado fanatic in the 90s. I've bought nothing but Shimano reels since then: CU 200Bs, CU 100Bs, 50MGs (five), original Metanium MG (2), Metanium MG7, Alderbaran. Also, Calcutta 50s, 100s, and TE 50GT. I think I've got a couple Citicas too.

I say all this for "street cred." I'm a Shimano, man thru and thru. Never owned a Daiwa. Not interested. The MG reels have been so enjoyable that I have not bought a new reel for some time. However, I did buy a REVO MGXtreme2 last year for $275 and it's been fun, fun, fun. I suppose I should have double-checked the board first to remind myself that any reel not built on the Japanese mainland is pure trash. But heck, I would have missed out on all the fun fishing with my ABU POS.

I agree it's not worth list price, but none of them are to me. I seldom pay list price, so that's kind of a moot point. Anyway, I've been throwing buzzbaits, superflukes, and T-rigs on the MGXtreme2 for about a year now and have enjoyed it immensely. It's tight, it casts a mile, and has a superb drag. So, if you think this is trash, please send me your trash. Whatever dudes. All you "experts" crack me up. I love my Shimanos, but there's nothing wrong with the ABU I'm using.

David in OK
It’s great to finally have a true expert on board with impeccable street credibility and with one Abu low profile reel and a “not interested in Daiwa reels” attitude to prove it.

I understand Abu wants to be in the same league with their low profile reels as Daiwa and Shimano, but it doesn’t have what it takes. Their MGXtreme2 has the same list price as the latest Steez which is ridiculous.

When I buy a reel from Shimano or Daiwa I don’t only pay for quality and performance but also for innovation (SV, MagSealed, DC, TWS etc). I know they will use the money to develop new cool tech.

Where’s the innovation with Abu’s low profile reels? Where’s the new tech? You only overpay for a cheaply built reel Made in Korea.

Abu’s low profile reels are fine but overpriced.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by SSS » Thu May 10, 2018 6:59 pm

surge wrote:
dgalex wrote:Man, I didn't reelize (pun intended) we had so many quality control engineers on this board. I started out on the round ABU 5000s and 5500s in the 70s and 80s, and became a Curado fanatic in the 90s. I've bought nothing but Shimano reels since then: CU 200Bs, CU 100Bs, 50MGs (five), original Metanium MG (2), Metanium MG7, Alderbaran. Also, Calcutta 50s, 100s, and TE 50GT. I think I've got a couple Citicas too.

I say all this for "street cred." I'm a Shimano, man thru and thru. Never owned a Daiwa. Not interested. The MG reels have been so enjoyable that I have not bought a new reel for some time. However, I did buy a REVO MGXtreme2 last year for $275 and it's been fun, fun, fun. I suppose I should have double-checked the board first to remind myself that any reel not built on the Japanese mainland is pure trash. But heck, I would have missed out on all the fun fishing with my ABU POS.

I agree it's not worth list price, but none of them are to me. I seldom pay list price, so that's kind of a moot point. Anyway, I've been throwing buzzbaits, superflukes, and T-rigs on the MGXtreme2 for about a year now and have enjoyed it immensely. It's tight, it casts a mile, and has a superb drag. So, if you think this is trash, please send me your trash. Whatever dudes. All you "experts" crack me up. I love my Shimanos, but there's nothing wrong with the ABU I'm using.

David in OK
It’s great to finally have a true expert on board with impeccable street credibility and with one Abu low profile reel and a “not interested in Daiwa reels” attitude to prove it.

I understand Abu wants to be in the same league with their low profile reels as Daiwa and Shimano, but it doesn’t have what it takes. Their MGXtreme2 has the same list price as the latest Steez which is ridiculous.

When I buy a reel from Shimano or Daiwa I don’t only pay for quality and performance but also for innovation (SV, MagSealed, DC, TWS etc). I know they will use the money to develop new cool tech.

Where’s the innovation with Abu’s low profile reels? Where’s the new tech? You only overpay for a cheaply built reel Made in Korea.

Abu’s low profile reels are fine but overpriced.
The biggest feature on an Abu is a titanium coated line guide [-o<

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by DirtyD64 » Fri May 11, 2018 12:16 am

I moved a Revo STX20 to a 6'Light rod for pan fishing and to keep in the car, I was scared it would go out eventually because of a few bad reviews, but I really enjoy it. Is loaded with 6lb Nanobraid and still amazingly smooth.

