Internet opinions

[carlfoot]

After reading the thread on Abu's fall from grace (mainly being blamed on the Chinese and the fat cats) I have come to a conclusion that the only people to blame are the guys who review these low grade products. In the age of the ''Internet expert'' we rely more on the reviews we have come to TRUST, that said we are becoming used to mundane, lacklustre and overstated journalistic drivel.
Why oh why are we putting up with being told that 'certain products' (and there is thousands) are, and I quote ''user friendly''. ''great value'' and my personal favourite ''up there with the best of them''. Especially from the reviewers, journalists and famous faces who basically swap and change their minds pretty quickly! Of course after riding every Chinese based company's donkey into the ground, and realise that they simply can't write another limp wristed review on the crap they have promoted for 12 month.
Well it's time for change I think........? will someone out there please write a honest review if it's flimsy and light weight say it is!!!!!!!

Before anyone kicks off this is not a dig at anyone in particular or organisation.
It's a dig against all the guys who have wrote a 'politicly correct review' knowing that the product reviewed is sub standard and on the basis of that review someone has gone out and bought (wasted their hard earned cash on it.)

Shame on you!!!!!!!!!
Ps got a lovely new reel here for sale ya might not have heard of them it's the ''cheapandnasty300'' comes with full 3day you'll never get ya money back
garuntee!!!!!! ....up there with the best of them... Rrp £3499 order today for only £6!!!!!! go on make the right choice....make the angling choice.

[neil1964]

I don't buy angling magazines because of the one sided drivel they print. If they are being paid big bucks by a company to advertise a product, they are hardly likely to slag it off in a review.

[Persues]

For many publications there is an obvious relationship between advertising revenue and product reviews. The catch 22 is that if a magazine gave an entirely honest and objective review on every product you'd soon be without many publications which simply cannot survive on cover sale profits alone.

There are a whole bunch of other factors to consider as well.

It's human nature to moan to anyone who will listen when something goes wrong, but we tend to be a lot less forthcoming about things that go right, so a lot of the time you can get a very one-sided negative (and not necessarily accurate) perspective when someone feels put out that the product(s) they bought into have not lived up to expectation.

I've been told that modern Abu reels are pants compared to the old ones, so when a recent order I placed encountered a problem I didn't bother to re-order, figuring I'd source a new old stock "made in Sweden" reel or pick a couple of mint second hands ones up.

On the flip side, is every Abu reel sold today dropping to bits and letting their respective owners down ?

Probably not.

Is the quality lower than it used to be ?

Apparently so.

See where I'm going ?

A mate of mine hasn't the spare disposable income to invest in expensive fishing gear so he buys 'lower end' products, many of which have a comparatively poor reputation. So far, he hasn't had a problem with the kit he has bought so it is pretty fair to say his experience of the rods and reels he has is very, very positive indeed.

Some folks tell me that their Titan fishing clothing is great and others have had problems.

It's a fact that anything manufactured is going to have a number of finished goods from every production run that have a problem, usually either due to faulted components or assembly issues. Minimising these production problems is the goal of every manufacturer, but eliminating the risk of them is almost impossible.

My own take is that if something fails on me I only concern myself with how well I am looked after during the after-market support stage. If you buy from a shop you have an avenue to immediately pursue an exchange or refund. Mail order brings the benefits of lower purchase prices with the ball-ache of arranging returns if something goes wrong with your purchase.

This is a series of pretty big issues that combine to form at least some of the problems discussed here, but there really is no easy answer.

You can buy a cheap car and have years of trouble-free motoring or a top marque which breaks down as you leave the garage forecourt.

The owner whose cheap runaround served them well for years is not as likely to let everyone know about it as the person who experienced a fault, and car manufacturers rework their road test models heavily to give the test drivers a better ride (sand in the sills and helium filled tyres to dampen road noise, among other tricks, are very common).

'honest' or 'objective' reviews are, by their very nature, potentially doomed to failure based very simply on whether the particular item being reviewed did what it said on the tin.

Example: years ago I had a very bad experience with a Penn multiplier, where the spool blew in half on my first cast and the line badly cut my thumb. When people recommended Penn 525 reels to me recently I was less inclined to look at them seriously due to my own personal experience from years ago, which is hardly a fair perspective to view a manufacturer or their product range, but it is human nature. Everyone I speak with tells me that they are great reels, and they probably are, but I steered clear due to past experience and no matter how good they currently are, someone, somewhere will have had to send one back under warranty that wasn't working properly. Their opinion of the reel, if they were asked, would probably be different to the majority of very satisfied customers out there, and would not be a fair representation of the product.

Establishing a balanced view is actually pretty difficult, if you think about it.

Just my own thoughts...

