29 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

While I am good with the Quantum gear I fish,

I believe that the company was riding the wildly popular KVD wave - 

All the way to the beach apparently.

The absences of that type of exposure can't be a good thing.

Unless they land a Wheeler or a J Lee type face,

it could be a tough stretch for their 'bass fishing' side of the house.

Just Say'in

A-Jay

 

 

Don’t quote me but I’m pretty sure JLee was Quantum until switching to Abu in 2019. If so they had KVD, Swindle, and JLee while watching their market share slip away. 
 

If I was Quantum I’d really try to take over the budget market. Focus on those $40 combos at Walmart and Academy. Zebco needs to get back to its roots selling entry level equipment that lasts. It doesn’t have to be “good” just bulletproof. Then you hope to ride those margins and break even on your higher end PT reels. Maybe sponsor some up and comers that are cheap and hope one hits. 
 

Also they have finally started adding “cool” factor colors to some of their lineup. Younger anglers are really flocking to Lews and 13 for the lime green or orange gear. Companies like Daiwa and Shimano have the name power to stay away from the rat race but others are going to die being “boring”. See Pflueger. Who’s Quantum’s target base? They need to figure it out quickly

Can someone remind me, I assume that Quantum uses OEM reels much in the same way as Lews

 

Years ago I had a bad run in with Quantum reels.  It's a long story and from my past experience I gathered that the folks at Quantum care about their product but are stuck with the hit and miss quality from their factories.  

 

Fast forward to last year.  I purchased a few Quantum reels> the Smoke, an Accurist, the Vapor, and an Icon.  The Accurist was just short of terrible but the Smoke, Vapor and Icon are great.   I recently sold the Icon though.  It just didn't fit in to what I use but was a good reel.  The Smoke is pretty much bullet proof.  Just a solid reel.  The Vapor looks cheep and feels like plastic but it is as smooth as any reel I have fished and has become one of the funnest reels I own.  One thing on this reel, the side frame did not fit correctly when I got it.  Quantum sent me 2 reels and 3 side plates before I was able to get the proper fit on the reel. 

 

With all that said> Do they come close to Shimano and Daiwa? I hate to say it... Not really.  They are serviceable reels that get the job done but I wonder if they could be better if they had their reels manufactured in a different factory. 

I've owned several Quantums back in the day. The sweet blue and crazy colored Tour and Energy pts, then the next gen Energies, and a 1st gen Smoke. I've also had several high end Quantum rods (tours and superlites).  Most of that stuff was fine. Had a few problems with a couple reels but nothing major. Ended up getting rid of all of them and switching to Daiwa and Shimano. The last reel I bought, however, was the Tour S3.  I just got it this spring so I haven't beat it to death but I gotta say, it's pretty sweet. Super easy to tune, solid feel, great ergonomics, awesome handle, smooth, and casts so easy. I wouldn't hesitate to get more.

21 hours ago, Heartland said:

Can someone remind me, I assume that Quantum uses OEM reels much in the same way as Lews

Reels that appear to be carbon copies of Doyo reels that're labelled Lew's are easy to find. i haven't come across that with Banax/Quantum. Not saying that isn't the case, just that I haven't found them yet. OEMs in many industries do exclusives all the time, so this may be the case with Quantum.

I recently purchased a Tour S3 and somewhat disappointed with the reel. There is a loud buzzing noise on the cast when brake setting is low like 4-5-6 clicks. It is on the shelf right now not being used because of this annoying issue. There is a service center about 70 miles from me might call them see what can be done. I have tried oiling the brake system, pins and drum, but that didnt work.

14 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Reels that appear to be carbon copies of Doyo reels that're labelled Lew's are easy to find. i haven't come across that with Banax/Quantum. Not saying that isn't the case, just that I haven't found them yet. OEMs in many industries do exclusives all the time, so this may be the case with Quantum.

Doyo?

1 minute ago, Linewinder said:

Doyo?

Korean OEM that produces  a lot of reels for company's like Lews, ABU, BPS and probably a bunch of other.   

 

They have a website

I have a Quantum Code bought years ago. It is the last of my Quantum reels. The rest have not withstood the test of time. Most of the reels I had were on the cheaper end of their catalog. Like the Optix.

Went through one of my rod lockers today and found these.  I bought them on clearance a few years back, spooled them up and intended on fishing them. Just don't think they have ever seen water.    The one with the handle off had a stuck screw, I was able to drill the head off the screw so the cover would come off but was not able to extract the rest of he screw, does not seem to have any effect on reel and the cover is very secure, it is also missing a handle retainer and locknut.     I won't use these reels, I have too many, anyone interested in doing some horse swapping, I would be interested.    I think the line on them is Sunline Shooter Defier Mono 13lb.