Centrifical vs Magnetic Brakes
I have been playing with my various reels, and I have found that in general
I like my mag brake reels better than my centrifical brake reels. I have
been trying to dial in my baitcasters to do a lot of the jobs I have been
doing with spinning tackle including things like throwing weightless soft
plastics.I have a few different brands and styles of both. In the centrifical brake
type I have one Shimano Curado, one Pflueger President and three Bass Pro
Shops. The Shimano was able to be adjusted out to work pretty well. I
haven't been able to get any of the others dialed in to work right including
the much more expensive Pflueger President. I can crank downt he spool
tension and throw very heavy baits with it, but anything else will still
haev occassional over runs. Amazingly I have had odd experiences witht he mag brakes as well. I have
several Quantum Accurists including both 400 and 500 series reels. I have
three Daiwa Megaforce 150i reels, and a Browning Citori. The Browing is
middle of the road for price and hte hardest to get dialed in with a
slightly higher than you would think spool tensions necessary to get it to
work right. The Quantums work comparably to the Shimano Curado, but in both
categories the Daiwas dial in the easiest for the best distance and the
lightest weights. They are the cheapest of the mag brake reels I have, and
almost as cheap as two of the BPS centrifical brake reels. Over all.... the cheapest reels (BPS) work the worst followed by the most
expensive (Pflueger President). The one a lot of hte shops have been
pushing as the great new bargain in reels (Browning Citori) was next. The
best were the Wal-Mart special Daiwa Megaforce 150i at not much more than
the cheapest reels followed very closely by Shimano and the Quantums. The Shimano has perhaps the best durability, and the Quantums are close to
the worst. The Daiwa has held up fairly well, but it gives an impression of
cheap construction because it feels a little sloppy. Miy first Daiwa is
almost two years old and the only problem is that the crank handle shaft
threads got stripped when a guest in my boat stomped on it. I modified it
slightly to use threads lower down on the shaft and secured the nut with
loctite. It works perfectly. I just went out and bought two more a month
or so ago. In summation... Yes the Shimano is a very good bang for the buck (if you
know how to dial it in properly) , but the less expensive Daiwa 150i will
sure give it a run for its money, and costs a lot less. Its also more
forgiving to an amateur and easier to dial in. For the ease of adjustment I definitely prefer the mag brake reels. No
dissassembly required, and no brake plastics to lose. |
