comparison: Abu VS Omoto

[Rip-Plugger]

Hello Fisher people,

I am wondering if anyone here has ever fished with an abu international mag/sports mag and an Omoto Chief casting reel,if so,how would you compare them to each other?

R-P

[bababooey]

I don't know anything about an Omoto, but to me it looks like it would blow up under heavy use fighting big fish. I have an Abu and love it. Just my opinion.

[7deadlyplugs]

I have an old Abu needs a little work now but always did me proud.

[Rip-Plugger]

I don't know anything about an Omoto, but to me it looks like it would blow up under heavy use fighting big fish. I have an Abu and love it. Just my opinion.

Hmmm,interesting reply.
I am still asking for comparison.

FYI,Omoto makes some of the finest machines on the planet.I know this for a fact since I fish their gear quite a bit.
I expected folks here to be more helpful as I did you.

I thought you might be a seasoned veteran of fishing which such a fisherman would not bash something he knows nothing about.

on another site,I asked about ming-yang reels and every single fisherman that has been doing it for years said they were junk,well,I found out otherwise for myself.

btw,they don't blow up,I know that as a fact too.
the Chief is a very well made machine,I know because I own one and will be fishing it this am AAMOF.


R-P

[bababooey]

I'm not lookiing to start an argument Ripplugger, but if you think about it, if Omoto reels were so great lot of guys would be using them. I read the posts on other websites, they are not blazing a brave new path in reel-construction.

They copied a lot of the features of the more expensive reels, box them up with a guarantee, and hope they won't have problems with quality control. They basically stole a lot of the best features from other manufacturers, and I have a bit of a problem with that. They are made in China, and I'm not happy with the quality control of a lot of stuff coming out of China.

I say this respectfully, and this is just my opinion. I feel they won't hold up, you do. I like my Abu. They have been making Abus for years and have quality control and customer service down pat. I'm happy with that and don't want to change right now. To each his own is what I say. :HappyWave:

[finchaser]

I'm not lookiing to start an argument Ripplugger, but if you think about it, if Omoto reels were so great lot of guys would be using them. I read the posts on other websites, they are not blazing a brave new path in reel-construction.

They copied a lot of the features of the more expensive reels, box them up with a guarantee, and hope they won't have problems with quality control. They basically stole a lot of the best features from other manufacturers, and I have a bit of a problem with that. They are made in China, and I'm not happy with the quality control of a lot of stuff coming out of China.


I say this respectfully, and this is just my opinion. I feel they won't hold up, you do. I like my Abu. They have been making Abus for years and have quality control and customer service down pat. I'm happy with that and don't want to change right now. To each his own is what I say. :HappyWave:


What he ^^^ said knocks offs come and go and are usually meant to be disposable, good for people who don't fish. IMO pay the money get the real thing and use it forever. You get what you pay for

Atlas reels are now out, they are Avet knockoffs made in Taiwan

[nitestrikes]

Put me down in the omoto haters club too, who is going to service them if something goes wrong? Throwaway reels, imo.

[Rip-Plugger]

I'm not lookiing to start an argument Ripplugger, but if you think about it, if Omoto reels were so great lot of guys would be using them. I read the posts on other websites, they are not blazing a brave new path in reel-construction.

They copied a lot of the features of the more expensive reels, box them up with a guarantee, and hope they won't have problems with quality control. They basically stole a lot of the best features from other manufacturers, and I have a bit of a problem with that. They are made in China, and I'm not happy with the quality control of a lot of stuff coming out of China.

I say this respectfully, and this is just my opinion. I feel they won't hold up, you do. I like my Abu. They have been making Abus for years and have quality control and customer service down pat. I'm happy with that and don't want to change right now. To each his own is what I say. :HappyWave:

no argument at all.
I just wanted to know if anyone fished with both reels thats all.
just to clear up the air,Omoto has made reels for a huge amount of companies that don't even make reels or rods.
another thing is that Omoto was OEM for abu for a number of years and did a bunch of R&D with them/for them as well.
they stand behind their stuff as well as anyone does or should.parts are availible from several places in florida and 1 in australia.

as for atlas reels,they are only VS-10's and VS-12's,which are good machines too.
who knows,the abu you have may have been r&d'd by them,ya never know.

