I ran across a video that showed someone replacing their bearings on the spool with Boca bearings. It was pretty quick and easy. What would I expect to see if I upgraded the bearings in my Pro Qualifer 2 baitcaster?

 

Is it worth it or not for a cheaper workhorse reel?

 

https://www.bocabearings.com/products/fr-093c-os-ld-17386?make=BASS PRO&model=QUALIFIER PQX10SHD&feature=BAITCASTER

I have only upgraded bearings on a couple reels. The first was a Tatula CT Type R that I slipped and fell on damaging the handle and anti-reverse sleeve. Figured while I was getting the parts to fix it, I would also pick up a set of Hedgehog bearings to see how much difference it made.

 

The other time was on an old TDZ Reel that was a little noisy on the cast and not casting real well. Dropped a set of Hedgehog bearings in there to try it out as well.

 

In both cases, I don't know that I could really say I saw significant increases in distance, but it did seem a little smoother, or maybe "Easier" to cast. I guess I would say it just felt like it just took less effort to cast the same distance, ... And MAYBE allowed me to be a little more accurate since I didn't seem to have to cast as hard.

 

Either way,... In my experience,... Don't expect HUGE differences! The stock bearings in these reels are pretty good! I don't know that I would do it again, JUST for the gains. I don't know that there is enough of a difference to justify the expense unless you already had to replace a damaged bearing for other reasons.

 

Just my thoughts....

I used to have a guy in Alabama service my Curados.  He talked me into Bocas.  Basically what I got was more noise.

Spool bearings are the last word in cast distance - Jun Sonada rates bearing swap up to 2-3 % cast distance improvement.  He's pretty accurate here for what you would gain with a bearing swap to Boca orange-seal hybrid ceramic ABEC7, etc  

Spool mass and inertia is the first word -  10% cast distance improvement. 

(Spool swap is closer to 30% improvement for BFS casting light lures)

https://japantackle.com/tackle_topics/spool_tuneup.htm

 

Bearings that give greater cast distance improvement are unshielded micro-bearings, and I've measured as much as 15% difference between stock shielded bearings and quality Air bearings. 

 

You also need to add a drop of bearing oil about once/mo.  In the link above, Jun  rates the bearing oil as another 2-3 % distance improvement, so bearing + oil gets you to 6%.  Five-percent is a good nominal improvement in practice - but is that worth $40 of bearings to you?  

To me, the Boca swap is a *meh* result - if you want to go places, push it to IXA, MC-Squared, Hedgehog, and Roro.  Fishing 1/8 oz go-to for inshore, this makes a worthwhile difference for me.  

I upgraded all my reels to hybrid ceramics. I noticed a little in casting distance. The biggest notice is the noise they make which doesn't bother me. Some people dislike it. A lot of BFS guys also change the spool for weight reduction. I bought all my bearings from overseas at a reasaonable price. Don't know what todays prices are. Boca are pretty expensive. You can try https://www.spoolspeed.com.

Just remember you will need a few special tools to remove the bearings.

Yes that brand you mentioned is off the charts expensive. All they are is a paper company with large warehouse who buys low and sells extremely high. And I mean extremely high markups! They do not even make bearings. The can assemble some bearing parts for custom orders, but as far as I know they are not a manufacturer of anything they sell. Simply a middle man distributor with great PR campaign and highest prices on the planet.

 

The full ceramic bearings I use cost me between $8 to $15 depending on when I buy them and quantity breaks. This same bearing on the 'middle man' website is well over $150 for just one bearing! Outrageously priced markups! For that same one bearing price of $159, I can buy more than a dozen same full ceramic bearings.

 

All a ceramic hyrbid bearing is, is ceramic balls inside of 2 steel races. You do not gain much at all that way. They still need oil because the 2 steel bearing races rust and the oil is only there to prevent rust. The ceramic balls don't need oil in fishing reels because its an almost no load situation. No load. Virtually no friction and no heat really.

 

For me it does not matter who makes the bearing. If it has steel in it, its not going on a spool. So all those other brand names who market hybrids that look cool with pretty colors means nothing really. Does it have steel races? If it does I'd avoid it. Full ceramic or stick with steel is where I am at these days. All that in between playing around with unknown hybrids is useless if they still require oil for rustable steel races. For me it is either all the way or nothing at all.

 

Another consideration for hybrids is they make two kinds of ceramic balls for their bearings. One is full ceramic bearings. These are the good ones. The second type of ceramic ball they are making is what is known as a ceramic coated bearing, or a small steel or aluminum ball with a ceramic coating over top of it.

