Tuff Tackle Brawn......

[b_hoffy]

Hey guys had a bit of a search but didnt find anything new on the tuff tackle brawn.
Received an email from them today about their new brawn reel thats fully made in Aus and a special offer for pre-orders.

Has anyone had a look at these or read much into them. The photo they sent out looks pretty good.
76638

[TimD]

Aren't Tuff Tackle crap, didn't they claim that Nomad Sportfishing use there reels rather than Stella's and Saltiga's ;D



cheers tim :)

[b_hoffy]

Yea there was a whole lot of controversy over their first range off reels which were all made in china. Since then the company is only selling their left over stock of chinese made products and has developed the new brawn range that is designed and made here. Heres some info from their website.
Sounds good but would like to hear someone use it first

BRAWN 8000
Designed for Jigging. 870mm line retrieve.
Magnetic bail lock (no springs)
Magnetic drag clicker (no springs)
Factory limited drag 30kg (66lb) (bench load test line pressure 40kg (88lb)
10 x SS bearings
4 x ertalyte bearings
Designed to be service free, 3000hrs of 10 Nm of shaft load @ 3000rpm, gear life.
That means 3000 hours of hauling fish before major over haul required
Completely CNC machined from 6061, 7075 and 630 SS materials (no plastic parts, no die cast parts)
Low rotating mass (minimal inertia start up, and stop) (spins up very quickly, and stops instantly without inducing gear stresses)
Dynamically balanced rotor assembly, by specialist turbine manufacturer
Meaning the reels feeling is instantly responsive, and less tiring to use than reels with heavy weighted rotors, without sacrificing strength
And of course designed and made in Australia by Tuff Tackle Pty ltd

[TimD]

They might be alright but i think i'll hold onto my Saltiga instead ;D


What do the Brawns retail for ???


cheers tim :)

[Brent_P]

Aren't Tuff Tackle crap, didn't they claim that Nomad Sportfishing use there reels rather than Stella's and Saltiga's ;D



cheers tim :)

They claimed a lot of things. Should we believe what they say now?

[Horse]

A few wholesalers are misrepresenting themselves through stating they are manufacturing a reel in a certain country while actually importing the finished reel from China, pulling the drag apart and replacing some washers and claiming it was "built in the USA". Canyon Reels were caught out doing this. They have now named the process "assembled in the USA". I would consider Tuff Reels to be in the same category. Thats not to say they are not good value reels but there may be other options available

[deepfried]

Even though the guy went a bit clock work orange on here a while back i hope he ends up with a decent reel that is made in Australia. I wouldnt be rushing out to buy one though unless there were good reports about it.
It looks a bit industrial to say the least, maybe the yanks might like it !!!

[spelchek]

They might be alright but i think i'll hold onto my Saltiga instead ;D


What do the Brawns retail for ???


cheers tim :)


$500 for an 8000 reel - according to the email I got yesterday.

[Brent_P]

A few wholesalers are misrepresenting themselves through stating they are manufacturing a reel in a certain country while actually importing the finished reel from China, pulling the drag apart and replacing some washers and claiming it was "built in the USA". Canyon Reels were caught out doing this. They have now named the process "assembled in the USA". I would consider Tuff Reels to be in the same category. Thats not to say they are not good value reels but there may be other options available

Yeah, I read about the Canyon reels too. But Tuff Tackle were charging three times the price that the same reels with different names were selling for, and then he claimed these other reels were Chinese ripoffs of his design! I wouldn't call charging 3x the going price 'good value', especially when you're preying on the patriotism of hardworking people. Both Diablo models were 'homebrand' reels - anyone anywhere can order some from China, with their company's name stamped on them.

These Brawn reels do look like they're designed and made in Australia, though. My main concern is that the reel stem and reel body are in fact two separate parts, connnected by two screws. Considering the "factory limited" ;D 30kg drag, I wonder how much force these screws will withstand, before sheering off. Imagine a jigging and popping reel with an actual reel stem the same diameter of these two screws and you'll understand what worries me. I'm no engineer, so maybe someone who is could comment...

Cheers,
Brent.

[moater]

Too many damn holes,don't like the look of the holes in the stem either!

[Stuart]

All the tuff tackle reels I have seen and used are absolute crap; I wouldn’t pay $5 for one. That’s the problem with fishing tackle manufactures, wholesalers and importers is they all spin marketing crap and cant back any of what they say up and tuff crap is a classic example of that. The drags are snot, the build and parts quality is crap. My mate has a brand new reel from them and the thing is rusting after one use…please. This new model in the pic above says they are going for looks, appearance over anything else. Looking at that reel would make me use a few hose clamps to make sure it didn’t go for a swim when the drag hit 1.5kg. It looks more like Swiss cheese whittled down to look like a reel. I lost count of how many weak spots there are in that reel. Why can’t products stand on there own merits rather than hard and at times deceitful marketing drivel? How can we make this reel look good and feel light?…Oh lets drill 500 holes in it.

[NIZ180]

We need an Alan Tani / Alan Hawk style review. I agree with the others on the reel stem, looks like a major weak point. Surely they saw all those photos of the early saltiga's breaking at the stem due to weight saving holes in the wrong place.

[reggy]

We need an Alan Tani / Alan Hawk style review. I agree with the others on the reel stem, looks like a major weak point. Surely they saw all those photos of the early saltiga's breaking at the stem due to weight saving holes in the wrong place.
Good point! There is a thread on Bloodydecks at present about Saltiga overheads cracking at the screw holes on their frames.
You can break anything.

[insider]

Specs schmecs, load of crap. Wonder if every handle falls off them like the earlier "Aussie made" reels. Reputations are built on years of performance and durability. Any claims about the reels before they have been tested for even a year in the market should be held at arms length.

[Stuart]

I just got through having a look at the Accurate spin reels and it would appear the tuff tackle reel in the photo has copied some design points of theres.

[grave41]

Give me an accurate any day.built like the proverbial brick outhouse.They will outlast shimano or daiwa .
IMO Graham

[Gozz]

When I first saw the pic I thought WOW.
But after a good look I noticed things looking a little under sized for a reel of that size.
To me the rotors look a bit under sized for a 30kg drag reel also where the handle joins to the reel shaft and like mentioned in earlier thread the stem is a two piece.

This is just my opinion and I hope he proves us all wrong and builds a good reel.

[Stuart]

Reel manufacturers seem to be in a contest as to how much drag there reels have. It serves no real purpose other than wank factor. I have seen reel companies stating there small lever drag reels, lets say a TLD 20 size to have 25kg+ of drag but I feel they have missed something very important. Given these reels are relatively small and the lever travel being some 3-4 inches from free spool to full lock up that tells me that every 1inch is potentially 10kg. I have tried some of these reels and the drag ramps up ridiculously fast, to fast to be any good. I understand they bang on about 50 and 80lb spectra lines but even so such heavy drags is just ridicules. More importantly most rods won’t be effective with that much drag. Im a big fella and I build rods for a living and I struggle to hang onto 22kg of drag on land little lone in a boat. Sure you see rods with 25kg of drag over them but look at the action, its BS if you ask me. Who wants a friggen rod where the tip almost touches the butt, it serves no real purpose as a fish fighting tool? The other issue I have seen in some of these reels is the internal make up, most won’t handle 25kg of drag for to long. Bearings collapse, spools warp and reel feet bend. Just like a well tuned clutch or brake, it needs to come on smooth and steady. If you touched the brake pedal just a small amount and all four wheels locked up you would go and get them checked out and fixed.