First post - And definitely not trolling

[albiemanmike]

Howdy all nice to be a member here.

Alan,
        I have been reading an awful lot of good/bad stuff about the Accurate reels. I have been trying to decide on a new reel for a rod I just finished spiral wrapping for conventional tuna duty. I am really leaning towards the Accurate BX2-500 as I can get it in left hand retrieve which is a must for me. But I keep reading all these horror stories about the Accurates being bad right out of the box, breaking after hooking it's first fish, etc. I know you do very extensive teardowns and testing on most of the reels out there and figured you were the go to guy to ask about this. Is there just a lot of guy's out there that have had problems and are posting about it and the vast majority of the rest of the Accurate owners are happy and not having issues? The bggest complaints I see are grinding, noisy reels when new or shortly there after. I also have heard negative stories about the customer service at Accurate. Can you or someone else here definitively dispell all the crap out there or at least filter out all the chaff and get to the nitty gritty. Thanks again really enjoy your articles and expertise.

[alantani]

i have a full set of the old original boss 2speed reels.  they have been nothing but trouble.  that is probably the reason that accurate dumped the entire line and came out with the boss extreme series.  it is a much stronger reel.  still, the bearings are sealed with only oil inside.  any bearing like that will eventually corrode.  this problem will continue to plague accurate (and many other companies) until it is adequately addressed.  okuma is the only company that is installing open spool bearings and using non-spool bearings that are fully packed with grease.  these bearing upgrades will show up in their 2011 models. 

so here is my take on the accurate boss extreme series.  it's a great reel.  the gear issues, the shifter issues, the drag issues and the majority of the corrosion issues have been addressed.  only the bearings remain at risk, and the bearing problems are no different that most anyone else.  if it's a left handed reel you need, go for it!