 

These have been known to disintegrate and crack apart over time inside of heavy industrial equipment and most engineers avoid them for industrial and commercial applications like heavy duty motors and where weight support and high heat is necessary, but in fishing reels are an almost no load situation compared to industrial and will work fine, but are often marketed in fishing reel bearing brands without full disclosure on which hybrid they are selling. A buyer may not be aware of which type they are purchasing in the middle man aftermarket. So its a case of buyer beware for sure, but may not really make a difference in casting reels of almost no load.

 

Both hybrid types still require oil just to keep steel races from rusting.

 

If one were to go to full ceramic bearings, now there are no steel races nor steel balls. Nothing to rust. Nothing "needing" oil. Full ceramics can be run dry, but they whine and some people don't like that. I am one who does not mind the whine because it helps me judge the cast. Shimano even allowed the whine noise into their DC reels for the same reason.

 

But the primary reason one might not see any noticeable casting distance increases with the hybrids is because the bearing weight has not been changed by much. Going full ceramics cuts the bearing weight in half (approximately) allowing spool rotation startup to happen earlier with less lure weight.

 

So while one might not notice a casting distance increase difference, one might notice that they can now use slightly lighter weight lures on the same reel setup.

 

Full ceramics run dry provide the most benefit of any of the ceramic bearings but make the most noise especially when ran dry with no oil. And like bulldog said above, the gain benefits are nominal at best. Results depend on the reel, the user, and type of bearing chosen and how it is used.

 

In older reels where the spool axle touches the inside of a pinion gear, casting distance gain may be neutralized by the friction of spool axle touching the insides of pinion gear. In free spool reels is where the most noticeable gains can be achieved.

 

I choose the full silicon nitride ceramics because they offer the ceramic material of the least amount of weight. And they are probably among the most noisy as well I will admit. But if one can learn to accept the noise, one can use it to help judge casts.

 

On some of my reels I not only replace the spool bearings with full ceramics, but also the pinion bearing as well because it sits directly behind the spool, and when someone is reeling in wet line, that pinion bearing is one of the first to get wet and rust. The pinion gear has to slide in and out through that bearing. And when it starts to rust it can begin to hang up the pinion gear. Going full ceramic all the way across the spool prevents any rust of any kind and keeps reels working longer without maintenance or repairs.

 

In my world, this is the ONLY way to go. Skip all those middle men and fancy brand names and pretty colored bearings. If it has steel still in the bearing whether inside the ceramic balls, or steel races, I avoid it. Full ceramic or stay home!

 

Lots of people buy into that "hybrid" game being played on us all. So the question I have for those who buy hybrids, can you say with 100% certainty that you have 100% full ceramic balls inside of your 2 still steel races? Or, do you have ceramic coated steel balls in there?

 

We can all skip this hybrid "game" being played on us all. Either stay with steel bearings and use oil and run nice and quiet, or go full ceramic run dry and skip the 'unknown' mark-up middle man game they play on us all.

 

One could go full ceramic and use oil to reduce the noise, but it also tends to slow down the benefit gains of full ceramics.

 

So when purchasing full ceramic bearings there are primarily 3 ceramic materials to consider which I have listed in order of materials weight with lightest at the top:

 

1)Silicon Nitride

2)Boron Nitride

3)Zirconia Oxide

 

The differences of weight are so minor to be considered virtually irrelevant for fishing reel applications.

 

The white full ceramic bearings are zirconia oxide

 

This is the silicon nitride full ceramic bearings with bearing retainer that adds slight weight and friction that can be avoided:

 

And ideally, for fishing reels a "top choice" (of some) is the least amount of weight available in ceramics are the silicon nitrides with no bearing retainer!

 

And as for a tool, anyone can make one at home using a standard paperclip. Straighten it some and bend over a small enough portion of the tip that can still fit through the center 3mm hole to hook and pull out the bearing. If one cannot get the rounded tip under a bearing, either file down or slightly hammer flat the tip, then bend over to form a 90 degree hook for a simple do it yourself at home bearing removal tool.

 

In my opinion hybrids are just about useless in fishing reels because they do not offer much of anything in terms of "gains" over what a full steel bearing can do. And you never know what you are buying because those middle men may or may not inform the buying public of their bearings for sale truth. Buyer beware in the hybrid game!

 

Skip the hybrids! Go full ceramics or stay home with steel is how I see it these days. But to each their own!