[FISHERMAN]

dont all ways belive wat u read . BUT BE CAREFULL! nowt worse than geting stung . and im not just on aboot sea fishing gear ither cud be oot

[carlfoot]

Hey there pursues, you have basically proved my post to be accurate, in your own words your opinion is invalid as is 99% of the members on here, as we all have different experiences, so al say it again we are relying more on the guys who frequently handle all different types of rods reels ect.... ie the magazine reviewers.
Now the point ya made about cheap tackle or cars as you put it is irrelevant as I don't mind buying cheap tackle as long as I pay cheap prices for it. The whole point of my post is to rant about reviewers classing cheap tatt as high quality which leads a reader or listener to think they are getting a bargain.
Surely you don't have to slate a product to get the point that it's not worth the money it's priced (well these people are paid fishing journalists). For example if it were me I'd write. This product works well and I found no problems with it but I (in my expert opinion as a trusted angling journalist) find that it does not warrant it's high asking price as for that price better items are available.

[paulthespark]

it's called pulling the wool over your eyes,you just have to see through the ****e

[TerryC]

Ever seen a bad car review from a mainstream publication ? Closest you get to a balanced view is "which"....I wonder if they would review fishing reels if we asked them ?

[paulthespark]

Ever seen a bad car review from a mainstream publication ? Closest you get to a balanced view is "which"....I wonder if they would review fishing reels if we asked them ?

and who would they ask to review them

[TerryC]

Good point,

From what little I know of "Which" they would approach people already in the business and give them anonymity so they could express their views without undue influence.

OR

The STIG

[fishingmark]

I usually check out internet forums to check out what people actually think about products and their experiences using them. You may get some varied advice but it's usually honest and not financially motivated.
There must be a decent sea North East Sea Angling site somewhere on the web

[Gwyn]

I have had a problem with the free spool mechanism of a 7000i and with the help of Pete Coogan it is now working ok, the mechanism is made up with two plastic gear quadrants one with a ramp to lift the pinion out of the spool, the problem was that the free spool would not return automatically and eventually damaged the pinion.

After it had been sorted out I sent the text below in an email to ABU

I cannot understand why you have changed the free spool mechanism on the 7000 series from one which has worked brilliantly for over 30 years to the one you have got now, it's like you have gone backwards in your design, why change something when it does not need changing.

They passed it on to Mike Thrussell who replied The decision to change the free spool mechanism will have been a global one for manufacturing reasons, and not one taken solely within the UK.

My point is why change some thing that has worked well for over thirty years and what is still used on the 6500 series, It was good of Mike to reply but it should have been someone from Pure Fishing.

[carlfoot]

Nice of mike, is that the mike thrussel of "MTI" I wonder?? Another Chinese based tackle company!! seems to be a set tone to this thread is it just a case that everything is cheap and nasty nowadays and we better get used to it? Cant get my head around the fact that manufacturers are charging us more for less at least charge us more for the same.

[PRICEY]

re-abu 7000i

This is exactly the trouble i had with my 7000i the 2 grey plastic bits inside moved out of place and made the reel impossible to use plastic crap that has replaced a very good original design. no more modern abu's for me

[FISHERMAN]

I usually check out internet forums to check out what people actually think about products and their experiences using them. You may get some varied advice but it's usually honest and not financially motivated.
There must be a decent sea North East Sea Angling site somewhere on the web

thats wat i do check write up,s on forms

[InCodweTrust]

I have had a problem with the free spool mechanism of a 7000i and with the help of Pete Coogan it is now working ok, the mechanism is made up with two plastic gear quadrants one with a ramp to lift the pinion out of the spool, the problem was that the free spool would not return automatically and eventually damaged the pinion.

After it had been sorted out I sent the text below in an email to ABU

I cannot understand why you have changed the free spool mechanism on the 7000 series from one which has worked brilliantly for over 30 years to the one you have got now, it's like you have gone backwards in your design, why change something when it does not need changing.

They passed it on to Mike Thrussell who replied The decision to change the free spool mechanism will have been a global one for manufacturing reasons, and not one taken solely within the UK.

My point is why change some thing that has worked well for over thirty years and what is still used on the 6500 series, It was good of Mike to reply but it should have been someone from Pure Fishing.

The only reason to change a tried, & trusted, mechanism, ( As justified by the abundance of 7000c/ 9000c still in existance, their popularity, & the fact that a "Fair one" can still command a price greater than its original "New" cost.), is to improve its performance, improve the speed, or cost, of its manufacturing process. The sucess of any modification can only be accertained by stringent quality auditing, and prolonged performance testing.
The results of which will show if the modification has had a positive / negative affect on the overall end performance.
Any modification which has a negative affect on performance can only cast doubt on the quality of the auditing process, or on the good intentions of the manufacturer ?
Abus new owners have to accept the swedish made reels set a benchmark, by which the are bound to be measured, and which they can not ignore, if they intend any long term involvement...or are they another Garcia, god forbid ??
There is a relationship between "Quality / Performance & Cost", any lifespans designed into products quickly come to light, and tarnish all their products, & in the long term cost more in lost sales, as people lose trust, & look elsewhere.
If we are honest, you dont have to scratch very deeply on most anglers to find a trace of tackle tart, ( I accept this is relative, before you start !), and most would still keep buying that new product if it were, trully, just as good or even only a little better !
Fishing situations are very varied,
and I Need a large variety of gear to Survive!
Honest luv, would I lie to you ??

mel....
p.s. G.....pick up rod in AM, thinking cap on for session @ WE as I need to deliver rod