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I was looking for a new reel a while back and found a guy who CNC machines them out of aluminum bar stock. His seller name is kingfisher009 on that "bay" selling place.
This isn't a plug or ad, but I bought one just to see. Amazing reel for an even more amazing price. Teflon drag, roller bearings, sizes from 0 to 10 wt.
If you're in the market, check them out. Heck, if you're NOT in the market, you soon might be when you see his stuff. Here's the one I got:
![[Image: reel.jpg]](http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c170/RockyRaab/reel.jpg)
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Sexy looking reel. Look forward to future reports on it.
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Nice looking reel but I seriously doubt he machines those himself. More than likely it is produced in China like everything else. He probable buys in quantity and sells individual reels at a mark up. No different than what Orvis does now just on a smaller scale. If you go to alibaba add search cnc aluminum fly reel you'll probable find out who the manufacturer is.
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What about extra spools? Maybe the price is so low that getting the entire reel is the same price as a spool elsewhere. They do look nice in the photos.
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Orvis reels are made in China instead of England now, But to Orvis specs.
I got to agree with you on this, but they could be nice reels.
But, I am one that doesn't think the reel should be the expensive part of fishing.
Sure a good drag is need from time to time.
Good point on the spools. If the reels are cheap enough, I would rather have the reel than a bunch of spools.
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Wow just checked it out and they are really cheap for the ones I saw, how did you like it, for the price it makes a great back up, Might just pick one up, just the thing I need another fly reel[  ]
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Are you talking about alibab? You have to buy a bunch to get the price. 100 at like $23.... I would find a way to use each one...LOL
I didn't see any like the OP's reel though. I like the flowery ones though. Nice palming reels
I got to go to e-bay and check the original reel out.
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The winning bid on mine was under $30. I could buy four of them for the price of just a spare spool from some makers. It did not have instructions at all so I had to puzzle out how to switch it from right-hand to left-hand retrieve. (You flip the roller bearing race over.) But except for that, I haven't found a single negative yet.
Nowhere on it does it say "Made in China." That may not be definitive, but it is indicative.
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When you get a chance, post some close-up photos.
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That is way cool. Great price, good looking. How is the drag?
I put the sellers name in and he sells a lot of different reels. Couldn't find yours though.
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The drag is "like buttah" and is adjustable from near zero to dead stop. It's a silent drag, with no click.
The reels he offers are anodized. When I bought mine, they were all golden. This week, they appear to be all black. I suspect that they anodize a large batch of reel parts all at once, so a given batch is all the same.
I'll work on some close-ups.
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I have bought a few reels like this the the "bay site". They are nice reels. Well made, nice drag. There are some on there that even have waterproof drag systems. I also purchased a similiar reel from aliexpress. I only had to order one not many and it came with an extra spool. It was around $22 shipped. It is cast, not CNC but it is still a nice reel. The reel from aliexpress took about 2.5 weeks to arrive. I have been very pleased with them so far. I'll see if I can find some pics of them.
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Here are pics of a couple of the reels.
![[Image: 7861228742_52739d0a17_b.jpg]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/static/editor/%5Burl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/7861228742/%5D%5Bimg%5Dhttp://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7861228742_52739d0a17_b.jpg) [/url][/img]
![[Image: 8069610188_8051621b40_b.jpg]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/static/editor/%5Burl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/14972385@N06/8069610188/%5D%5Bimg%5Dhttp://farm9.staticflickr.com/8462/8069610188_8051621b40_b.jpg) [/url][/img]
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Pretty sure they are all made in China, but what isn't. If it works, who cares.
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I think for this reason... I'll stick to ALLEN! We're sending China enough money as it is for manufacturing.
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He says with a Lamson in his picture. LOL Not all China reels are a bad thing. In fact I think the Konic is made over seas, but assembled here. Plus the reels are made to manufacturers specs like Orvis. I mean, I have the English LA and it looks the same as the China one. Material, however can be substituted.
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This is correct. Guessing the casting is coming from Korea, the drag system is still from the US. All other reels by Lamson are manufactured in the US of A.
Q- Where are your reels made?
A – Our reels are assembled and quality controlled at our factory in Boise, Idaho. All of our machined reels (Guru, Velocity, Litespeed, Waterworks ULA and Vanquish) use components manufactured by our U.S.-based machining partners. Konic, which is a hybrid of pressure-cast and machined parts, uses both U.S. and Korean manufactured component parts.
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Very good point indeed. You may be able to get a decent reel that does the job from China for a low cost. On the flipside why give your money to an American company to have them manufacture the item in China. They are not going to lower their prices due to the fact that they are now paying far less to manufacture the item. They are just increasing their profits by still charging same price as if it were made somwhere else (I.E. England / USA). And yet they are really hurting the enconomy by getting rid of all of their manufacturing jobs!
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Well put! Paveway for President! [cool] Kiddin ys.
In several cases, the China version is at a savings, but I got to agree with you on the big companies doing this for more personal profit.
I was amazed to see so many companies that are doing this and lets not forget Mexico now too.
Outcast boats are being made in China and reason was cheaper to produce, but the price is the same[mad] Orvis too. Quality is still there which does make it tolerable.
In fishing gear, the market is now being flooded so it is easier to get that deal (cheap). They steal ideas and mass produce them. And finally, .....we buy them.
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Yeah, shipping off manufacturing to Mexico, like Meth....superlabs are killing the poor homegrown Meth cooks. [sly]
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