20 minutes ago, TXBass said:

Gil i am the owner operator. Not here to promote my brand just clearing up the mis information on this forum

Could you address what WRB said on page 1 about the 6061 aluminum not being the best choice for this application? I'm genuinely curious what the correct answer is to this bc I don't know anything at all about this stuff. I appreciate you commenting and clearing these things up. Very helpful

 

Also if you know the spool weight on this reel I'd love to know!

6061 aluminum was chosen for many reasons. Main reason is it is very machinable material compared to a 7075. Anything "higher end" than 6061 would be considered way overkill for a reel this size. We also extrude the aluminum prior to machining it. Once you anodize the aluminum witch, we do,  it completely changes the characteristics of the cons of any metal. The bare 6061 by itself could corrode more easily once you anodize it that all changes. 

33 minutes ago, TXBass said:

Gil i am the owner operator. Not here to promote my brand just clearing up the mis information on this forum

 

Appreciate you chiming in. I won't buy a Bates, but if you ever get into the business of manufacturing raw aluminum frames for Shimano/Daiwa, I'm all over it. 

10 minutes ago, TXBass said:

6061 aluminum was chosen for many reasons. Main reason is it is very machinable material compared to a 7075. Anything "higher end" than 6061 would be considered way overkill for a reel this size. We also extrude the aluminum prior to machining it. Once you anodize the aluminum witch, we do,  it completely changes the characteristics of the cons of any metal. The bare 6061 by itself could corrode more easily once you anodize it that all changes. 

Awesome, thanks for the answer!

1 minute ago, garroyo130 said:

 

Appreciate you chiming in. I won't buy a Bates, but if you ever get into the business of manufacturing raw aluminum frames for Shimano/Daiwa, I'm all over it. 

Yep we are 100% fine with people not liking the product or price even. Only thing we will really ever comment on or defend is mis information. We don't know of any other USA engineered low-profile reels, but we hope our existence improves other brands engineering also. 

For decades the aerospace company I work for used AlCOA 6061-T6 aluminum bar stock by the car load.

Before I retired in 2015 ALCOA started using Russian (Rusel) made bar stock and we had to qualify our QPL military products do to stress cracking from foreign produced alloys.

6061-T6 is more gummy alloy then 2024-T3 for example or 6262-T9, none are not as dimensional stable then 7075-T6.

The issue with 6061-T6 is who is sourcing it today. Can’t trust certs from China or Russia and counterfeits are common today.  Fishing reels are not a critical component so it’s Academic discussion.

Peace,

Tom

Yep specs are key and hard to verify. 6061 Still is the most affordable with many of the same attributes of the higher quality metals.

I was down at American Legacy this week and they had a couple of the Bates rough machined frames there on their counter. Neither of them had seen their final cleanup passes and you could still see the rough machining marks, but it was interesting to see.

 

I was told that MSRP was going to be roughly $350. While I personally think entering that market and competing with reels like the Zillion SV and the Shimano Bantam MGL with your first release might be a little optimistic,.... But I'm willing to look at them and check them out. 

 

I haven't had the opportunity to see a full reel yet, but I'm not against checking them out and seeing what people are saying once more people have a chance to check them out. I don't see the issue with having more options and people thinking outside the box. I actually look forward to seeing more of them.

Thanks Bates, the Hundo is a Legit baitcaster! Beyond happy with my purchase! 

 

Do you or will you offer options for different reel handles and or grips? Not a fan of the grips on the Hundo.