SuperWetBlanket

Which brands are you using? I very often don't clean them for over a season, i personally never had em go noisy. Of course, if sand gets in, that's bad, but you will usually feel the crunchiness.

I too believe there's only 2 relevant brands, but most people see the "big three", and i am sure to the more casual crowd, Abu is as good as Shimano and Daiwa. To me personally, if Shimano is a 10 and Daiwa is a 10, Abu is no more than a 6/10 in comparison, and that' being generous.

Really? For me its the opposite. After i clean them in the ultra sonic cleaner, they make a bit of noise (nowhere near as much as the cheaper bearings from Ali and Boca), but after 3+ days of use, you barely hear them at all.

Why would we be related? Because if the company pays so little attention to what they're shipping, and don't even bother to contact you for having shipped more than what was ordered, that's their problem, not the customers.

HOW?🙃

Anyone else feels like Lews i kinda stepping up their game in the last 3 or so years? I look at both companies lineup of rods AND reels, and i am liking Lews offering much more. Reels and rods look higher end, feel better and don't have this plastic look that pretty much all current gen abus have. Give it 1-2 years, and i bet you that "the big three" will be Shimano, Daiwa and Lews.

Would you have done the same if it was Amazon? You know, the ones that hire slaves to work at their warehouse?

I would have kept it. If it was a small family owned store, i would return it for sure, but if its a large corpa, they ain't gonna miss a GLX.

Wish Megabass had a great warranty on rods.😑Its the one big thing that bothers me about the company.

If they release a new zillion, it better use the same 34mm spool and have an actual zero adjuster that is adjustable. If they don't.............

Literally have over 20 bearings from the three companies mentioned in the OP that i am not using because i don't have enough reels for them, but its good to know that as soon as i grab a reel, i can install higher quality bearings, even if the originals are already good. And those Japanese ceramics are pretty silent compared to crap Bocas and Aliexpress ones, so you really ain't gettings any downsides from swapping. But there is one reason i could thing off when upgrading to ceramic hybrids might be worth it to some. You really don't need to lube them, so if you're lazy and don't want to oil standard metal bearings, ceramics are a good choice.

Few years back, this used to be pretty popular, but not hearing many people swapping bearings nowadays. Personally, i do swap em to KTF, ZPI or Hedgehog bearings. I don't feel like its needed on the mid range and above, but already have a bunch of ceramic hybrids that i've collected over the years, so why not.

What's funny is the amount of teenagers shilling those noname reels on tiktok. Videos always starting with the usual "i used everything from Daiwa and Shimano, and X nonemane is better, and cheaper!!!!"

You guys are boring. I wanted to read some horror stories related to Temu, and nothing for me to read☹This sux.

It MUST be from Temu😁Aliexpress doesn't count. Do you have any in your 2025 lineup?

Reminds me of those Temu reels😊

Big fan of Studio Composite rods. Just wish they had more models.

The 2020 frame is great. The previous one that came out in 2013 was so bad, tho.

But have you ever tried anything else? If you get used to Temu grade gear, you'll be fine with it because you get used to low end stuff.

The Tat 80 palms better than both, but most importantly, when you have load on your line, the reel feel more solid. More solid as in tighter built/assembled. And no, Shimano is absolutely worth it when we're talking about their higher end stuff (can't stand their micro module, but it is what it is), they're also tightly assembled, and feel great under load. Its just their cheapo/entry level Shimano that i feel like Daiwa is now crushing them.

Why would you get a lefty if you're a righty? But even then, the new tats are far superior to slxs and curados.

I would assume you're looking for something cheap since you're using a noname reel from Ali?

I don't agree. Buy a pixy in used condition, a Ray's Studio spool, and it will crush anything KK, and last for a millennia. There are so many old quality reels that you can get a cheap BFS spool for, and it will perform extremely well and for cheap. There's zero reasons to buy Temu reels just because they're off the shelf. What i'd say to that is that if your budget is under $100, you buy used, and only used. Its not difficult to find a quality Made in Japan reel for sub $100.

KastKing is a Temu-grade brand. Unless you're new into fishing, i personally have no idea why one would waste time on them, Favorite or Googan for that matter. Even Abu is better. Here, i said it😁

You shouldn't be doing ANYTHING out of the box when the reel is new. If you feel like there's an issue, return it, and get another one. Someone who is new to baitcasters shouldn't be greasing the gear set of a d**n new reel 😐