Yes agreed, DEBO is one of the best. I think he doesn't have many subscribers is because he doesn't want to be an "entertainer" like say the googan squad. I feel like the majority of the Googan Squads followers are young kids. The videos are fast paced with lots of flashy editing. The reason people watch the googans is because its looked at like a form of entertainment and the branding aspect of everything, like a prestige thing. Like fish with googan baits, they are the best, fishing with favorite rods, they are the best. That's not the case. DEBO is more informative and to the point. In my opinon, DEBO makes better videos to help people actually learn and be somewhat entertained as the same time.
Some things to add are that bearings are generally made of stainless steel which is heavier than your plastic bushings. Some higher end reels like a Shimano Aldebaren purposely cut down the number of bearings and use bushings to reduce the weight down into the 4 ounce range. Many higher end reels use this method to cut weight so dont necessarily think that more bearings means a better reel. However, some reels like the Bantam MGL arent so concerned with weight and bearings can be used to add stronger support to the pinion gear for example when it's under a heavy load. These are the reels you want for heavy vegetation fishing methods like punching or frogging. One last thing to consider is guys who fish in the salt. Bearings and salt water do not mix well. This is where the appeal of a concept z can come into play. No bearings means no corrosion from the salt water.
All of my spool bearings go to crap after a month or so because I fish a lot from the jetties and moisture just gets in there. And the part in the video about the main gear is spot on, you lose buttery feel quick and I use the shimano tranx 400, only after a few months I could feed the teeth of main gear, it’s works but just not smooth , I wish that and then eating issues was fixed, I’ve tried ceramics , they go bad too … salt is killer
If I can add something to help with casting a bait caster I used this when I was 13 or 14 first learning how to use one. Find whatever line you plan on using and get a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce bullet or bell weight and practice making all sorts of cast without getting a backlash it really helped me. If recommend using mono at first just because it's cheaper and you WILL have backlashes that might have to cut out.
Perfect, Debo! Great explanation and analysis. When looking for a baitcaster the very last thing I do is spin the handle. Like you, I'm looking at tolerances, brakes, and drag. I could care less about appearances. Again, great vid. Thanks.
I grew up fishing in the 1960s and our Abu baitcasters had bushings and no bearings. Our D-A-M Quick spinning reels had one ball bearing. I still fish those 50+ year old reels sometimes but also use more modern setups too with multi-bearings. This is a great video, l am now prescribed.
Fishermen do not understand that only the shaft bearing makes a reel feel better and smoother on the cast, and any more than two bearings on the spool only add more friction to your cast. I have found that my high-quality 80's Shimano Magnulite, which only has two spool bearings and one shaft bearing, will outperform most of today's reels with ten bearings and up. I found my old Lews speed spool reel from the early 80s to perform better than many of today's fishing reels. The Lews is smother than all my high-end Shimano and Pflueger reels, and the Lews speed spool is cheap. It does not even have a Magnetic breaking system on it and only two bearings. When it comes to spinning reels, why pay for a spinning reel with a tone of bearing when the spool on a spinning reel does not even spin, making all those bearing useless?
Another outstanding video from the #Debonator! Your depth of knowledge and down to the basics explanations make all of this seem simple. Well done, Debo! I find myself waiting for your next video to come out a lot these days and you never disappoint. Thank you once again for a quality video lesson!
Well said, brother! I personally never pay attention to how may bearings a reel has...I'm more concerned with the feel in hand. Spool bearings or any bearing for that matter can be replaced or upgraded if need be...if the reel feels solid in my hands I'm sold! 👊
Ive always thought that more bearings is just leaving a larger margin of error. But to be perfectly honestly with you...I’ve never really thought about it a whole lot when selecting a new reel. However, I really learned a few things from this video and you’ve given me something to think about. This coincides well with your last video with dismantling and cleaning your reel. Great video once again my friend. Your knowledge of tackle and just overall ability to think outside the box is just astonishing!
Thanks for the info I got my first baitcaster Diawa CA80. Had my first good day casting it only two blowouts. I have more problems with overhead casts than side arm.