I am sure you have other reels/rods that you like.
I am also sure you bought them or some of them based on your likes and not what someone else said.
if I am wrong fill me in.

I am not asking anybody to switch I ask if anyone fished both.
I know how most fishermen are,hardheaded like I used to be.

R-P

[Rip-Plugger]

What he ^^^ said knocks offs come and go and are usually meant to be disposable, good for people who don't fish. IMO pay the money get the real thing and use it forever. You get what you pay for

Atlas reels are now out, they are Avet knockoffs made in Taiwan

they said the same thing about avet when they first came out.

R-P

[finchaser]

they said the same thing about avet when they first came out.

R-P


Not so Avets were field tested for quite a while on the west coast long range tuna boats. They were then sold through reputable distributors, to tackle shops. They were also backed by USA Manufacturer /factory warranty for repair or replacement.

Avet's were not marketed on the INTERNET by a one man show with the look I have cheap reels concept. I have seen many reels of this stature come and go leaving the consumer with a paper weight.


Good luck if you go that route:HappyWave:

[Rip-Plugger]

Not so Avets were field tested for quite a while on the west coast long range tuna boats. They were then sold through reputable distributors, to tackle shops. They were also backed by USA Manufacturer /factory warranty for repair or replacement.

Avet's were not marketed on the INTERNET by a one man show with the look I have cheap reels concept. I have seen many reels of this stature come and go leaving the consumer with a paper weight.


Good luck if you go that route:HappyWave:

I would guess that a company that has been making lower end and upper end stuff since 1980 has done some kind of r&d as any company would or should do.
I own many diff kinds or reels,daiwa,tica,Omoto alutechnos,shimano,ming-yang,a well as custom reels that are 3 of a kinds,Synchroglide and some others that actually have no name,made by brilliant machinists in their basement.
somewhere around 27 rigs and all work wonderfully and do the job perfectly.
TBH,I found it to be a great thing,I also am so glad I didn't go by what others said and found out for myself.
in all actuality,I went that direction 9 years ago.
Thanks for the replies M8.

Cheers
R-P

[storminsteve]

Avet's were not marketed on the INTERNET by a one man show with the look I have cheap reels concept. I have seen many reels of this stature come and go leaving the consumer with a paper weight.

Good luck if you go that route:HappyWave:

My buddy bought one. He's into reels and taking them apart. He looked at the Abu and the Omoto side by side, and explained to me all the shortcuts in quality Omoto took to make their reel so they could sell it cheaper.

His opinion - that the Omotos are cheap crap, that they disguise with shiny colors and nice handles to get guys who don't know any better to buy them. If you only fish once or twice a month, your Omoto will prob last forever. :plastered:But if you fish every night, my friend claims they will blow up because they are not built to handle big fish. So catch all the small blues you want with them and be happy. When you blow it up on a 40 or 50# bass and lose the fish of a lifetime, don't say you weren't warned. Sorry I don't agree with you on your opinion r-plugger.

