Bass Pro has their Pro Qualifier reels on sale for $50. I've got several Lews Tournament Pros, but these are 1/4 the cost. Are they worth buying, & will I be disappointed in the difference?

they are well worth $50.00...a total steal at that price.....check out Goose's 5 year Pro Qualifier study on this site and you will see that it is made to last a long time....and it casts very well....I fish higher end reels but i'm going tomorrow and pick up about 4 of them just because of the price....

I agree with above poster. definitely worth $50. I have 4 that I use right along with my Daiwa reels and they perform great.

2 hours ago, Maggiesmaster said:

Bass Pro has their Pro Qualifier reels on sale for $50. I've got several Lews Tournament Pros, but these are 1/4 the cost. Are they worth buying, & will I be disappointed in the difference?

Trust me it is not even close to a Lew's. But for the money you can't go wrong,but the Pro Q's in spinning are JUNK!

"Worth" can only be determined by the one that plans on spending the money.

 

I can say that one of my six PQs was the subject of a 5-year long endurance test in which it reeled in over 1100 fish (up to 48 pounds) and probably made somewhere between 55,000 and 75,000 casts. I feel that I got my "money's worth" out of it.

 

 

3 hours ago, eyedabassman said:

Trust me it is not even close to a Lew's. But for the money you can't go wrong,but the Pro Q's in spinning are JUNK!

I have 1 pq. I also have a lews tournament mg. They feel very similar. They might be made in the same cookie factory

Theyre better then your avg bargain reel, at $50 if you're on a budget they're a solid choice. I've still got a few but have moved on to more refined options I prefer. But that was desire not need.  Personally I did find the DBS finicky to dial in for varying conditions and line types. 

 I loved mine until it quit working . It lasted three years and then the level wind just stopped  moving . I would buy another for fifty dollars  .

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

 I loved mine until it quit working . It lasted three years and then the level wind just stopped  moving . I would buy another for fifty dollars  .

A reel should last more than 3 years in my book!!!!!!!!!!!

If it last three years and you only paid 50$ the reel was well worth the money.

If I was in the market, I'd strongly consider one...

They handle well in store, but I've never owned one

and, consequently, fished one. @Goose52 knows

the reel well, though. Take his word for it.

 

I'm wondering if BPS is finally winding down the reel

to replace it in 2017. Seeing they've rolled out the new

Platinum series and Titanium series, I could see a new

"metal" coming in to replace the PQ. Maybe the "Tungsten"

or "Lead"...just kidding on the names, but the theory

stands!  

 

Oooops, never mind. I see there's now the PQ 2!! Missed 

that the other day when I was browsing.

Edited February 17, 20179 yr by Darren.
DOH!

I have 3 PQs and I still use them regularly along side my Shimano reels.  At 50 that is the best reel imo at that price you can find.

They are worth the 99 bucks they are normally.At 50 bucks you better buy 2.I almost grabbed another tonight.

A $50 question....   BPQ or Exceler...  ???.   Drive to the store and fight the crowds (I assume there will be crowds there tomorrow morning) OR couple mouse/keyboard clicks and wait for FedEx/Ups truck to show up in few days.   Decisions, decisions, decisions....

The PQ was my first baitcaster. I also caught my PB on it. It's a great reel for $50. I have moved on from them to higher end gear, but I have great memories of my old one. Actually passed it on to my dad and it still works great.

11 hours ago, scaleface said:

 I loved mine until it quit working . It lasted three years and then the level wind just stopped  moving . I would buy another for fifty dollars  .

Take it to bass pro and have them send it off for repair. I had a 5 year old PQ do the same thing and all they charged me was the price of shipping. It was repaired cleaned and lubed for $15.

I was planning on buying 2 of the new PQ 2.0's but now i just might get 4 of the originals. Decisions decisions....

I'm 15 minutes from BP and was thinking I would get one. Woke up this morning and decided to save my money. Want to see what the new, improved version is like. I have the current model PQ and while it's not a bad reel, I'd rather spend a little more for something a little better. 

Definitely worth it....We just got back from Bass Pro, I picked up 2 of them.

Just to make things clear, these are not the PQ2, these are the discontinued models. My receipt said $79.99 regular price, not the $99 as stated in the ad. A little trickery going on here. Still a nice reel for the price, just not as big a savings.

The PQ is discontinued - at $50 they are a great buy as long as you maintain them properly . There are even after market parts such as Boka bearings , 90mm handles etc. to jazz them up a bit if that's your thing ; also 3rd party replacement parts if you look . Yes , the new PQ2 is out but I would only buy if on sale once per year at $50 . While the PQ2 is improved - it is not improved to the degree that Lew's , Abu Garcia , Daiwa , etc. have been making improvements - thus the PQ2 is only a good buy if / when they go on a 50% off sale .

The best two reels out there for $100 are the Speed Spool and the BPS PQ in my opinion, so it's a steal at $50.

I'm an Abu guy, but just bought 2 on Friday and they work awesome. caught quite a few this morning on them.really like how smooth they are.easy to dial in also.no backlashes.

The original PQ always sold for $100 except during the Spring Fishing Classic, when they sold for $80. I think if you can get a better value than these for $50, go for it! So far it seems the Spring Fishing Classic is limited to stores only this year, which sucks. 2hr.s one way for me.

It's built by the same manufacturer in the same plant. Essentially the same reel.   $50 isnt bad for a throw away reel.  You could just go get the Lews.  They are  $50 in the bubble packs at Walmart.

I answered my own question.   Bought 2 Exelers and 2 PQs????.