I almost NEVER pay close attention or base decisions on bearing count. I've had just as much performance in a low bearing count as I've had in a high bearing count. I definitely think the quality of a bearing matters, but not the count. Great video btw!!!
Great vid. I used to think more bearings meant that better quality. But now I go for smoothness. My Diawa has the least amount of bearings I have, but it's one of the smoothest reels i have.
Yep, that's the point. I have some reels with 11 bearings that are as smooth as those with half the bearings. All just depends on the reel. Thanks for watching!
I found out the more bearing did not mean much at all way back in the 80s. I took 3 reels and put them to the test by switching out both bushing and bearing and the shaft bearing sleeve. What I found out was a 2 bearing Shimano cast just as good as my 5 bearing Shimano and my 2 bushing Shimano reel with the only different's being in the smoothness of the reel handle. I then took the shaft bearing out of the 5 bearing Shimano and put it in the shaft of the 2 bearing Shimano and that 2 bearing Shimano cast just as well as the high-end reel plus the extra smooth feel of the handle when reeling in my cast. So anyways with all the testing, I came to the conclusion that did not make much of a difference and by buying a reel with more than 3 or 5 bearings was just a ploy by the reel maker to raise the cost of a reel plus the more bearings the more friction and weight it adds to the reel.
I definitely pay attention to bearing. Having been in manufacturing quality for years a good grade bearing does make a difference using Palomar or plastic in bearing area is at best sketchy, plastic is subject to heat and warpage. just my opinion. Great video though, thank you.
Awesome info as always! I've always decided on reels based on how they feel in my hand... smoothness being a part of that. I don't really pay much attention to bearing count. I look for a smooth retrieve, palmability, and a good free spool.
Excellent video. And good to echo that those extra bearings can be a significant liability. My LFS Inshore has them and the paddles have an endcap to hide the screw/bearing. That endcap can also trap water (nasty saltwater) in the bearing area. The value they add is interesting, but it ups the chance that corrosion sets in.
Newer to the game and have only had shimano and Abu Garcia reels. Believe the highest bearing reel I know is the Shimano Casitas reel. Have not had any others but will have to check out some to compare. Thanks for info Debo
I have an SLX XT and I changed all the bushings with good bearings. Main shaft bushing for bearing, worm shaft bushing for bearing, knob bushings for bearings and the 2 main spool bearings, I replaced them with abec7 ceramics. It turned out really good!
Ok being a Machinist and an Engineer, both bearings and bushings are very effective and arguable the same thing the difference comes in on tolerances. The different use would be a lot of weight on the axis point you would want to use a bearing. weight and speed bearing used, wear bushings can be used for general wear points that don't see a lot of either of those. In a reel I would say the highest weight point would be on hook set or retrieving a large fish (drag point). Hope this gives some insight from a creator or designer!
Thank you. I was a little confused because I have a team lew’s lite speed spool baitcaster with 10 plus 1 ball bearings and I also have the concept z by thirteen fishing (the green one) with zero ball bearings in which I was confused in why and how my thirteen fishing baitcaster has zero ball bearings while thirteen fishing is happy to announce/show off.
Another great video!! I’m wondering if you have or would consider using Piscifun reels. I bought the upper end saex elite bait caster just after thanksgiving and got a killer deal on the reel and a extra “bfs” spool and I’m interested in possibly getting a phantom x also. Seeing as it’s winter in Illinois I’m in no hurry but would be interested to see your opinions on either reel. Also I’m not brand loyal but love a good bargain owning Abu Garcia, BPS, Daiwa and Quantum reels.
Thanks a lot man, appreciate you watching! I've never used any of the piscifun reels. I'm the same way here in Iowa, gives us too much time to shop for gear through the winter lol
Quality of machining is the most important part of anything mechanical, no bushing or number of bearing will make up for poor machining and tolerances. So Debo you nailed it!
One thing I noticed with my concept z is the bushings do not perform well in cold weather. I think they shrink in the cold creating drag. This is why I swapped out the spool bushings for bearings.
