I picked up a Hank Parker Design Baitcaster  seems odd that abu has it listed as a  6.4:1  but it says along with others  6.2:1  ratio... works fine   My Revo3  S is better but you do get what ya pay for.

I picked up a Bill Dance Quantum bait caster that had a bushing bearing on the mag brake side. I figured out the ball bearing from the quantum code red bait caster would replace the bushing bearing. So I upgraded the reel. My point is the same as yours these pros endorse these reels and we would think the manufacturer would sell us a better quality reel? I find it questionable now but down the road this stuff could be very collectable.

yeah I grew up watching ol hank parker outdoors i'll use it every once in a while but not my main rig  why I got a left hand revo 3 s   paired with a vendetta (we'll see if it snaps or not)  but one great thing about abu if their stuff breaks they replace no questions family members love em lol..  I take care of my stuff better never had a rod snap..  have caught big hogs on ultra light crappie rigs ( good line and playing the drag)

Guys put their names on rods and reels that are generally marketed towards the beginner fisherman, not the seasoned veteran.  While they may not be great they are a step up from your standard wally world special.  My first baitcaster was a bill dance combo, i caught a bunch of fish on it and when i upgraded to a citica and mojo bass i had no idea how crappy the combo really was.

 

Point is it gets people into fishing and most won't know any better.

On any signature reel part of what you're paying for is that signature. The JM reels at BPS and old Skeet Revo are decent but still over priced comparatively. The reason these guys put there name on this stuff is marketing, which is their real job. Of the millions of consumers that buy tackle I believe the few here on the forum that actually care about their tackle and take fishing seriously are a small minority. From a purely business sense I can see them wanting to sell a million $80 reels than a few thousand $200 ones. These ratios are extreme but you can see my point.

Hank Parker is the man. I was watching his show on fishing that big famous lake in NH. He was using a Mann's baby 1 minus crankbait in Brown Craw Dad. He was catching smallie after smallie. It was in February/march here a snowing to beat the band. After the tv show I drove down to Wal-Mart very carefully

and purchased the whole rack of the brown Mann's crankbaits.

I gave one each to my family. In the springtime we found out how great this crankbait works. I personally named this Mann's

crankbait the "Hank Parker Special". This Mann's crankbait is on my list of lures to throw till something strikes. I even caught a large silver salmon on this lure too.

Hank Parker is the man. I was watching his show on fishing that big famous lake in NH. He was using a Mann's baby 1 minus crankbait in Brown Craw Dad. He was catching smallie after smallie. It was in February/march here a snowing to beat the band. After the tv show I drove down to Wal-Mart very carefully

and purchased the whole rack of the brown Mann's crankbaits.

I gave one each to my family. In the springtime we found out how great this crankbait works. I personally named this Mann's

crankbait the "Hank Parker Special". This Mann's crankbait is on my list of lures to throw till something strikes. I even caught a large silver salmon on this lure too.

aslong as they catch fish thats what it boils down to,,,  theres some reels out there I would never buy just out of respect for the dude using cheap stuff to feed their family..   the price tag matters some time.   150 max for a fresh water reel   100 plus for a solid  st croix mojo bass.  but if ya love to fish ya want the best.   some of them prices though wow lol