Low Cost CNC Chinese Reels???

by **hopperdropper** » January 9th, 2018, 12:47 am

Anyone ever try one of these low cost CNC Chinese reels being sold on eBay?

http://r.ebay.com/2DMPdV

http://r.ebay.com/1Ty1qX

I am looking at a size to go with a 2wt 6' rod for some small creeks. Wondering how they would do.

Thanks for any feedback!

by **DrCreek** » January 9th, 2018, 7:53 am

I've held one in my hands. Never thrown one though. But here's what I saw - and more importantly, what I felt.

I'm guessing "machined" must be a loose term. The edges of the reel where the spool clicked in place next to the frame were ridiculously sharp - enough to cut my finger if I slid it around the edge. I'm thinking ANY fly line would easily get shredded if during winding, the line touched those sharp sides. There were also several tiny, but very sharp "burrs" that were lifted at the edges of the reel foot. They easily scratched through the skin on my fingers.

Take the good advice of everyone that will most likely chime in and tell you: "DON'T BUY CRAP COMPONENTS." Pay the money and buy what you know is legit. I'm telling you - from someone that's made this mistake before (just to see what it was all about) save your duckets and buy the real deal. Get yourself something that has both a well-known name on it and is truly machined - if that's the direction you're heading.

Bells and whistles on fly reels only means more things to possibly get messed up. You don't need to go all the way like I did. For my ultralights, I use nothing but Galvan 2.5 reels - the green ones. Not even sure you can find those anymore. Plus, I bought a few really nice early Orvis 123 reels and extra reel spools for them. Also got lucky and made off with the last Orvis CFO 1-D green reel and extra spool (still not sure how I pulled that one off) from my local fly shop. There are no more to be found anywhere as they are collectors items now. I have no idea why I bought the "O" reels - I refuse to take them out fishing for fear they might get scratched. :doh:

by **briansII** » January 9th, 2018, 10:36 am

I've bought more than a few "cheap" reels, knowing full well they could possibly be junk. Considering the price, a gamble I was willing to take. One reel never was put into use because it had a tight spot in the rotation of the spool. The other were used for a while, but eventually I quit using them. Drag performance varied from ok, to bad. Even though I don't need a decent drag on a trout reel, I came to the conclusion I wanted to use dependable stuff when I'm out fishing. The reels are collecting dust......some I haven't seen in years.

I'm sure the origins(China)of those reels are the same of the reels you're looking at, but the quality may vary since I bought my reels several years ago. I paid more from US dealers.

briansII

by **fly addict** » January 9th, 2018, 11:24 am

Wow, those are really inexpensive reels. If I was to buy one I would go with the seller with the higher feedback. For the price I don’t think you can’t go wrong, but you’ll probably get what you paid for. If it is junk send it back, the seller has a 30 day return policy. But it might cost as much to return it as you paid for it! Or you could just toss it in the trash. The last time I bought a reel under $20 new was in 1972 for a Pflueger 1492 Medalist. And most don’t consider them to be high quality reels.

by **clee** » January 9th, 2018, 12:23 pm

Do what you will with your own money but here is my take: I wouldn't waste my money. I believe in quality and not in this disposable culture we live in.

One way of thinking is a 2wt reel all it need to do is hold the line so a high end reel is not needed. While I agree with this, you do need a quality reel. Early when I started fishing with one of my buddies, he fish a cheap chinese made reel on one of our local streams. He did fine up until he tripped and bashed his reel on a boulder causing a indent in the spool. This caused the reel to seize up and he couldn't reel in or strip line out. It made for some problematic fishing after that. He now owns only quality reels.

by **NorcalBob** » January 9th, 2018, 1:52 pm

At $13/16 a pop, you aren't really risking much dough! I've never seen one so I can't help out there but I'd imagine it's not very good, but then again at $13/16.............

by **Packer** » January 9th, 2018, 2:51 pm

I bought one from China for 1 cent. It didn't fit the reel seat. Sold it at my garage sale for $7

by **Sparky of SoCal** » January 9th, 2018, 3:27 pm

I fish with a 6'/2wt. in my my local streams a lot and think you really need something just a bit better than a empty toilet roll to hold your line with those limited set ups. I bet those reels would do the job if they had any quality at all.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

by **hopperdropper** » January 9th, 2018, 5:40 pm

Thanks for all the feedback! I have a few quality reels I use but all are for 5wt or 6wt setups.

Though I do plan on investing in a higher-quality, light setup in the future, some of the mystery of playing around with these budget buys seems fun.

Since posting this I have found a few other forums from internet searches where some recent purchasers chimed in and several have had great experiences with similar products. Of course, there were a few stories of disappointment.

I am going to take the gamble and will write up a review after first fishing them.

by **hopperdropper** » January 26th, 2018, 10:38 am

So, this is what $11 (all in) got me from eBay. They consider it a 2 WT fly reel. I should have spent some time with the measurements they provided as it is a bit smaller than I had planned. I must say, I am shocked they can produce and sell a product of this quality at $11 with shipping included. Fit & Finish is exceptional. Drag system seems to work great, at least out of the box. Only thing is I am not sure about the ability to swap winding sides. Came from the manufacturer set up for right hand retrieve, which does not work for me. Any lefties interested in a small fly reel?

by **hopperdropper** » January 26th, 2018, 11:05 am

I think this will be my next attempt. 1/2 WT Fly Reel Combo - http://r.ebay.com/q5YfL5

$25 for a reel, backing, line, and leader!

Thoughts on if the 1/2 Wt option is tool small? Should I bump up to the 3/4 WT size?

by **NorcalBob** » January 26th, 2018, 12:36 pm

My 2 WT reel (an extremely expensive Sage U/L fly reel) measures (using the same scheme as that one), with a WF-2 line and about 50 yds of 20 # backing:
2 7/8 " reel diameter
7/8" spool width

by **NorcalBob** » January 26th, 2018, 1:30 pm

Something to try to convert to left hand wind. Inside the spool you can see a locking clip holding the bushing in place. Remove the locking clip and then the bushing. Flip the bushing over (they are usually reversible) and reassemble. That might work to convert to lefty.

by **hopperdropper** » January 26th, 2018, 1:40 pm

NorcalBob wrote:My 2 WT reel (an extremely expensive Sage U/L fly reel) measures (using the same scheme as that one), with a WF-2 line and about 50 yds of 20 # backing:
2 7/8 " reel diameter
7/8" spool width

Thanks! That is helpful. Looks like I will go with the 2 WT.

For reference, the reel I have pictured previously has a spool width of 3/4" and a reel diameter of only 1 3/4".

by **hopperdropper** » January 26th, 2018, 1:46 pm

NorcalBob wrote:Something to try to convert to left hand wind. Inside the spool you can see a locking clip holding the bushing in place. Remove the locking clip and then the bushing. Flip the bushing over (they are usually reversible) and reassemble. That might work to convert to lefty.

That worked perfectly! Thanks for the advice.

I believe it still might be a bit small for a 2WT setup but may hold onto it for only a $11 investment. Perhaps some day I will build a 1WT rod to play with.