I use to be concerned about bearing count until I bought and used the Curado K. It is more about the main gear now. They are super smooth and built like tanks. Bearing count isnt as important and you can always upgrade your spool bearings to increase casting distance.
You have cleared up my confusion on smoothness in reels, you should do reviews on Abu garcia. Never used one. Great channel man. Will be sharing your channel with everyone I know.
Good video I have told my fishing bro’s for years that having more bearings in a reel does not mean all that much and they just laugh at me. My first reel only had bushings and my second reel had three bearings which was amazing performance for a reel at the time. One day while fishing We tested who’s reel would cast the furthest and my three bearing reel that was bought in 1979 came in at casting 25 feet and his new 14 bearing reel came in at a cast of just 26 feet and this was in 2018 which makes my 3 bearing reel had 30 years of wear and tair over his 4 month old reel. I remember doing my own test on my shimano Bantom and it only had bushings in it but when I put just 2 bearings in it the reel worked just as well as any reel that had 3 or more bearing minus the smooth motion of the reel handle only do to not having a bearing in the shaft like the others. Another thing is all my bro’s think that a spinning reel with more bearing is better but it is not as the bearings in a spinning reel have almost nothing to do with the spool as the spool does not even move when you cast a spinning reel. I could go on and on on how a big name rod and reel makers are just ripping the fisherman off with there so called improvments when there is no improvement at all.
I have my uncle’s old Ambassadeur 5000’s and 6000’s from the late 1960’s, and I’ll be damned if I can find a bearing in them and they still work just fine. Though there are some assemblies that I have yet to disassemble and clean.
I have a quick question. Do you use a leader for bass fishing with your braided line? And why? Thank you great videos. Learning a lot before the season for bass starts. :)
Yes, I always use a braid to a leader on my spinning setups. The sensitivity of the braid is unbeatable. The leader helps keep the line harder to see. Thanks for watching man!
Truly helpful stuff and thanks for taking the time to educate. I think this brings some light to today's marketing 'bearing' blitz wrangling for our $$$! Some people talk like bushings, instead of bearings, just mean cheap. Doesn't look like that's necessarily true. It's more about proper, or critical, bearing placement.
I have the same Ambassadeur Abu Garcia 5500C bait casters that Used for 20 years of tournament bass fishing. I just maintain them they cast as good or better than all the new stuff.
Here is my $.02 about polymer bushings vs bearings. Polymer bushings are lightweight, have no moving parts, and (generally speaking) much cheaper than good quality sealed SS ball bearings. For the most part they are maintenance free, don't corrode, and rarely totally fail. If you take care of them, they will outlast most other parts of the reel; however, if you get sand and grit on those bushings you'll ruin them before the day of fishing is over. And once you grind a groove in them, they're good as gone. Sealed SS Ball Bearings do add a higher level of support and low resistance but at the cost of added weight and cost. The more bearings a reel has the likelihood the maker is cutting weight somewhere else in the reel (like plastic gears or levers). Sealed BB's are less susceptible to corrosion, dirt and grime, and seizing; while open BB's need regular maintenance to relube, clean out debris, and fight corrosion. Sealed BB's are more expensive and have added weight, but are less susceptible to failure and are generally maintenance free. Sealed BB's aren't always needed for the average application, but sure add a level of assurance when you drop it in the sand or mud. My general thoughts: I think each has its use and more of one over the other has yet prove better IMHO.
What matters most to me is cost, durability, and reliability, when it comes to reels. I have nothing against using cheap reels, so long as they will last, and not fall apart on me.
Completely agree. I have a wide variety of reels that are all in different price ranges. I'll use less expensive reels that perform too. Thanks for watching man.
Ive found that decent quality reels that have the 5 internal bearings, 3 for spool and 2 for the main shaft, feel the best to me generally...i always wondered how they got 12-14 bearings in a reel, i never realized they were in the handles! lol...Ive never needed to take the handle apart...