DVT has posted about it here before and hopefully he’ll post again.  His results echo what bulldog and others typed above.  You’re not really going to see much unless you’ve already pulled all the other levers.  And, in a lot of cases (I’m not sure on BPS PQ reels) the bearings used are actually pretty good so it takes an excellent bearing to be an actual upgrade.

 

the better question is what are you trying to accomplish with it?  Figure that out and you’ll know if you need to swap.  

@casts_by_fly Lew's and other Doyo reels already come with NMB bearings, which are tough to beat.  

@redmeansdistortion uses NMB across the board in his bench-BFS reels  

You can slightly reduce the inertia with hybrid ceramic, and as I said above, a little more with unshielded bearings and frequent single drops of ultra-low-viscosity bearing oil.  

You want to balance what you would gain in your niche with the cost.  

 

@new2BC4bass - hmm, claiming 80% cast distance improvement - good luck with that.  

Like others, I didn't see much of an increase in distance.  Just a little less effort to get it.  I've read a time or two about someone claiming like 20-25 yards more with new bearings.  I can only assume the replaced ones were full of rust.  

I only have found bearings to have a noticeable impact when using very light weight spools with light weight baits.  For heavier spools and baits I haven't found an advantage in fast bearings.  If you use a spool tension amount greater than zero then forget about it completely.   You're squeezing the spool ends inside the reel and creating friction to act as a crude mechanical brake.  Changing to freer spinning bearings isn't going to be noticeable beyond additional noise.

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

 

@new2BC4bass - hmm, claiming 80% cast distance improvement - good luck with that.  

Hey, it's been awhile.  Maybe I'm not remembering correctly.  All I know is my casting distance didn't improve enough to be noticeable.  Guess I should try a before and after on a football field to see how much, if any, was gained.  But, then I'm too lazy for that.  Nor do I have enough interest to find out.

 

@new2BC4bass

I have to get ready for a tide pass - next week, in fact.  

 

Interesting, I didn't know. Thanks everyone for sharing.

I did a BFS conversion on 3x cheap lews speed spools.  Are they as nice as a Curado BFS?  No, not even close.  They struggle with anything under 3 grams and when they blow up, they REALLY blow up.  But, including the new spool and bearings I'm at $50 per reel and they preform WAY better than that.  They feel better than a $150 reel.  

56 minutes ago, MontanaBasser said:

I did a BFS conversion on 3x cheap lews speed spools.  Are they as nice as a Curado BFS?  No, not even close.  They struggle with anything under 3 grams and when they blow up, they REALLY blow up.  But, including the new spool and bearings I'm at $50 per reel and they preform WAY better than that.  They feel better than a $150 reel.  

What spool did you use?

One big thing I'd like to clear the air about is ABEC rating.  I'll talk about what ABEC is and is not.  ABEC is the industry standard that specifies the dimensional tolerance of a bearing, measured in micrometers.  Essentially, it's the tolerance in relation to how it fits to a shaft or housing, that's it.  It has nothing to do with internal clearances, raceway finish, or ball quality.  Too high an ABEC rating can actually be counterproductive in some instances, as too tight a fit can cause the raceways to distort which puts them out of round, compromising performance.  Bearing resellers use the ABEC system as a marketing tool which is not indicative to end performance, but pass it off as being related to internal clearances.  Higher numbers move products out the door, the human mentality of more is better.  

 

The biggest quality bearing manufacturers are in the USA, Europe, and Japan, with manufacturing facilities in China, Thailand, Singapore, and their own domestic production plants.  Here in the USA we have Timken, Carter, Schatz, and Del-tron.  In Europe the big players are SKF of Sweden, RBC of France, and GRW of Germany.  In Japan, we have NMB, NSK, and EZO.  By and large, their biggest customers are manufacturers of dental tools, precision machine tools, aircraft instrumentation, and automotive instrumentation.  Those bearings need to have rotational stability and a long life.  These also happen to be the same bearings used by fishing reel manufacturers.  These companies are so big and produce so many bearings that some can be had for peanuts.  For a manufacturer of this caliber, making anything is a breeze.  Their manufacturing technology is well matured and their QC among the best.  If it weren't, purchasers would be looking for somebody else to supply their bearings.

