Just received my Gravity 8 and it has to be the worst reel I have ever had out of box. Sounds like there is no grease and you can feel the gears when turning the handle. To add insult to injury I missed the BOGO sale  by a couple of days. I called Ark customer service and it was as terrible as the reel is. They asked me to email a video of the reel to them. To return the order I will have to pay to ship the reel back and a 20 percent restocking fee. Please do yourself a favor and not make such and expensive mistake. I am going to take the reel apart, clean it, and grease it. I'll use it but I'm going to be wishing I would have bought another Zillion or Shimano the whole time..

Ark Gravity AF28 BSF Limited Edition reel has performed well beyond it’ $150 price and no issues with it.

Ark should however exchange e reel for their customers if they got a lemon.

Have no experience with Ark’s customer service!

Tom

If its not a shimano or a daiwa, its not worth a cent. Of course there are exceptions, especially for SW, but in general, i don't know why one would bother on any other brand when you have quality low end, great mid range, and excellent high end from both companies.

27 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

If its not a shimano or a daiwa, its not worth a cent.

50 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

If its not a shimano or a daiwa, its not worth a cent. 

 

I agree, but being a tackle junky I have to try new things. The reel will probably be fine after I clean and grease it. If I can say anything nice about it so far is that it feels solid and there is a lot of metal. The spool bearing is very quiet. It just has no business being noisy reeling. Oddly enough the levelwind worm gear has grease on it. I plan on getting out on the water this weekend and giving it a go. I'll provide an update afterwards.

 

I would also like to say that my Okuma Hakais give every reel I have a run for their money. I would but them above my Curado 150s and below my Antares, Steez, and Zillion.

2 hours ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

To return the order I will have to pay to ship the reel back and a 20 percent restocking fee.

 

Did you buy it directly from them?????

 

If not, take it back to the store you bought it from.

 

I'm sure you have already read their warranty policy, if not I pasted it below. Once you open that bad boy up you are SOL on the warranty.

 

BTW, I'd fight like hell to get it replaced for no additional charges just like they say in the first line. I'd be ticked as well.

 

 

Reel warranty

We will repair or replace without any additional charges. Any ARK reel to be determined defective due to workmanship or materials for a time period of one year from the original purchase date by consumer. The warranty is only to the original owner and a copy of the dated receipt must be presented. After we receive the reel, the reel will be inspected to locate the issue. If it is determined to be a manufacturing defect, we will repair or replace the reel and send it back to you at no charge. This warranty does not cover abuse, improper use, dirt, rust or normal scratching or wear marks. Please do not remove or disassemble any parts of the reel, if reel has been disassembled your warranty will be voided. To protect against loss or damage in transit, your reel should be carefully packaged and adequately insured. Please retain all shipping receipts and tracking information. 

1 hour ago, Rockhopper said:

She got a big mouth for sure 😆😂

Do not take the reel apart if you do the warranty is voided.

Tom

1 hour ago, Rockhopper said:

Until the gear set becomes noisy as hell, then i'll come here to complain, of course.

1 hour ago, F14A-B said:

She got a big mouth for sure 😆😂

2 hours ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

I would also like to say that my Okuma Hakais give every reel I have a run for their money. I would but them above my Curado 150s and below my Antares, Steez, and Zillion.

I agree about Okuma.  I only have experience with their spinning reels, but my Okuma reels out preform my similarly priced Shimano and Daiwa.  

4 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

I agree about Okuma.  I only have experience with their spinning reels, but my Okuma reels out preform my similarly priced Shimano and Daiwa.  

Love my Helios Airs.  Been out once with the Hakai and a few more times than that with my Helios.  Helios SX is still NIB.  It's good that they are overlooked.  Can buy used at great prices.  

Quick update. I went back and watched Rawr Fishing's unboxing of this reel and his sounded just like mine. I feel comfortable in saying they are just not greasing these reels. I'm not worried about voiding the warranty and if servicing a reel voids the warranty than I think it just makes a better case for not purchasing anything from them. I did buy the reel directly from Ark and that is what makes this worse. If someone bought my most expensive product and was not happy I don't think I would put them through the ringer to get a warranty replacement. I would have gladly sent this reel back for a replacement, but to make me film the reel is horrible. Now knowing they all must sound like this it is what it is. I would also like to say that talking to their customer service felt like I was talking to a really sketchy business. The lady I was talking to must have had someone over her shoulder listening to my call on speaker because I could hear him talking to her about what to say to me. In my frustrations I ask to speak to her boss and she said it was the guy I heard talking and he had left the office. It was really sketchy. It felt like a orginaztion ran in a back room off of funny money. 

1 hour ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

Quick update. I went back and watched Rawr Fishing's unboxing of this reel and his sounded just like mine.

Is this sound you're hearing? Video should start at 3:50 and is where he's cranking the handle somewhat vigorously.

https://youtu.be/HltdJVjWn-g?si=Q_raL9pSyGTMKjVZ&t=230

 

If you put slight thumb pressure on the spool and crank the reel, does it feel smooth or rough? If it feels smooth, then it's probably fine as-is. If it's rough, then there's probably little point in greasing anything. Call again and try to speak with someone with a brain. Calmly let them know that you've posted your experience on BR. Perhaps send them the link to this thread. Hopefully they'll be smart enough to put the fire out. A restocking fee for a straight replacement for a just-bought unused reel is nuts.

