Anyone actually had swivels fail - what quality and what is overkill?

[MudRiverDan]

Some of the brands I have:

All around 40-60lb swivels,,

SureCatch - Plain old brass barrel - Don't use them much but when I have, they have not failed me on large fish, rather the line has busted first.---Very Cheap

Wilson - Crane swivels - Look Ok, seem to work, have not tested them a lot.---Cheap

Shogun Crane swivels - Use them a lot, have caught a lot of fish, never failed.-- Very Expensive

Shogun Roller swivels - Use them the most, have caught a lot of fish, never failed.-- Very Expensive

Berkley - Nick coated crane swivels - Used them a few times, seem strong enough, bought them off eBay - Very very Cheap

NoName Made in Chine Swivels of Ebay pack of 200- for $7.00 - seem ok, have not used them for large fish, only for baiting bream off the wall when killing time soaking a livie for bigger fish.--Ultra Cheap


Anyone got any points?

Personally I have never had a swivel fail,, just wonder what others think and use regarding price ,,quality,, and build integrity?

Cheers

Dan

[wayno60]

Dan, ive been caught out on a few fish with swivels letting go and now have gone to Shogun Roller swivels .
Im at work now but when i get home ill send you a link to how they are built and what makes a good and bad ones.

[sid_fishes]

the mighty mini,s from AFW... size 14 ,78 lb test all stainless steel... these are great

[wayno60]

mmswivelvsbrass.jpg
these are what sids talkin about

[scuttlebutt]

Wilson crane swivels are good. I reckon just as good as the more expensive ones. I've had those cheap old style swivels fail when reef fishing.

[Noelm]

I guess to be 100% fair, you need to put into perspective what you are fishing for, a cheap .5C swivel will be fine for Bream and whiting (say) on 3KG line, but to use the same quality on 60KG Game tackle would be silly, so that being said, for "general purpose" fishing, I use cheapish swivels (if I use a swivel at all) but for game fishing, I use only quality swivels, the cost of a good swivel is only a tiny part of the tackle costs for game fishing.

[sid_fishes]

mmswivelvsbrass.jpg
these are what sids talkin about

yep,,,, there the ones

[HeadBanger]

Taking good notice of this post, as I've really amped my shark fishing tackle for next year (just bought a 9/0 Penn Senator.) Ball bearing swivels don't come cheap, but I'm finding it hard to justify buying the cheap crap ones, or even the crane swivels (they seem a bit suss to me) when I'm spending as much as I can on rods, traces, etc. Still, at $6 a swivel, with two swivels per trace, they can really add up!

[moater]

I've never had a swivel fail as far as I can remember.My mate used to use very large brass swivels years ago for big sharks landbased.I remember him showing me a swivel that was fair dinkum stretched so that the eyes were elongated!!...never broke though.

I tend to lean towards the black crane swivels these days and have bought some great bargains from the auction site...STILL much cheaper to have 100 or so sent from USA than to buy local - sadly.Sometimes you've just got to save a few dollars regardless of loyalties.

Darren

[whiteman]

Never had a swivel fail but don't keep them until they are looking a bit ragged either. There are some really nice ones around these days - I fish mainly reef so need the 80-100lb rated ones. Any reputable brand and don't go the most expensive just because it is.

It costs a lot of money to take a boat out. NEVER skimp on terminal tackle as it's the cheapest thing you have to buy for a day of fishing and the most important!

[moater]

It costs a lot of money to take a boat out. NEVER skimp on terminal tackle as it's the cheapest thing you have to buy for a day of fishing and the most important!

Agree completely, I only buy good swivels and other terminal tackle for the same reason as you outline.

[choppa]

never had a swivel "fail" as in break,,, but I do get the occassional one (still) that refuses to "swivel",,, i put this thread up 5 years ago

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...hlight=swivels

and even tho i now use a barrel style swivel,,, i still get the odd one that jams and refuses to do its job

i think the method of manufacturing allows the eyelet to elongate as moater's mate experienced,, the blunt will seldom,, if ever pull through the crimp of the barrel unless there is a major manufacturing fault at hand,,, but as everyone else has stated,,, you pay for what you get or for the purpose that your intending to fish

[NAGG]

I don't use swivels that often except when I'm game fishing / jigging / live baiting ....... if going for surface fish - Sampo's ...... if jigging / live baiting the bottom , I'll use the cheaper shogun (bearing) ..... but Sampos are my preference

Chris

[ronmac]

I use Pakula, Dojo Peche swivels. They are all stainless, dual rotation, ball bearing. Works great on my alvey reel, when beach fishing. cheers ron.