Abu could change a few things, but so could Shimano and Daiwa. At this point though I have to base purchases on performance/reliability versus price and Shimano and Daiwa just simply top the other's offerings.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by Dalleinf » Fri May 11, 2018 1:06 am

Surge, as you know, low profile reels and round reels share many/most features and ABU has been a big part of the many improvents seen in multipliers (low and round) since the 1950’s or so. Improvements in materials used, metals, bearings, level winds, spool designs, multi-disc star drag systems etc. Speaking of drags, when the Revos hit the market they displayed fantastic smooth drags straight out of the box, which I cannot say for many of the very expensive Daiwas from around that time (eg my PX68 SPR). I am sure that the folks from Daiwa and Shimano have opened up quite a few ABUs in their time just for inspiration (and vice versa).
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Shimanos and Daiwas, but ABU make some nice reels too - even the OEM low profile ones.
My MGXtreme gen1 is great. Still, if I had to pay list price for a high-end low profile, which I didn’t, then I would choose a Steez or a Shimano. My two Mørrums - 1601 and 3601 (ZX, blue ones) - are great too. If I had to pay list price for a high-end round reel, which I didn’t, then I would choose a new Ryoga or Conquest over my Mørrums - allthough that may change if ABU updates their high-end round reels. I hope they do. I would love to see some new 1600/2600 sized round reels from ABU. They have a cult following in many countries, including JP, for a reason.
However, when it comes to the middle of the price range, choices get more difficult for me. IMO many of the Revos can easily compete with Curados, Chronarchs, Tatulas, Zillions etc. All of them are pretty nice reels for the $€£ - why not just appreciate that, the many offerings on the market, and the tough competetion without which your “insert favourite brand” wouldn’t be so great. Darn, I may have to eat my own words and start to appreciate some of the made in China offerings from Aliexpress.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by surge » Fri May 11, 2018 2:09 am

Dalleinf, Abu did great with their Ambassadeurs and with their first low profile reels. But they stopped innovating long time ago. I’ve skimmed through their reels feature lists and there is nothing new or distinctive.

Their reels are nice as long as they are not overpriced.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by dgalex » Fri May 11, 2018 11:00 am

Heh, heh, heh.

I'm no expert and I would never presume to be. I'm just a dude who likes to chunk and wind whenever I can--and I wanted people to know that it's not my first rodeo before I piped up about fishing reels. I also service all my own reels so i know what's inside.

This post grabbed my attention because no one seems interested in the MGxtreme2 reels and I was curious why that is. But when someone makes a wild-ass claim, trashing a brand in totality, it's just stupid and sophomoric. Non-value added. The fact is, even the most simple and cheap reels out today perform better and are more fun to cast than the reels I started out with in the 1970s and 80s, so comments like this are almost humorous in their lack of perspective.

So anyway, ABU is "trash?" Come on man....

The list price of the MGxtreme2 is absurd. In no way does that make it, or any other over-priced reel inherently "bad." God bless Ebay. I would be interested in other people's experience with this reel, but evidently, i came to the wrong place. No surprise. I do enjoy TackleTour and the boards though, and I have since it began years ago. Sometimes, you actually stumble across some reel wisdom (pun intended).

BTW, no disrespect whatsoever was intended towards Daiwa. I would actually like to try one of the classics (like a Pixie) sometime, or a Steez. My intended point was that i've been so pleased with my Shimanos over years that i stuck with them until I picked up the MGxtreme2, and it has been a fun reel to fish with and is not "trash." If it falls apart, I will post that as well.

Cheers!

David in OK

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by surge » Fri May 11, 2018 1:09 pm

But who and where said MGXtreme2 is trash?

I owned that reel. I had about 50 baitcasting reels from Shimano and Daiwa when I bought it and it didn’t impress me. So I sold it to fund another Daiwa SV103.

I also had a Revo Beast and it was uncomfortable to palm with every reel seat I tried. So I sold it as well.

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Re: Abu Garcia WTF's

Post by Dalleinf » Fri May 11, 2018 3:42 pm

surge wrote:But who and where said MGXtreme2 is trash?

I owned that reel. I had about 50 baitcasting reels from Shimano and Daiwa when I bought it and it didn’t impress me. So I sold it to fund another Daiwa SV103.

I also had a Revo Beast and it was uncomfortable to palm with every reel seat I tried. So I sold it as well.
I have two SV103s. They are crap out of the box IMO. A new spool helps a lot and it is the reason that I still have them.
I have one JP PX68L. It was total crap out the box. I had to ship it to the US to get it serviced by the reel magician on this board for super tuning and it remains the only reel (of many) that I own, which needed that treatment.
I have a T3 1016 and a T3 SV. They were and still are as close to crap as you can come. Expensive crap too. Plastic fantastic. Talk about falling apart. They are perhaps the only two reels that I regret buying. You can find many threads on the issues with the T3s and I agree with almost any negative word in those threads. The Daiwa engineers who made the T3s should throw themselves off a cliff.
I also have a PX68SPR, Ryoga, Steez SV TW, Alphas, Alphas Air, Lexa etc and have few if any complaints with theese reels.
Some Daiwa reels are crap IMO but that does not mean that all Daiwa reels are crap - in part because my “IMO” is just that, my opinion, and in part because Daiwa makes some great reels.
I/others could probably write something similar about Shimano reels. I seem to recall a bunch of people who dissatisfied with post-E curados...

I have a Revo Beast and enjoy using it. It palms fine. Out of the box, I find it a much (=MUCH) better reel than MY PX68L, T3s and SV103s.
Does that prove anything?

(And I do not seriously mean that any Daiwa engineer should jump off a cliff).

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