Shimano.  Each reel I have, has been problem free unless I have damaged it.  No reel manufacturer is 100% bullet proof though.   

8 minutes ago, Spankey said:

I want to start off by saying I am NOT the frog fisherman among frog fisherman.  But I use a BPS Pro Qualifier 2 for this purpose. Was cheap during BPS Spring Fling a few years back. I wanted a setup for just this and didn’t want to spend a lot. Basically my only braid outfit. 

Don’t know much about the 2, but the one I have is one of the originals and over 13 yrs old. 
I also have it on my frog outfit and use it  almost every outing. 
That thing is bulletproof. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

The only reel I have had issues with is my 1974 Abu Ambassador 5000D.  But being almost 50 years old and having been in service pretty much the whole time, I can't say that it's unreliable.  Well, I guess there have been some minor issues here and there.  But nothing that wasn't easily fixed with a clean and lube.  I take care of my stuff and do regular maintenance and don't abuse them, however.  

Have had most of my Shimano reels since the early 1990's...both bait-casters and spinning reels. Had an issues with drag on a bait-caster, but realized it was operator error when putting it back together after spring cleaning.

 

They have all been flawless...no issues at all. Three Curado's, two Citca's, bunch of different spinning reels...even have a Cabela's branded Shimano spinning reel...it's my daughter's favorite. 

Penn, Daiwa, Avet, Shimano, Abu Garcia. I have never had a problem with any reel that spontaneously occurred. The only reels that have ever failed on me were reels from China in the $17.00 to $22.00 range. I order these just to mess around with them. I can’t think of any reputable brand reel that has ever failed me, except a few extremely cheap Shakespeare reels that I fished to death, until I realized the plastic spinning reel spools were really compressed saw dust coated in a plastic like paint enamel. The spools either swelled, warped or cracked. These were $20 combos, I got and fished to death just to play around.

3 hours ago, J Francho said:

  I say nearly, because another former moderator actually ran his over with his truck, and that did it in, lol.  

Thankfully, that's not a benchmark I use for durability. ?

Brands, no. Even my favorite brands have turned out products that have given me trouble.

 

Reels, yes. I have a few reels in my rotation that are rock solid dependable. 

 

 

3 hours ago, MiceNReets said:

The Okuma Helios baitcasting reels are bulletproof. ?? 

Nope cant agree?

Had a couple issues with mine, was still new. Thankfully Cabelas has a 90 day return policy got my money back. Like the Helios rods though.

 

 

3 hours ago, Spankey said:

I want to start off by saying I am NOT the frog fisherman among frog fisherman.  But I use a BPS Pro Qualifier 2 for this purpose. Was cheap during BPS Spring Fling a few years back. I wanted a setup for just this and didn’t want to spend a lot. Basically my only braid outfit. 

Oddly enough I am not a frog fisherman either but I was going to buy a BPS qualifier for a frog setup myself. Hasnt materialized yet, but those reels seem to be a really good deal for the money especially considering a frog setup won’t get used much unless it’s absolutely on fire for me first couple times I’m out.

I just used my flipping stick for frogs until getting a dedicated frog rod.  Worked so well, it took me at least 20 years of frogging before getting a combo for it.

So far, pflueger, daiwa, and okuma have not given me any problems. I will be looking to try abu garcia and shimano pretty soon

I have my best luck with Shimano. Any problems I've had with them are due to normal wear and tear. I had terrible luck with the last Abu Garcia reels I bought. Lews reels have been pretty good but I have one Tournament MB that gets noisier and gets a tighter feel to it than it should. I have never tried a Daiwa baitcaster. I have a couple of their spinning reels that have been pretty good.

2 hours ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

Nope cant agree?

Had a couple issues with mine, was still new. Thankfully Cabelas has a 90 day return policy got my money back. Like the Helios rods though.

 

 

That’s too bad.  My black and green Helios has been to heck and back and just as fresh as the day I got it. 

2 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Oddly enough I am not a frog fisherman either but I was going to buy a BPS qualifier for a frog setup myself. Hasnt materialized yet, but those reels seem to be a really good deal for the money especially considering a frog setup won’t get used much unless it’s absolutely on fire for me first couple times I’m out.