While I enjoy my low profile reels, I really, really enjoy using my round reels specifically my Abu 5601 C4 round reels and my C3 rocket. They have five bearings (4+1) and they feel great too. Looking at your reel taken apart makes me cringe thinking about the day I have to take mine apart. The thought of having to do maintenance on my low profile reels is a nightmare. I can easily take apart my round reels without the stress of keeping track of what seems like a hundred parts. This is a great video. Thanks for sharing.
Found your site Debo.. Impressive! I have been telling anybody I can about your good informative site. You need to come to Texas and fish Lake Fork with me sometime.
Great video very easy to understand Debo if you do a little research you can find a supplier for bearings’. Most bearings used in fishing reels are standard sizes use for many other applications. Depending on the quality, prices may vary. Local bearing distributors will check the size for you and provide a choice of styles to choose from. I use to rebuild all manners of machines and tools and accidently discovered this long ago. A good bearing suppler willing to explain the differences in bearing designs might interest you greatly. They also have all types and sizes of bushing that often provide more strength with less wear. There is a You-Tube channel called Tackle Advisor and this guy is tough on reel manufactures to extreme levels. However, if you can stand his critical attitude he has a great knowledge of fishing reels. He has a couple of videos comparing casting reels distances. He makes casts using bait-caster reels over 110-yards.
I have three Shimano Caenan's which are only 4+1 bearings and they are very smooth. For long casting, I look for reels with high quality bearings like abec 5's. Bearing count is not my main consideration.
I typically lean more towards name brands I get there is a lot of decent and cheap reels out there but if a company produces high quality parts it will establish a good name in the community. I think for most people it's more of a "who can make the best reel at price point $x " than anything else a lot of folks want value and there is nothing wrong with that at all. I grew up fishing cheap and I would buy cheap rods and reels with the expectation to replace it after a year (talking $30-ish) fishing gear meant for fresh water used in saltwater ... that can really add on the ware for cheaper options. I was happy doing that myself but after awhile I decided I simply wanted something nice.
I'm all about cost. I'm a rookie and don't want to spend a ton, so I just read reviews and look for good bargains on reels (and rods) in the $80-100 range. Those are plenty nice for me.
Bearing count doesn't matter. What matters is where you put them. Actually the Curado K is so smooth because of the two bearings supporting the pinion gear 🤘
I look for a reel in the 60-100 range that has a little bit of everything in it. for example a reputation for build quality, smoothness, feel in hand, bearings, line capacity, longevity ie how long it lasts before needing a cleaning or repair, and color to match with rod.
Nice tips sir, i'm India and would like to know why my casting reel is not as smooth as it was new i mean after 3 to 6 month of use. I do go wishing 3 to 5 time a week for 3 to 4 hour. So i do cleaning and oiling of my casting reel but stil after greasing and oiling my reel is not as smooth like butter feeling while retive. So sir why it is happening how can i get as it was new. I have Royel Legend and Black-Max casting reel. Please response me
I am a fairly new subscriber and rarely post comments, but I feel the need to mention my view, especially on the SLX and higher end Lews reels. I like them ALL. I have had Shimano Curados and liked them until the they introduced the Curado K. That is where Shimano lost me. For some reason My Curado K side plate and spool tensioner didn't seem to fit together properly. May have been one that slipped through QA. Who know. But at that point I tried Lews Lite and Custom Pro. I was very impressed with these and never looked back. I have been a Lews fan boy for several years now. This year I broke down and tried the Shimano SLX XT a friend suggested. This model has 4+1 bearings. I like that the side plate does not detach completely , similar to the "Beetle wing" feature of the 13 Fishing brand of reels. Even better, This Shimano SLX is Super Smooth and casts as far if not farther than my newest Lews Custom Lite which is only a few months old. This kind of makes me wonder why I spent so much on the higher end Lews reels.
It's like Chevy Chase said in the movie Fletch, "it's all ball bearings", Haha. I've never put a real (reel) high emphasis on bearing count, my main concerns are, will this thing cast, can it handle big fish, and will it last. I have to say, I do get better performance from more expensive reels, but companies like Kast King, and Piscifun are narrowing the gap for sure.