[storminsteve]

Also, ask any one of the bridge guys what their opinion is. I'm not talking about the walmart rod guys, I'm talking about the guys with the custom $300 sticks who fish the bridges night after night when the big bass are around. You need a strong reel to hold up to bass and big blues in current. I have never seen a serious bridge fisherman using an Omoto. Ask them about Omoto and they will laugh at you.:kooky:

[Rip-Plugger]

bridge fishermen?,yeah I do that too,not as mch as I used to but,still my EXPERIENCE has been great and no one can tell me different.
I go by no ones words because I like to find out things for myself.I cannot say anything about something I have no experience with.
many hate shimano,but,I am a shimano man,infact a few told me to stay away from them but,I didn't listen and I have had no problems with them at all.

posting this thread I already KNEW I would get all this from somewhere but,i have not gotten any of this from anyone that fishes with one,not their lower end stuff,I am speaking about the mid range or higher stuff.

for my big plugging I use 3 a hubilie 777-a3 a shimano calcutta 700 and a ming-yang CL-70.
never had a fart or burp from any of them.so,I am quite happy,,
the topic of this thread is for anyone that has fish with both an abu 7000 mag or chief-7000 mag,not anyones opinion,I wanted facts from someone that has EXPERIENCED both thats all!
if no one has then thats ok,the rest means nothng at all to this topic.

R-P

[Rip-Plugger]

My buddy bought one. He's into reels and taking them apart. He looked at the Abu and the Omoto side by side, and explained to me all the shortcuts in quality Omoto took to make their reel so they could sell it cheaper.

His opinion - that the Omotos are cheap crap, that they disguise with shiny colors and nice handles to get guys who don't know any better to buy them. If you only fish once or twice a month, your Omoto will prob last forever. :plastered:But if you fish every night, my friend claims they will blow up because they are not built to handle big fish. So catch all the small blues you want with them and be happy. When you blow it up on a 40 or 50# bass and lose the fish of a lifetime, don't say you weren't warned. Sorry I don't agree with you on your opinion r-plugger.


Steve,

when the tides are right I fish every night till the tide goes wrong,I go sleepless and go to work afteward for as many nights as it's good.
when the fish are there I am there.as you know any reel can blow up.
I have been good with that and never had it happen to me.
at any rate,I didn't give any opinion,I'm asking for anyone that has tried both,ie: how is the mag,smoothness ect.
I already know what I think I want to know what someone else thinks.if they don't like it thats good.

R-P

[finchaser]

my EXPERIENCE has been great and no one can tell me different.
I go by no ones words because I like to find out things for myself.


Then why ask for opinions, it's seems you fish with a lot of off the wall brands. It's hard to find tackle shops or people in the know who use these brand reels. If this stuff was any good they would be stocked in tackle shops. After checking with some shops, and a friend at a major tackle distributor, the brands you mentioned are considered a joke,not worth the problems they will cause and the bad rap people selling them would get when they fail.
Most site says the same thing no matter the size OMOTO reel,they say the same thing they fail when fished hard and are considered junk.

Would venture to say they are not on anyones wish list either.

Cheaper and smaller bearings, non shielded bearings, poor tolerances and cheaper anodizing all ways of cutting corners like Steve and his friend mentioned above.. Bearing issues was biggest complaint also very weak drags if you go even 1 line size up and this was on there top of line reels that compete against
Avets and Shimano and Diawa lever drags

Maybe they will come out with matching cheap rods to make combo's to help them sell their reels on ebay and other internet sites .

Well enough of this, sorry but I don't think any one will tell you what you want to hear.

Remember any reel holds up to fishing it's the catching part that kills them.

Good luck to you, it almost sounds like you have some kind of a vested interest in promoting these reels.:HappyWave:

[Rip-Plugger]

Hello Fin,

I guess in a way I did ask for an opinion,what I wanted to know about was how well the mag works.I never owned a mag reel before.i have it but, don't use it,I feather the spool with my thumb.
perhaps I erred by not being more specific.
I shall not make such a mistake again.

