Supermarket fishing gear?

[Poodroo]

Hello everyone, was in a large retail supermarket today who I shall remain nameless but will let you fill in the blanks K- _ _ _ T. I had just enough time to eyeball the fairly extensive range of fishing gear. There were some good name brand reels for example like Penn and Shimano which look like the real deal however at a substantially lower cost than your local fishing tackle supplier. At first I wondered how this could be so and then the penny dropped when I started reading the box. I know my brother has a Penn reel and the equivelent in the supermarket was a third of the cost. What I realized first up was cheaper packaging but then I noticed that there were less ball bearings in them as well. Is this how they manage to cut cost by jeapardizing the actual quality? Has anyone out there purchased reels and fishing gear and found they are okay or are they more trouble than they are worth? All I know is I got caught purchasing a set of spotlights from them last year that looked like an expensive brand but only $69 a pair. Mounted them on and went to Fraser the following week. I have never seen a set of chrome spotlights corrode so fast in all my life. Once bitten, twice shy so they say. So basically is fishing gear in supermarkets a genuine saving or not worth it?

Regards,

Poodroo

[Fishin_Dan]

Some is, some isn't.... If you know what you're looking for, you can get some good deals. But reels are not one of the things to buy there

[Poodroo]

Some is, some isn't.... If you know what you're looking for, you can get some good deals. But reels are not one of the things to buy there

Even if it is a Penn brand??

Poodroo

[Brent_P]

Penn have recently started marketing some cheap graphite reels which are made in China, not America, such as the Penn Captiva range of spinning and baitrunner reels. I haven't bought or used any of these, so I can't comment on their quality (or lack of it), but it might be an idea to have a look on some of the American fishing sites about these, if you're interested. I've seen the Captivas in the Mart with the K.
I was not aware that Shimano were making reels that are exclusive to K-M__t with less ball-bearings - maybe they just look similar to the other reels you've seen. Quite a few of the cheaper Shimanos have the same body shape (and quite a few of the more expensive ones too!). Anyway, I think you're pretty safe buying any Shimano reel, so long as you remember how much you paid for it! A cheap Shimano reel will rarely outlast the more expensive metal-framed Shimanos, nor will it be as much of a pleasure to use.

Brent.

[Fishin_Dan]

Yes Poodroo - I bought one years ago... At the time I thought I'd got a really good deal....

3 trips later when the thing completely jammed on me from the internals falling around inside the reel (And I never mistreated it) I lost a nice snap beside the boat... That reel became a new record for the largest distance a reel has ever been thrown back at the ramp though!!!

[Noelm]

a friend of mine got a "good deal" on a combo outfit from a Supermarket, he had it at my place 2 trips later to fix the anti reverse, he went to the store and they said sure we can fix it under warranty, just leave it with us and we will send it to the manufacturer, should be back in a few weeks, as some of you know this is a special topic to me, if you get it from a tackle store, chances are they will fix it for you (maybe even while you are there) and away you go happy as hell

[Fishin_Dan]

That's what went first on my reel Noelm.... It then also seemed to engage the anti forward too!!!

Have visited tackle shops ever since

[Noelm]

yep the old anti forward is a good one, I have seen a few of the cheap Shimanos with that feature, it all stems from the fact that the manufacturer sources cheap stuff from offshore where you can get anything made at any price, I was once in a business that dealt direct with Eveready the battery people, the rep told me they can get batteries at any price from China and places like that, the price was dependant on how much "battery" was in the case and how much "filler" he cut a cheapy open and the botton two thirds was sawdust, the battery was only about 1 inch long, in the same size "D" cell case, you tell by the weight of a good one and a cheapy, reels are no different you get what you pay for, and at a Supermarket you get the service you pay for.

[Squiggle]

We bought our 3yo daughter one of them pink Barbie combos (Shakespeare) from there. Great little outfit and she has caught a few fish on it. The reel is very smooth to use. Great little river rod.

I also bought a Diawa beach combo from there and the reel to it, is still going strong after 15 years. The rod broke in a major storm that blew away our shed.

Have just bought a whippy 7ft Shimano combo...yet to see how it stands up though.

I think with the better known quality brands would have to be careful what they allowed to be sold under their name as it could affect their reputation to a degree.

[NormC]

I drop in to the K shop most times they have a 25% off fishing gear sale. I've got couple of combos and an Alvey real at pretty good prices. I mainly use it to top up on tackle and occasionally some lures or SPs.

If you want advice or want to be certain of the quality of your gear, you can't go past the specialist local tackle shop though. I recently spent about $500 on a new barra outfit, braid line and some barra lures etc. Didn't even consider the supermarket.

I did some research on the net (and sought advice on this forum), then went to the local tackle shop. Got a great set up at a good price.

[Poodroo]

Well thanks heaps for the replies. Still undecided however as to whether I should give one of their Penn reels a test or not. I guess for around $40 I can't really go wrong and so long as I keep the receipt they will exchange or refund should I have any bad luck with it. Will let you know how it goes.. Regards,

Poodroo

[nigelr]

Do as much research as you can.
There really is no such thing as a free lunch!
Doubt you'd find a USA built Penn in a supermarket, however some of the largest marts have a very good returns policy, so if your item has probs you should be able to get a replacement no dramas.
Some of the Chinese UglyStiks are good buying when on special or on the 'throwout' racks, really you have to know your gear and be on the ball.
Cheers and have fun!

[BilgeBoy]

Yeah I got me young fella one of those $30 kits with the little Shakespeare rod. Great little reel and it came with SP's tackle and line etc. I have to say that its a little ripper....Fantastic little estuary rod...got a great balance and an awesome tip on it...you can just feel everything!!! Funny...here I am with me $$$ job and I find myself using my 9 year olds rod

So yeah...you can get some JUNK....but you can also get the odd diamond!!!

[fishsmith]

For $40 you can go wrong...When you consider the amount you pay for fuel,food,bait,lures etc for that fishing trip and your reel ...packs up. Yes you may get a couple of trips use out of it with no probs buts its only a matter of time...

[insolent]

I pretty much started out with Shimano combos from the large retailers. When I wanted to get into a new style of fishing I would buy a combo on sale, almost all of the reels are still in good working order and the ones that aren't died due to bad maintenance rather than something wrong with the reels. I now own Daiwa, Shimano, Okuma (never had a problem except for when I had one serviced by some yahoo at a tackle shop, Okuma fixed it for free even though they were aware someone else stuffed it) and Banax reels which I upgraded to from the combos. Rods are now Berkley, Gladiator, Ugly Sticks and my new favorites Silstar Crystal Blue Powertips they are great value and a good compromise between graphite sensitivity and fibreglass strength. I still use Taipan and Technium Shimano beach rods. I'll probably upgrade rods to graphite gradually starting maybe with the Nitro range.

So from cheap combos I caught the fishing bug and it's now my favorite past time (and pubs), don't sell the cheapie combos short and once you've got a better idea what style of fishing you mostly do upgrade.

Cheers