Tuff Tackle Reels

[Andrew Williams]

Have any of you guys ever used Tuff Tackle Reels and what are your thoughts?  Thanks

[Mark Harris]

Andrew might I suggest you do a search of the forum?

There has been some rather controversial discussion on this subject before and I suspect nobody will want to go over all that again.

[Jamie Moir]

Not just here. There are some hilarious threads about them on Fishwrecked and 360tuna.

[Andrew Williams]

Thanks Guys

[Brandon Khoo]

I'm not sure that Luke and myself thought that episode was that hilarious - especially that idiot we banned.

Not just here. There are some hilarious threads about them on Fishwrecked and 360tuna.

[wes_jones]

apologies that this is a late statement but personally i believe theres a reason why they dropped so much in price oer night and that is because there price really reflects what there worth. no good in my opinion. and this was on kings and sambos

[Chris Webster]

Game on

[Stephane Gouy]

lot  french people have big problems with tuff tackle....reel seems not built for jigging.........

[Brandon Khoo]

every time I see this topic, I want to cry! 

[Peter Morris]

It makes my head bleed.

[Brandon Khoo]

I can't believe I am the person to bring this up but I just finished reading some of the threads on the new Brawn and sadly, it seems like the same old story. TT love Alan Hawk!

Some of you may find this hard to believe but i was genuinely hoping that they could actually put together a quality product that would hold together, notwithstanding the grief that we had on this forum. I got nothing against them personally and would welcome another viable alternative on the market although I suspect that in the years to come, this is more like to emerge from brands we give a hard time today like Okuma. I say this because 30 - 35 years ago, we used to laugh at Shimano products.

The reality as those of you who fish often enough for GTs will know is that none of the brands we use are bulletproof and the cost of replacement of key components (which in my opinion should hold up in the first place) are eye-watering.

[Steve Li]

Yep, really hoping that there can be decent alternatives to the 2 main brands there are dominating the market currently. More competition can only be good for the consumers like us!

Based on my observations, the reels available now (outside of Shimano and Daiwa) are either:

Materials - inferior materials / components to withstand the demands of GT fishing.
Weight - too heavy
Aesthetics - none look better or even as good as what we are using
Design - always some design flaws hindering actual application or making process less efficient (due to lack of R&D)
After sales - either lacking or non existant
Price - Could be more attractive (to get seasoned anglers to even consider giving them a chance)
Track record - lacking one 

Just sharing some of the issues that is preventing me from buying an alternative brand currently. Really hope there will be more choices available some time down the road. The prices of the Stellas and Saltigas just keep going up and needs checking!!!     

[Mark Harris]

Yep, there is a huge market there for somebody to grab hold of. Most of the efforts so far have been disappointing.

My tips are that TICA or Okuma are the most likely of existing budget manufacturers to fill that void - but it seems a long way down the road.  Or perhaps we will see a Chinese offering come out of nowhere.

Another interesting one would be if JM moved into the large spinning reel market.  They have an established reputation for producing decent quality gear at prices below the premium Japanese and American offerings.

If you have access to them in the US, the Penn Torque range is clearly highly regarded and they seem to be a fair bit cheaper (in the US at least) than the equivalent Stellas and Saltigas. Alan Hawk's review score on the Penn Torque was still a bit adrift of that for a Stella, but was almost identical to the much more expensive Saltiga 2010.

[Steve Li]

Mark, the JM reels cost quite abit. They are about the same as the more established brands like Accurate, Shimano OJ and Daiwa Saltiga overhead. I gotta say they have made a name for themselves in the conventional reel market. But not sure if they will ever enter the spinning reel market tho. The guys behind JM are almost exclusively 100% conventional reel users by the way.

 

[Mark Harris]

Hi Steve

The fact that JM have just produced a range of after market spinning spools mean some of the job is done already.  Given this and that they already produce well priced popping rods, it might make sense for them to move into the large spinning reel market.

On OH reel pricing, having just checked you are dead right - little difference these days. I seem to remember that was not always the case, but I stand corrected .