I do not have any vested interest in them at all.
I only asked a simple question.
I thought thats what this place was for.
I can't lie about any of my experiences 'cause thats just beneath me.
I have not seen any of the faults mentioned here and until I do see some that say,,you mention here,I would be the first to contact you and say it happened.
I just like to see whats up with something I don't know about.
if it doesn't work,perhaps it can be upgraded,perhaps not.
TBH,the only "bad" things I ever had fail with a reel was the old daiwa silver and gold series spinners and then it was just the bail springs that failed every so often.

have I ever been not fully satisfied with a reel,yes I have,the tica winches drags leave much to be desired,I added carbon fibres and it was fine.I did add them to others too.
the shimano reels I have I have not had anything to add and am happy with them.
some others I have upgraded but that was just something diff to do on snowy days.
I guess I am in a different ball field 'er something.

thanks for your opinion M8

Cheers
R-P

[finchaser]

Hello Fin,

I guess in a way I did ask for an opinion,what I wanted to know about was how well the mag works.I never owned a mag reel before.i have it but, don't use it,I feather the spool with my thumb.
perhaps I erred by not being more specific.
I shall not make such a mistake again.

I do not have any vested interest in them at all.
I only asked a simple question.
I thought thats what this place was for.
I can't lie about any of my experiences 'cause thats just beneath me.
I have not seen any of the faults mentioned here and until I do see some that say,,you mention here,I would be the first to contact you and say it happened.
I just like to see whats up with something I don't know about.
if it doesn't work,perhaps it can be upgraded,perhaps not.
TBH,the only "bad" things I ever had fail with a reel was the old daiwa silver and gold series spinners and then it was just the bail springs that failed every so often.

have I ever been not fully satisfied with a reel,yes I have,the tica winches drags leave much to be desired,I added carbon fibres and it was fine.I did add them to others too.
the shimano reels I have I have not had anything to add and am happy with them.
some others I have upgraded but that was just something diff to do on snowy days.
I guess I am in a different ball field 'er something.

thanks for your opinion M8

Cheers
R-P

I'm an educated thumb guy also,I don't like mags IMO they are only good on real light stuff. I was just trying to be helpful didn't mean to come across any other way. Been playing with ,testing and tweaking reels for over 40 years.

[storminsteve]

Steve,

I already know what I think I want to know what someone else thinks.if they don't like it thats good.

R-P
:don't know why::don't know why:




[QUOTE=Rip-Plugger;43650]


Then why ask for opinions, it's seems you fish with allot of off the wall brands. It's hard to find tackle shops or people in the know who use these brand reels. If this stuff was any good they would be stocked in tackle shops. After checking with some shops, and a friend at a major tackle distributor, the brands you mentioned are considered a joke,not worth the problems they will cause and the bad rap people selling them would get when they fail.
Most site says the same thing no matter the size OMOTO reel,they say the same thing they fail when fished hard and are considered junk.

Cheaper and smaller bearings, non shielded bearings, poor tolerances and cheaper anodizing all ways of cutting corners like Steve and his friend mentioned above.. Bearing issues was biggest complaint also very weak drags if you go even 1 line size up and this was on there top of line reels that compete against
Avets and Shimano and Diawa lever drags

Well enough of this, sorry but I don't think any one will tell you what you want to hear.

Remember any reel holds up to fishing it's the catching part that kills them.

Good luck to you, it almost sounds like you have some kind of a vested interest in promoting these reels.:HappyWave:


Ripplugger, you asked for our opinions and we gave them. Isn't that what this site is supposed to be about?:huh:
No I never used one, but my friend took one apart and compared it. He has more technical knowledge than I have, and I trust his analysis. This was also confirmed by Finchaser.

Let me ask you, have you ever taken one of the omotos apart and compared with others, feature by feature?

So what gives you the right to discount the research my friend did. As he told me, if you only fish once every few weeks, you could buy one and never notice how crappy they are.

"Remember any reel holds up to fishing it's the catching part that kills them."

I have to strongly agree with the above statement by Finchaser. I have seen a lot of your posts here and have learned from some of them. You seem like you have been fishing a long time.:thumbsup:

I have to ask you, if you really fish that much, why would you promote a crappy reel that will probably not hold up to sustained fishing? Guys who fish a lot will only be throwing their hard-earned money away if they buy these reels.