 

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

I just used my flipping stick for frogs until getting a dedicated frog rod.  Worked so well, it took me at least 20 years of frogging before getting a combo for it.

Admittedly frogging, pitching and flipping are a small part of my fishing, For many years river smallie fishing never warranted it. Being on the lake the last few years I sort of found a place for it. Slop fishing has been an eye-opener.  

Shimano,  this excludes  me inflicting the damage or normal use or extreme use/dirt,moss.

8 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Maybe I just haven’t had immediate issues with mine yet.

The magforce brake flew apart on one of my fuego's. I have had no issues with Tatula`s.

When I got back into this sport I reached out to several well know reel repair guys and the 4 all said they work on far fewer Shimano's.  None commented on castibility or anything else......just fewer problems

Both Daiwa and Shimano, as long as proper maintenance is done. I clean, and re-lube 3-4 times a year. Attention as soon as they feel a little less than optimum feeling, and they are all still trouble-free.

Except for two Shimano Curado 70's (silver older model) I had two with gear problems.

 

Maybe I should take Shimano off my trouble-free list.

On casting reels, only the 3rd Gen Abu Revos gave me issues.  3 had the issue with the thumbar failing to return after spinning the handle, bit I still have a SX and a Premier going.  The 3 1st gens are still going so far as I know (I gave them away).  

That said, I have needed service for reels before, usually to replace parts that I loose or break during my maintenance routing (I'm good for loosing at least one of the retaining clips for the spool bearing on the non-handle side.  Nowadays with parts cataloged online, most of the manufactures are fine, but it used to be that Shimano wasn't so easy to deal with and whoever you called at Abu Garcia had obviously never used their products.  Daiwa was a little better, but Lews' staff were the most helpful (I never had a Quantum, but I've heard they're a helpful group too).  

I've never owned the 2 Lews reels you have, only the Tournament MB (now MP) and the BB1.  I've had no problems with either, but they make up the preponderance of my rigs now.

I have or have had Shimano, Daiwa, Pflueger,  Ardent, Abu and Bass Pro reels and none gave me a problem except for the ones made in China.

Diawa, Pflueger, Mitchell, Abu

 

Those are the brands I've owned and never had an issue with them.

New first SV spool reel wanted to backlash.  Trip to Ian fixed that and it is a fine reel now.  A T3 1016 cast control didn't want to tighten.  Fellow member said he had to take the cap off his and remove and replace the plastic part under it (several times) to get it working.  Mine worked after once.  Picked up a 'blem' Tatula Elite from Midway.   Except to me a 'blem' is cosmetic.  This reel has bad internal problems.

 

Other than that any reel problems I've had were caused by the previous owner.  Not picking on Daiwa.  Was just the luck of the draw.  Own almost 50 of them.  Have had to have work done on a couple other brands purchased used.

 

16 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

On casting reels, only the 3rd Gen Abu Revos gave me issues.  3 had the issue with the thumbar failing to return after spinning the handle

Been a while since I had one of these apart, but I believe that this happens when the (I don’t know the proper name of the part) little foot that kicks the thumb bar up does not travel in a straight line. It’s a PITA, but either too much grease in the reel around that part or the (I also don’t know the proper part name) little tension spring that is V shaped with a circle at the point of the V is damaged or not properly seated, possibly installed backwards. It can be fixed. No, I am not saying that it was installed wrong by you or someone that serviced the reel. Some of these ABU reels come like that from the factory. These are also the most likely improperly reinstalled parts on these reels, which are often sold “new” on auction sites after being torn down and reassembled.

 

Actually based on this Revo SX third gen schematic the parts are the “Kick Lever” and “Kick Lever Spring”

34 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

No, I am not saying that it was installed wrong by you or someone that serviced the reel.

That is the most likely thing that could have happened, TBH.  Thanks for the tip - I'm going to see if by chance I kept any of the SXTs that quit working and if that might be the problem.

Those tension springs are notoriously difficult to set.