Yep. More bearings More maintenance required! Good quality bushings in the right places do the job just as well, even in spinning reels. Line roller bearings are a glaring example.
I've been on the fence about picking up a SLX for a new "all around" set up. I've owned many different brands over the years including lew's, abu garcia and 13 fishing. The most used reels today are my 3 kastking reels (whitemax, assassin and speed demon) and so far (a year later) they have been very very good to me. I'm curious to know what you're opinion is on the Royale Legends Elite vs. the SLX and which reel YOU THINK has a longer life of hard use. Also, You're videos are too good for only 11k subs dude. Keep the awesome vidoes coming brother! - Stay hooked
Thanks my friend, I appreciate that a lot. Overall, I feel the SLX is a good reel. I think any aluminum framed reel will generally hold up longer than a graphite framed reel. All depends on how often the equipment is used and how well it's maintained. Thanks for watching man 👊
I like a good amount of bearings when the real is a decent quality reel and the placement of bearings are in the right places, yes I have owned 2-3 bearing reels in the past on several brands Abu , quantum , shimano , and so forth and so on some smooth some rough, but when I discovered kast king products they were cheaper price reels but high quality and thought was designed into the reels with a lot of bearings in the reels and to be honest I was shocked at not only how smooth the reels are but the quality that went into the design of the reels so...not only do I love the high amount of bearings but compared to the smoothness of the reels but the price and quality compared to say my 189 dollar quantum which is only about 6-7 bearing I can buy several of the kast king brand compared to only one of the other reels I'm still in awe of the quality and price of the cheaper reels asnd I'm rough on reels typically a cheaper reel won't last but not the case with kast king I'm thoroughly happy I don't have to keep replacing my reels from poor quality ima happy camper as they say so if the bearings are high quality and thoughtfully placed I got no problem having a reel that has 10-12 bearing reels as long as it adds to the smoothness and quality of the reel
Yep I've got less expensive baitcasters and more expensive baitcasters that have a high amount of bearings and like both. Just want folks to know that it takes more than just a lot of bearings to make a smooth reel.
@@DEBOSFishing your right back in the day my diawa reels had 2-3 bearings that was a good reel back then and I owned the same reel from Ryobi you have from your dad and no bearings and a fine reel it is .
Debo my man. I swear you have a video for every question I have. I'm on the fence between an SLX and Fuego CT to build a frog/jig/big t rig setup. Slx I can get in a combo with a H rod. Fuego would have to get a rod seperate. Then can forget the Revo X and SS LFS. Ugh. Big question, how are the SLX rods? Reel good to frog and heavy lure fish with?
I frog fish with a slx heavy rod and reel combo and it works really well. I upgraded the drag washers to carbon fiber for $10 but it was working fine before.
Yo Debo bro this is crazy i swear I was last night thinking of making a vid about this exact thing..Sweet or I was going to tell 1 of my RU-vid fishn buddies to do a review on there channel.. Sweet brother sweet..So glad u made this vid..ok on with the show .✌ bro (keeponfishn)
It has been a good reel. Really the same as the LFS speed spool with added centrifugal brakes and more drag BUT a graphite frame. I got it on an after Thanksgiving sale for like $60 and I'm happy. Regularly its $120 I believe. I'd go with the regular speed spool LFS with the aluminum frame at that price.