Who fixes them if they blow up? No tackle shop I know of in my area will touch them for repair (I already called 3 yesterday just to confirm) So why would you lobby for this reel unless you are selling them? Saying a crap reel is great reduces your credibility as a fisherman. I hope you are not offended at that, but that's the truth. And if you are fishing a long time, you should know that, unless you are shilling for them.

I just can't see why you would push for your brother fishermen to waste their money like that.:huh: Just my opinion, of course.

[Rip-Plugger]

[QUOTE=storminsteve;43678]:don't know why::don't know why:



[quote=finchaser;43661]


Ripplugger, you asked for our opinions and we gave them.
Isn't that what this site is supposed to be about?

[steve you are correct,I made an error in my posting,what I wanted to know of was how well the mag worked,I never used a mag before and the only one I could think of close in size and stuff was the abu mag.]

No I never used one, but my friend took one apart and compared it. He has more technical knowledge than I have, and I trust his analysis. This was also confirmed by Finchaser.

[thats fine and I can see why some would agree but,I just believe that real world fishing would prove more.
ok,your friend didn't like what he saw,thats fine and good.I have a friend thats like yours as well.]

Let me ask you, have you ever taken one of the omotos apart and compared with others, feature by feature?

[actually I did and I did this at the words of a reel guru that used to post at the other big site,he told me to try it and I did as he said.I saw a simple standard design that was similar,as for how tough the materials the parts were made of that I cannot say but it all looked pretty regular inside.
now,I am not a reel engineer but,I can see where a weak spot is.all I saw was basically regular.]

So what gives you the right to discount the research my friend did. As he told me, if you only fish once every few weeks, you could buy one and never notice how crappy they are.



[I]"Remember any reel holds up to fishing it's the catching part that kills them."

[sure thats true,I have seen them walmart combos all beat to hell and look like they are going to blow and they keep right on going,then I see some that blow up after the first 15 pound chopper.]

I have to strongly agree with the above statement by Finchaser. I have seen a lot of your posts here and have learned from some of them. You seem like you have been fishing a long time.:thumbsup:

[thats fine steve,I hope such suits you well.i have learned from here to,tings I would not have thoght of and es it has been a long time and a great ride.]

I have to ask you, if you really fish that much, why would you promote a crappy reel that will probably not hold up to sustained fishing? Guys who fish a lot will only be throwing their hard-earned money away if they buy these reels.

[I am sorry but,I do not see it as promoting them,I am just sharing info on something that some guys don't know about or have ever used.
heck man,I was told about them at the other site and it was up to me to try one,I did and it's fine with me.I was not offended about it at all.
I wanted to see what they were like and I know now.
we all share info on what we know right?]

Who fixes them if they blow up? No tackle shop I know of in my area will touch them for repair (I already called 3 yesterday just to confirm) So why would you lobby for this reel unless you are selling them? Saying a crap reel is great reduces your credibility as a fisherman. I hope you are not offended at that, but that's the truth. And if you are fishing a long time, you should know that, unless you are shilling for them.

[I never told anyone to buy one,I think I did say I would buy another or something like that.
if I need a part for any of them,I make a call to a shop in florida[there are several],I pay them for the part,parts and I replace whats broken.
I maintain all my gear myself.

no,I am not selling them,I don;'t work for them,I am a working man that is an anodiser for 26 years,thats my game,anodisning.
I am not offended by that at all,but if it's a bad thing to share my experiences I have with any kind of gear then perhaps I should not do so,,just to keep it positive here.
that I kinda think that would be offending.]

I just can't see why you would push for your brother fishermen to waste their money like that. Just my opinion, of course.

