I am contemplating switching from Quantum reels to Browning for a few reasons. One is that Browning is much cheaper. I could have all matching Midas reels for 1/3 of the cost of Quantum Tour Editions. Another reason is simple, I like the Browning history/heritage.
I have never used a Midas (which I believe is the best they have), so I was wondering if anyone has used both reels. If so, what do you think?
Are u talking casting or spinning?
I used to use quantum casting reels exclusively. I posted a similar post to this on these forums about a year ago because i was thinking about switching to a reel that lasted longer than a quantum. almost everyone said to buy Shimano curado's. I ended up buying revo's and was fairly happy with them. At the end of last season I bought a curado e7.......I am now switching all of my reels to curados. Best reel i've ever used by far. If ur thinking about buying tour editions for $250 or a Midas's for $130, the best advise I can give you is to buy curados for $170!
I wish i would have listened to eveyone in the first place. ;D
I bought a Browning Reel once >:(! Naugh said!! I never was very happy with the Tour editions either. Curado's are the best value for the money and Pfluger Baitcasters are a satisfactory mid priced reel.
Shimano. Might cost a few more dollars... but WILL last longer.
Never used either. I am purely Pfleuger and Shimano. I like them both. Eventially, all of my casting reels will be Curados. I may stick with Pfleuger for most of my spinning reels, but I do want a couple of the new CI4's.
Big Dreams,
Take a look at the new Lew's line up of reels, they are SWEET! There are 4 different models of baitcasters to choose from. The tournament pro is about the same price as a curado but is a few ounces lighter! Lews also has a strong history/heritage in the fishing industry.
For casting, I use Curados (both the new style and older style) and also Revo STX's. All are excellent for quality and durability. If I were looking to restock at a lower price point ($75 or so) I would look for used Curados on Ebay (the old green style). They were very popular for a reason and bearings and such are still available. If you do go used stay away from reels used in salt water areas.
For spinning Shimano's quality is hard to beat but the new ones are heavy. I've been using Pflueger's for the last few season and am very happy with their durability, and they are both smooth and light.
Never tried the Browning. I have two Quantum Tour Editions that perform great, but I would never pay full price for them (I got them cheap on Ebay). For the money and for the performance I cannot recommend the Curados highly enough. They are by far better than any of my Quantum Tour/Energy or Abu Revos. If you don't want to spend the money on the Curados, I would get a Shimano Citica...it performs almost as well and you can get them for half the $$.
For spinning reels I love my Quantum Tour Editions and Shimano Stradics equally.
Unless things have changed, Browning licensed it's "fishing" business to Bass Pro. I have seen some people say that Bass Pro "owns" Browning, but the "fishing" arm of Browning was licensed to them, big difference. That being said, you will see similar specs, and a striking resemblance between some of the Bass Pro reels and the Browning reels (probably because they come from the same factory in Korea). If you are interested in the Browning reels, look at the Bass Pro reels. That being said, I'm hardcore shimano. I don't think I have a reel that is newer than five, maybe six years old. The old green curados were built like tanks, and they last a LONG, LONG time. Plus, if you like to tinker, you can find a lot of upgrades for them.
Edit: I had to look it up since it's been a while, and, according to Browning's website, they license "Browning Fishing" to Bass Pro. Here's a link:
http://www.browning.com/library/infonews/detail.asp?id=250
I was totally off track. I never knew so many anglers preferred Shimano. This is huge for me as I have been buying Quantum TE's and I compare them to low $ KVD reels. I have been looking at Shimanos for the last couple of days now and Think I will be switching over. I appreciate all of your insight.
BD
when I was with Zebco/Quantum back in the 90's Browning Fishing was aquired (owned, not licenced) by Brunswick and the reels were then made by Zebco/Quantum. But I think that when Brunswick spun off the fishing divisions to W.C. Bradly the Browning portion went back to Browning. didn't really keep up with the Browning protion. I do know that many of the parts are similar. I have noticed that basically you only find them in the big box stores. If you see the name Tour Addition it is a Trade Mark for Quantum so it kinda leads to that there could still be a connection. So why buy the knock off when you can get the orginal, just get the Quantum.
You might look at the service end before you buy, the big box stores tend not to supply service quickly
REELMAN
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at one point (early 2000s), the bps reels were being made by silstar (pfluegar) as were the brownings.
i actually have a lot of old (7-9 years) bps extreme reels that still work great. similar design to a curado and metal frame - do the math.
I buy shimano's exclusivly. I usually buy only on ebay. I am paying $50-$70 for reels that cost $150-$200. I take them in for service and a tune up as soon as I get them and they work perfect. Your best bet, Get ahold of ReelMan and figure out what it will cost you to get them tuned up, then figure out what you want to spend on ebay. Stradics, for instance, I will put in $70 as my max bid. I know ill get another one for that anyways.
Or, wait to see if BPS ever decides to sell Certates for $200 again, man I was not happy being broke right then.
Frank
I tried getting away with using inexspensive to mid-grade reels for a long time. Doesn't work. I got to a point where I needed so many that I couldn't afford what I really wanted/needed. I pry ended up paying as much over the years replacing junk $30-$100 reels as I would if I would've just started with the Higher-end stuff.
Now I'm slowly getting all my casting reels swithched over to Revos. Great reels. I have 5, pry need about 5 more more. I just replace the junk reels with Revos when I can. My suggestion would be buy the best you can afford. If you can only get 1 this year, so be it. If you tournament fish you just can't get away with cheap reels. Trust me, I tried.... :-[
I appreciate the advise as it is needed as I move forward. Many have brought new information to me in this post. Not entirely sure what I will do come spring. I am beginning to lean toward Shimano be we shall see. Thanks to all that posted.
BD