My xfinity reel from lews is amazing idk why but it’s just really good have plenty of expensive reels and if you Just make the spool go it goes for almost 20 secs compared to my dc reel only does 15 sec
I have old Abu reels from 1950s and 60s 70s who don't have any ball bearings they use brass roller berings ! They cast spinn just fine and they handle salt way better then ballberings do ! I also has old Abu baitcasting reels who has ballberings from stock. They cast maybe 1-2 yards longer that the difference you achieved but they need maintenance to do so ! If they not been taken care of you actually will cast shorter! This part most people don't know about. I have been fishing whit those reels sense 1978 to present day. Ballberings are made of carbon steel or stainless steel for most cases. There's hybrid berings out there now and there is ceramic ones as well! The last one will cast longest distance because they can run dry ! Whit no lubricant that's why they spinn more and longer ! Think of that next time choosing a baitcasting reel! Best regards from Sweden Scandinavia 🇸🇪
For me, comfortability (is that a word?) and low maintenance are the most important factors in a reel There are so many factors that go into play with casting distance, lure weight, line, rod, spool weight, etc that it’s hard to say which reel is best and I’m not going to do a reel test The faster I can get the brakes dialed in, the faster I get into fishing mode and worry about my presentation Casting precision is way more important than overall distance to me and comfortability and consistency go a long way (pun intended ) in getting that control
Great video as usual bud! I gotta give some input from an industry point of view, hopefully this will help other anglers stop wasting their money on garbage reels they see on the internet. If you were to compare the $75 13Fishing Origin A which has 7 bearings, to the $55 Daiwa CC80 which has 5 bearings, you're a million times better off with the CC80. I've seen some of the reviews for the Origin reels and people saying it's the smoothest or farthest casting they've ever used are obviously new to fishing, but that's okay because we were all noobs at one point. What's changed in the last decade or so is that younger anglers are shopping online for reels they see on RU-vid. How many YT/Instagram bass guys are pushing Kastking and 13Fishing? Lots of them. Why? Because they got the reels for free from those companies. Very few new anglers walk into a tackle shop to get their hands on reels before they buy one nowadays. Instead, if their favorite RU-vidr says "Click muh amazon link to buy dis reel wiff 20 bearings," they will. I honestly don't care how many subs somebody has, if a 17 year old on his daddy's bass boat tells you that you should buy Kastking, Eposidon, Soyougayilang, Runkle etc; they need to eat a tidepod. Bottom line is that the 13 or more bearing thing is a marketing tactic used by shit-tier companies to edge in on Daiwa, Shimano, Lew's, Penn etc. What truly matters is where the bearings are placed in the reel, the quality of the materials used to make the bearings, the precision of the manufacturing and assembly process, tolerances etc. That being said, a 5 bearing reel from a major company with a reputation will perform just as well if not better than a 10 bearing reel from a newer company, especially a newer company that sources their reels on Alibaba and then exploits American consumerism via social media marketing/influencers who only care about ad revenue and more getting free tackle.
Yes, bearing placement and quality are the big deciding factors. I'm fine with reels that have more bearings, as long as people understand what all goes into making a solid reel besides just a large number of bearings. Thanks for watching and taking time to comment man!
@@musiqsoulstar06 next it would depend on the size of bait/lures you're throwing. With a reel that big, I'd use it for heavier baits on a MH rod. 5000 is a pretty big reel.
I intended it mostly for jetty fishing and paired it with a MH ugly stick GX2. Im no pro and more a weekend warrior lol so if it can catch anything, then Id be happy. I use a shimano 2500 ftd and a KK blackhawk medium for most my fresh water bass fishing and crappie. Just recently got a megajaws black and perigee 2 but have no direction. Lol so been watching your videos repeatedly for any direction. Lol
No. Absolutely not; much more must be considered when evaluating the quality of any reel. I have never thought of bearing count as the foremost reason to choose or reject a reel. Just saying. I thought that the plus one bearing was a roller bearing. Am I correct or not?
Yep, it's a roller bearing or anti-reverse bearing. Really just a clutch that only allows the handle to spin one way. Different people call it different things. Thanks for watching!
Definitely tight engineering beats all, regardless of whether it’s bearings or bushed. By nature. Bushes have more contact surface therefore more friction however, choice of materials ie. ceramics or other high tech materials are complete game changers so there is nothing to suggest that bushes are automatically a poor choice. Bearings most definitely however, provide far more “ marketing” appeal. A greater sense of getting more for the dollar.
I still have old quantums and diawas with only 4 or 6 still operate just fine high quality bearings with fewer are probably better than a low quality reel with 12 bearings that are bad quality. Bearing count doesn't matter to me as much as longer lasting