3 replies to this topic

[shaun_reid]

Looking to get one of those three for a decent price before I turn to eBay. Right handed and either a 6.4.1 or a 7.1.1

Thanks

[Megastink]

Any interest in a 5.4:1?

[l3rd]

Looking to get one of those three for a decent price before I turn to eBay. Right handed and either a 6.4.1 or a 7.1.1

Thanks

I am 99% sure that the Tournament Pro is a re-invention of the gold Carbonlite from BPS. Same company in Korea made them both, as well as Revo reels and others. So, if you can find a deal on the older Carbonlite reel, you are in the same ballpark, and perhaps for less money...

[l3rd]

Th


You can be assured they are not the same reel. Yes, both are built in the same factory, so are the Core and Curado by Shimano. The Tournament Pro is 8 tenths of an oz. heavier and has one more bearing. I don't know what materials are different or other design change's there are, but Abu, Lew's, Bass pro, and there are others built in this same factory, all have there own design criteria and materials, along with multiple differing specs, that make them all different. Some may be meaningles, some may be more benaficial, but they are all made to the brand names specs.

Core and Curado were built in the same factory, but I believe the Core is still built in Japan, the Curado G series is not.. The TP does have another bearing, but most of the INTERNAL parts are interchangeable with the gold Carbonlite. The frames are ever so slightly different, and I believe that the duralumin gears, verses brass gears and lighter spool for the most part are responsible for the Carbonlite being lighter than the TP. That said, the Bass Pro folks tell me you could interchange the parts as long as you are dealing with the 6.3-1 ratio reels. I would suppose the spool could be interchanged regardless of model, or for that matter the gears if you did not mind changing the ratio of the reels.

So, if you want to really pick things apart, you could say they are indeed very different, but IMO with the dseigns being so nearly identical, and with their parts interchangeability being what it is, I see them as mere variations based upon the same basic design, and decidedly not different entities. One other commonality with them, not shared by brands like Shimano, or Daiwa who have their own patended braking systems, are the dual brakes in these Korean designs. As far as I know, most of the Korean made reels also share centrifical brakes and magnetic brakes. The centrifical brakes are unusual and inventive as they are usually spring loaded so that they are only engaged at the start of the cast, the springs restraining them otherwise. The new JM Carbonlite has an outer dial to set the centrifical brakes, so that you do not have to open the reel up to set them, but it too otherwise shares this dual brakeing system.

Anyway, if you want to view them as somehow vastly different, there is no harm in that, I just seem them as far more alike then different as they share so make of the same engineering aspects, and as made under so many of the same patents. I believe BPS insists in "German" bearings. I suspect the folks at the counter do not know that German branded bearings are not necessarily German made bearings. They very likely use SKF bearings, and SKF does manufacture some of it's bearings in the US. Others may not be as particular about their bearings, I really would not know about that... One of my boys actually works for SKF, German companies tend to take very good care of their employees...