Heavy duty reel seats on a spinner

[Breadfan]

Jeri, you guys are nuts down there. Wading out to cast for 400# sharks. In waters with 400# sharks. But I guess theres some comfort to be had knowing you're throwing 200yds out to find them.

The thing is that occasionally one is hooked that doesn't wish an inspection of the beach, which is when we start to 'straight stick', the shark, by pointing the tip towards the shark, winding up the drag to maximum, and start walking back up the beach. Loads on the reel seat then are massive - up to 40-50lbs straight on the reel feet. If it doesn't break under those kinds of loads, then unlikely to when the rod is used in a conventional manner - so for us Fuji DPS win hands down.

This is good to know. I've been using aluminum reel seats on my Surf builds, thinking that they will just last longer. But, if I don't take my reel off after every trip to the beach and rinse them, the corrosion will set in quickly and weld my reel to the seat. This happens after only two or three outings, I learned quick. Aside from that I still prefer the aluminum for now. I have purchased a few of the heavy duty Fuji DPS and I do like what I see so I am going to give them a try. I didn't know that you could get a locking nut, that makes it much better! They really should come with it. Thank you Jeri for the informative answer.

[Jeri]

The Fuji Lock Nut part is LO/AN, available in 16, 17, 18, 20, 22 & 24 sizes. It sometimes needs to have space beyond the threads, to accommodate reels with longer feet - just wind it off the reel seat, fit reel, then locate and wind it on.

[Gfish]

This thread is real informative. 'Till now, I haven't paid attention to reel seats. Never had any problems, though(yet...).

[gstours]

Another time proven insurance method to prevent rings from backing off, even slightly is to wrap some tape around the ring and even the reel foot,  by stretching it some it adds a lot of confidence at almost no cost.   
   An ounce of prevention is worth all the time and expenses to insure your success..........🎣🤷‍♂️

[jurelometer]

Agree with Greg.  This is a great thread.  Lots of useful experience shared without a bunch of attitude.

We don't think about reel seats enough.  The common reel seat/foot design that we are used to is  remarkably inefficient, especially for conventional reels.    A classic example of thinking inside the box.  Cradle reels/rods are too much overkill in the other direction.

Here is  the Fuji lock ring add-on:

https://www.fujitackle.eu/fuji_lock_nuts

-J

[JasonGotaProblem]

Agree with Greg.  This is a great thread.  Lots of useful experience shared without a bunch of attitude.

We don't think about reel seats enough.  The common reel seat/foot design that we are used to is  remarkably inefficient, especially for conventional reels.    A classic example of thinking inside the box.  Cradle reels/rods are too much overkill in the other direction.

Here is  the Fuji lock ring add-on:

https://www.fujitackle.eu/fuji_lock_nuts

-J

So you're saying that a design that dates back to the days where reels were being lashed to a branch or stick of bamboo with almost no change isn't the best solution? But if I get a wild hare moment I can attach my 130 year old hendryx pillar reel to a modern rod with no issue. Surely that's more important right?

[sciaenops]

Another option for you. My bud built me a heavy (50#) spin rod for tuna/wahoo with an Alps Forecast heavy duty graphite seat. Has not been through the ringer yet but feels more than adequate. Comes in 22 & 24 sizes and price is right ($5.39 on Charkbait).

[oldmanjoe]

Another option for you. My bud built me a heavy (50#) spin rod for tuna/wahoo with an Alps Forecast heavy duty graphite seat. Has not been through the ringer yet but feels more than adequate. Comes in 22 & 24 sizes and price is right ($5.39 on Charkbait).

reel s
    Do you have a link for those seats ?

[sciaenops]

Do you have a link for those seats ?

https://alpsforecast.com/products/gear-components/gear-reel-seats/gear-graphite-reel-seats/forecast-extra-heavy-duty-graphite-reel-seat/

[Swami805]

American Tackle also makes some nice reel seats, worth a look anyway

[Jeri]

Word of caution, I have experienced a number of non-Fuji reel seats made with lesser grades of graphite reinforced plastic. Occasionally, I need to just sand out the bore of the reel seats, and do this on the wood lathe with carborundum paper. With Fuji reel seats, it take time just to skim out 0.5mm, but with a lot of the others it almost melts away, there is so little  substance to them, it is only seconds to skim out 0.5mm or more. Am Tac, were one of the lesser makes.

Just a note of caution.

[jurelometer]

Word of caution, I have experienced a number of non-Fuji reel seats made with lesser grades of graphite reinforced plastic. Occasionally, I need to just sand out the bore of the reel seats, and do this on the wood lathe with carborundum paper. With Fuji reel seats, it take time just to skim out 0.5mm, but with a lot of the others it almost melts away, there is so little  substance to them, it is only seconds to skim out 0.5mm or more. Am Tac, were one of the lesser makes.

Just a note of caution.

Probably related to the percentage of fiber, and type of fiber used.  Less fiber means that when heated by abrasion, there is too much soft nylon and not enough rigidity from the added fiber to remove material.  Everything gets squishy. 

Adding carbon and glass fiber does not make nylon stronger so much as it makes it more rigid.  There  is a tradeoff.  By adding more fiber, the part is less elastic, but more brittle.    The first task is to get the right blend  for a given application.  The second task is quality control.  Getting  the temps just right, not keeping the plastic melted too long before injecting it, getting all the gates right so that the mold fills quickly and evenly, and ensuring that the part cools and shrinks evenly without embedding stress.  The more fiber added, the  greater the cost of the raw materials, and the more difficult  the process to turn out good parts consistently. So a lesser product might use less fiber than would otherwise be desirable.

I am glad that Fuji is not the only game in town.  It keeps the pressure on them to stay on the ball.  But they have been a leader in terms of innovation,  quality, and sales volume. Molding high performance plastic parts is an unforgiving business.  I haven't strayed from Fuji, and will not look elsewhere to save a buck or two on a reel seat.  Not on the payroll, just a satisfied customer.

Regarding graphite hoods with a thin aluminum outer layer: If you just took the aluminum part and tried to deform it, it would move pretty easily.  I  am a bit skeptical on the value, but I will defer to folks with firsthand experience.

-J

[Jeri]

Found out a good number of years ago, that cost savings on rod components is a short road. Have been a fairly loyal customer to Fuji for over 16 years now, and they have never let me down in the actual performance of the product - does what it says on the packet............

Have looked at brief forays into alternatives, and found them to be wanting in comparison.

[Gfish]

The Alps reference from sciaenops looks pretty tough(wonder what G-22 means), darn expensive though.

[thorhammer]

G means Greg, and 22 is the D in MM