 

For the record, I've had/have 2 ARK BFS reels, and both were/are very smooth crankers, and they're 8 spds. Lower gear ratios are typically a tad smoother right out of the gate.

Additional update. 

 

I went ahead and serviced reel. I must say it is much better now. A couple of things I noticed was that the handle shaft and level wind gears were very greasy, but main gear and pinion gear appeared to just have oil on them. I love quantum hot sauce. I greased the main gear, pinion gear and added some to the levelwind (what was on there from the factory vanished quickly) and it really smoothed out. It is much quieter. I am going to upgrade the handle because the bearings in the knobs are terrible and sound like they are coming apart. The handle bearings are louder than the reel. Other than that I think this is a decent reel. Is it 275 dollars decent? No. Is my OG SLX baitcaster smother? Probably, with the exception that the handle is easier to turn on the Ark. Without a doubt the Shimano feels more precise. Buy one get one is not bad for these. Making my mistake and paying full pop... not a good idea. I will give a final update after fishing this weekend. To sum it up here is my takeaway on the reel right now.

 

The reel is servicable after servicing,

 

The materials seem to be good quality except for the handle. 

 

Reeling is smooth but not refined. 

 

Paint job is spectacular. 

 

Ark customer service.. questionable. Not friendly at best.

 

If you buy it with these expectations then you will be happy with your purchase. Otherwise buy a Shimano, Daiwa, or Okuma.

 

For those wondering why I got on my suitcase about this to begin with... 

 

Reel a Bantam or a Tatula Elite out of the box and then one of these... There are expectations at that price point. If 

Ark is going to play in that sandbox they need to get a better shovel.

 

 

 

@PhishLI

 

Yes that is the part in the video and yes that is the sound, but mine was noisy with just regular reeling. After servicing the reel it doesnt sound like that anymore. Also, it is the 6.4 gear ratio, to your point it should have been better than Rawr's 8.X gear ratio reel but it wasn't. I also heard Aggressively Average Anglers mention that all the Ark reels they have used have gotten grindy after the first season of use. I would attribute that to the lack of grease out of the box. They also attributed it to needing greasing.  Ironically the Gravity 8 supposedly has upgraded gears that are supposed to mesh better... 

To clear up any confusion I don't believe there would have been any fee for a warranty replacement. To return the reel would cost shipping plus a 20 percent restocking fee. I think that is ridiculous. If you bought the reel from a vendor you could more than likely return it without any fees. I would not recommend buying an Ark product directly from Ark. 

 

Knowing what I know now it would have been a waste of time to film the reel and try to get a replacement because I think what I experienced out of box is considered ok. If given a replacement it would have been the same.

 

If Ark wants to make this better, they just need to make sure the customer's experience matches the expectations set by the price. Until then use this thread as a means to make an informed purchase. I have no doubt my reel will be fine now as others in this thread have enjoyed their Ark reels. 

 

That reel sounds terrible in that video.  What is that guy on about? "wow it's so smooth, the handle spins so easily  *rasp rasp rasp rasp*"

I have two Ark Gravities, both perfect out of the box.

Daiwa had a run of shipping dry reels a few years ago. I had to grease 3-4 before ever spoiling line on then. Annoying for sure 

Every Japan-made reel has the technician's bench labeled on it.  

If the reel comes back, he commits seppuku

 

it was jokes

5 hours ago, Bigbox99 said:

That reel sounds terrible in that video.  What is that guy on about? "wow it's so smooth, the handle spins so easily  *rasp rasp rasp rasp*"

Standards of a lot of people are extremely low when it comes to smoothness and noise on a reel. Especially true from those who consider their reels as "tools" and nothing else. They simply don't pay attention to any of it, until the reel breaks, and only then they'll complain about the reel.

I upgraded the handle today to a carbon 110 mm handle with much better bearings in the knobs. Reel is as quiet as my Curado 150 MGL now, but not as precise feeling. It kind of reminds me of a more metallic feeling Tatula 100.

Update after fishing with this reel. It's solid. I definitely don't think it would have been as good as it was today without the servicing and handle replacement.  To be totally honest it fished as good as my Zillion and I was completely shocked. I was able to bomb a lipless in the wind. It was extremely smooth and quiet. I have to say it is worth the price if you are ok with voiding the warranty and doing some immediate upgrades. I still would recommend a Zillion or a Shimano over this reel because all they need out of box is line. If it continues to perform as well as it did today I might have to eat some crow and order two more if they are BOGO again.

I got the 2 for 100 bogo on the Cobb rods last year. The 6’11 medium regular is good for small cranks and I got the 7’3 mh mod fast composite. Ended up selling that one because I wasn’t really a fan of the composite rods weight. Overall still  good deal for $100

Unforuntately you are not the first person I've heard have issues with Ark customer service. Glad you were able to sort it out yourself, although you shouldn't have had to.