[I have not pushed anyone to do such a thing,I just shared information,no ones gonna buy a reel on my words especially since they don't know me.
I was told to go and see a shimano calcutta once at another site.
I went and liked it.then the guy working there said there is a new one coming soon,the TE,I waited and checked it out .I bought a 401-TE[my friends baitshop].I liked it and 6 season later I bought a 700[same place],it was up to me,I got a great discount and I am happy.
no one made me buy it,I liked it and bought it.
how could I make a guy buy something and he does not know me?]

R-P

[Rip-Plugger]

I'm an educated thumb guy also,I don't like mags IMO they are only good on real light stuff. I was just trying to be helpful didn't mean to come across any other way. Been playing with ,testing and tweaking reels for over 40 years.

I found that out when I tried casting a laser eye[sort of like a bomber 16a] plug with a slight headwind,no mag on and it would nest up,put the mag on it's mid setting and it was doable.
I was not offended,I did wonder why so much drama but thats all,not from just you but all the others too.

now,I'd like to pick yer head,do you prefer the spool bearings inside the spool or outboard on the spool ends?

I kinda like them on the ends.

cheers
R-P

[nitestrikes]

My buddy bought one. He's into reels and taking them apart. He looked at the Abu and the Omoto side by side, and explained to me all the shortcuts in quality Omoto took to make their reel so they could sell it cheaper.

His opinion - that the Omotos are cheap crap, that they disguise with shiny colors and nice handles to get guys who don't know any better to buy them. If you only fish once or twice a month, your Omoto will prob last forever. :plastered:But if you fish every night, my friend claims they will blow up because they are not built to handle big fish. So catch all the small blues you want with them and be happy. When you blow it up on a 40 or 50# bass and lose the fish of a lifetime, don't say you weren't warned. Sorry I don't agree with you on your opinion r-plugger.


Then why ask for opinions, it's seems you fish with a lot of off the wall brands. It's hard to find tackle shops or people in the know who use these brand reels. If this stuff was any good they would be stocked in tackle shops. After checking with some shops, and a friend at a major tackle distributor, the brands you mentioned are considered a joke,not worth the problems they will cause and the bad rap people selling them would get when they fail.
Most site says the same thing no matter the size OMOTO reel,they say the same thing they fail when fished hard and are considered junk.

Would venture to say they are not on anyones wish list either.

Cheaper and smaller bearings, non shielded bearings, poor tolerances and cheaper anodizing all ways of cutting corners like Steve and his friend mentioned above.. Bearing issues was biggest complaint also very weak drags if you go even 1 line size up and this was on there top of line reels that compete against
Avets and Shimano and Diawa lever drags

Maybe they will come out with matching cheap rods to make combo's to help them sell their reels on ebay and other internet sites .

Well enough of this, sorry but I don't think any one will tell you what you want to hear.

Remember any reel holds up to fishing it's the catching part that kills them.

Good luck to you, it almost sounds like you have some kind of a vested interest in promoting these reels.:HappyWave:


I would like to update my comments here. Since this thread came out. I have seen an omoto in action. Think it was an omoto chief. Don't remember what series it was. A younger guy came out to the north bar at Montauk one night. There was a periodic bite of some nicer fish. He was talking about what a great reel it was. It seemed like he had some connection with the company or something the way he was going on and on. We were all throwing darters and bottle plugs and every so often someone would nail a mid to high teen bass. Well this guy hooked in to one and halfway in his reel locked up. You could see the fish thrashing as he tried to back it up and walk the fish in to the beach. If anyone knows the north bar you would know this isnt really possible. He tried, we saw the body of the fish at last, and he lost it about 20 feet from shore.

He had let me cast it a few times before that when he was trying to show us how great it was.
I liked the way it cast but after seeing it lock up like that I would never buy, use, or consider owning an omoto. This is only my opinion. Wanted to let the folks know that when it counted, that reel locking up, failed/seized bearings maybe or some other issues, cost him at least one nice fish.
When you are out there in isolated areas you need gear that is not prone to failure. Hope I didnt upset anyone with this review. Just reporting what I saw. Tight lines everyone.