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shimano or fox

M

Mark Widd

Active Member
bought the fox duo rod awesome woulde like to no peoples thoughts on reels shimano gte 5000 c reel or the fox fs 7000 16 ball bearing reel be gratefull on your thoughts cheers looked at them both cant decide
 
Reels

Hi Mark

Had a brief encounter with Fox reels a couple of years back and was not impressed.Flashy spec and lots of ball races do not necessarily make for a great reel.
Latest models may be better but I would rather stick with Shimano or Daiwa as they have proven smooth and reliable.

Have also used Okuma reels and if you are looking for lower cost options,they are pretty sound too.

regards

Richard
 
The Fox 7000 is bigger & heavier than the 5000, so it may depend on the river your fishing.
Go for a Shimano anyway.
 
Hi Fred , Iv'e just clicked on your blog link( Barbel Society) at the bottom of your last post and wondered when it is going live.


Micky
 
Shimano or high end Okuma's
 
I went to a local tackle shop in worcester a couple of seasons ago to get a pair of fox stratos. and fair play to the honesty of the bloke at the tackle shop.
he refused to sell me the stratos reels and was not selling them to anyone as most of the ones he had already sold had come back faulty!!! so it was a pair of shimano gtec for me and they are awsome. i wouldnt change brand now. i just brought one of the 5000 re limeted editions last week to go on another rod.
 
i wouldn't swap my XTEA for anything.
i told my local tackle shop about the problems with the fox reels, he said, he hadn't had anything back.
 
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My FE7000's lasted two and half seasons. Anti-reverse went in one and way too much play in the handles on both. Just replaced them with Shimano DA4000FA's. This reel feels altogether better quality, and hopefully will last me a few more years. Leave the Fox's well alone.
 
Fox should stick to what they are best at and its not reels had a couple of Stratos reels and they were nothing but trouble with baitrunner failing to release twice cost me 80 quid in repairs and finally the gears giving up when to simano after that.
 
I liked the Fox's at first, but for durability and lasting quality would opt for Shimano everytime ! My old, original 5000GTE's are still going strong, the Fox's are on their way out and I don't abuse my kit or use it anywhere near as often as some........Bet you won't be seeing any vintage Fox reels for sale in years to come like you do Shimanos !
 
Shimanos every time.Have lost a fair few quid on Fox reels.Had a pair of FS10000's which were ok at first,which suckered me into getting FS7000's which were faulty out of the box,anti-reverse problem.By then the 10000's started to play up,glad to see the back of them.You'll be hard pressed to find a favourable comment about these reels,my local tackle shop refuse to stock them any more,and they sell a lot of Fox stuff.At least you have the benefit of the poor experiences of myself and the guys who have replied to your post,between us its cost a fair bit of dosh.

Regards
Pete .
 
Shimano. I have pairs of Baitrunners (1988/89, 4500 front-drag Seaspin; 1990, 4500 rear-drag) that have caught, respectively, a lot of mahseer and a lot of big-river barbel, and are still going strong (and look good for it, too).
 
Like Paul, I have some elderly shimano,s, all still functioning, yes some are a tad worn, a bit of play here and there, but years of heavy use explains that, most have had near zero maintenance. The only other reel in a similar bracket is an original ABU cardinal 54, still perfect after 35+ years!
peter
 
without a doubt shimano...
if you have a good look around you can pick up a 5000 xte-a for about £85..
having owned the 5000gte-c and the 5000xte-a i would spend the extra on the xte-a
the xte-a is a tad heavier but a much better reel in my opinion, the clutch really is superb and the whole reel feels like a step up in class...
 
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