Mate u need to look at a couple of things
1. U will not be covered by warranty
2. Reels made overseas bearings maybe imperial when in Aussie all bearings r metric.
just bear this in mind.
ken
My boss goes to China regularly. I might ask him if he would pick up a reel or two for me. I think i read that Ryobi are made in PRC.
Do any of you know of quality brands made in china and or tackle shops I could direct him to. Ningbo & Quan jo (spelling)are places he visits among others.
Mate u need to look at a couple of things
1. U will not be covered by warranty
2. Reels made overseas bearings maybe imperial when in Aussie all bearings r metric.
just bear this in mind.
ken
Thanks guys
I had a hunt around and found Ryobi are made in China,but then found an Alan Hawk review of their flagship Carnelian reel from 2012 and decided I would give them a miss.
I also saw Quantum reels are made there,,, not sure about them , I will do some more research.
I dont know why a manufacturer would change the sizes of bearings from one market to another.
Possible , but i cant see the benefit.
There also seems to be heaps of cheap cheap reels.
Itwould be good if you could get the big name brands there at a cheap price but I personally wouldn't be spending my hard earned on chinese made reels.
Yeah not interested in the cheapies,
Looking for a bit of quality.
A huge amount of Chinese gear is still way under par. The one i've tried in small spin is Tokushima on Fleabay. not so bad. The very best of that name is ok. Only buy this stuff if you want really cheap disposable stuff, or that doesn't really have to do any serious work. Cant imagine wearing out a reel on most estuary species, Jacks aside. The real test of reels in use apart from reliability is what they are like under load.
When you have used top end gear under load, it ruins you for anything else!
Mind you there is some real rubbish reels in the known brands here to.
I have bought some hooks from China and had some good success and some others complete failure. The cost is so minimal so who cares, so you may apply that to Reels as well.
End of ramble.
"let not he boast who puts his armor on, as he who takes it off"
My personal opinion is stick to Shimano or Daiwa regardless of where it is made. These companies have honed their products over many years so that even their cheap models carry over benefits of design that are found at the top of the range.
The cheap and unknown brands might try to make their stuff look like a Shimano or Daiwa, but the design integrity isn't there and you'll end up with rubbish that is a chore to use (until it breaks).
In regard to bearings reel are made for different countries such as America which still measures in imperial
A lot of good gear comes out of China. Check out the Maxel range for example
A Proud Member of
"The Rebel Alliance"
Thanks Horse
Thats one I had not heard of.
I've had a little Ryobi Artica spin reel for a few years now which I lend to people who can't use a baitcaster.......I also use it as my Barra softplastics reel......It's had a decent workout and has even landed small 2-3kg Mack Tuna with flickbaits........I can't complain about it .....it has no corrosion the drag is still ok and came with a spare spool....I have run 30lb Fins over it since I've had it and it seems fine.....It's the older black version.
Dan
Confidence.......the feeling you get before you fully understand the situation.
Some of the Maxels are rebadged as Jigging Master and fetch top dollar over here
A Proud Member of
"The Rebel Alliance"
Hi Dan
I had a good impression of the Ryobi reels.Then i saw that review. Im not sure if that is indicative of all their models though,and it was 3 years ago...?
Just go to BCF and see the range available big chance they come from China .