 

When it comes to reels, the manufacturers are the same.  Their engineers will pick the highest quality within their allotted budget, and that usually means NMB, who supplies over half of the precision bearings sold around the world.  I bought in bulk from Japan and paid a little over $1 each for my stash of NMB bearings after shipping costs.  Even questionable ceramic hybrid bearings from the popular Chinese sites weren't that cheap.  Domestically, they run about $5-$8 each depending on the retailer.  NMB bearings are used across many reel brands.  Daiwa, Shimano, Isuzu, Doyo, Abu, and even the better quality CDM reel brands use them across their entire product lines.  

Guys

I edited this post because of personal comments made about a perceived lack of quality from manufacturing countries. 
 

I was going to lock it down, but there is some good information here including from this post that is informative and useful from which others can benefit. 
 

Just be aware, keep on point without disparaging personal remarks or it will be. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

13 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

What spool did you use?

I purchased everything from this eBay seller: https://www.ebay.com/str/sdscustomreels

 

He's in Ukraine and this was before the import rules changed.  I've purchased two different things from Ukraine in the last few years and they all come speedily. But, because it's small and light, he's going to want to use the postal service and many countries have suspended postal service to the United States.  So, YMMV but he's a good seller with good products. 

31 minutes ago, MontanaBasser said:

I purchased everything from this eBay seller: https://www.ebay.com/str/sdscustomreels

 

He's in Ukraine and this was before the import rules changed.  I've purchased two different things from Ukraine in the last few years and they all come speedily. But, because it's small and light, he's going to want to use the postal service and many countries have suspended postal service to the United States.  So, YMMV but he's a good seller with good products. 

I've bought from him before.  He is selling Ray's Studio stuff.  Basically the Ebay option for Ray's Studio parts for those that don't want to use Aliexpress.  He used to the more expensive option but now with the tariffs it might be cheaper or have more selection.  A lot of that stuff has dried up on Aliexpress lately 

Hey @Bazoo, I changed spool bearings on some of my cheaper reels. I felt it was worth it, if ya shop around for the bearings.

My goal wasn’t distance, there are a ton of other factors that are involved besides spool bearings.

My quest was silence, ease of cast and accuracy.

Ceramics were a no-go for me because of the noise. I used a decent rated stainless bearing. Got a micro bearing packer, used super lube lite weight grease. After a few dozen cast, the reel seems to settle in and, I have consistent quiet cast. 
   I want to warn you…..when you start super tuning reels.

It is a deep dark rabbit hole. 
 

On 9/26/2025 at 10:19 AM, Bigbox99 said:

I've bought from him before.  He is selling Ray's Studio stuff.  Basically the Ebay option for Ray's Studio parts for those that don't want to use Aliexpress.  He used to the more expensive option but now with the tariffs it might be cheaper or have more selection.  A lot of that stuff has dried up on Aliexpress lately 

What's Ray's Studio?

Thanks @GRiver. Maybe I'll just dabble with upgrading one reel.

 

I didn't know ceramic bearings made more noise until this thread. Ease of casting and better accuracy are goals that are right up my alley.

26 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Thanks @GRiver. Maybe I'll just dabble with upgrading one reel.

 

I didn't know ceramic bearings made more noise until this thread. Ease of casting and better accuracy are goals that are right up my alley.

I think you’re on the right path with only upgrading one reel currently. I will also add my Favorite Soleus reels run “2 spool high speed bearings” their description and although I don’t know what type of ceramic bearings they are I actually have zero issues with the noise and feel the one I’m currently using is one of my better casting reels as well. Keep this post updated when and if you do upgrade. I’m also thinking of going down this rabbit hole with my Daiwa CA 80 reel but I think I’m going to have them flushed and properly lubricated before I replace them though.

51 minutes ago, MontanaBasser said:

What's Ray's Studio?

The brand that makes all the stuff SDS Customs sells.  They started out selling finesse spools, other alloy color parts amd carbon fiber handles on Aliexpress like 10 years ago and are still at it.  SDS is selling their products for more than Aliexpress but targeting Ebay buyers that don't know what Alexpress is or just won't use it.  

Ray's Studio is in Thailand, and they first became famous copying KTF Kahen spool, and even improved it with a tapered SV inductor that acts like Daiwa's Boost spool.  

(You can buy the inductor separately to swap into Daiwa SV spools)

 

MoMo Zero-adjust cap.  

They sell trim parts and microbearings under MoMo label, but I'm not as fond of their bearings as their spools.  

Delta Fishing - seller AOR on ebay - is in Thailand and has access to all Ray's new-production release - batches also sell out quickly.  

I'm also a fan of SDS Customs in Ukraine - since his Lew's BFS spool came up, note it's 32-mm, only for SLP frames.