Walmart Brand Reel

[FishingWithAido]

Hey everybody! As I was wondering my local Walmart I saw an interesting item. A reel that looks suspiciously similar to a tsunami shield. Upon further inspection it has the same amount of seals and used the same proprietary tool as the shield. I love my shield and these reels are half the price. Does anyone have any experience with the Ozark trail branded saltwater reel? 

[Camhabib]

Factories often take advantage of the fact that they have the tooling already set up for a run and produce a few more to sell to another retailer to squeeze the penny so to speak. While the design may be identical, the QC can sometimes be lacking depending on a few things. This may the the case here but it’s difficult to tell. If the price is right I’d take the chance, avoiding “mission critical” use. 

[ecks]

Just buy and try. Easy to return stuff to Walmart. 

[adam42]

7 hours ago, Camhabib said:

Factories often take advantage of the fact that they have the tooling already set up for a run and produce a few more to sell to another retailer to squeeze the penny so to speak. While the design may be identical, the QC can sometimes be lacking depending on a few things. This may the the case here but it’s difficult to tell. If the price is right I’d take the chance, avoiding “mission critical” use. 

This is how most of the "counterfeit" stuff in China is produced. A factory sets everything up for maximum efficiency, the company reduces their monthly order by 10%, instead of laying off staff and running at 90% they instead skip some labeling steps, swap out for some cheaper parts where possible, and produce white label versions of the product which someone will buy from them to resell at amazon/alibaba/ebay.

 

Few counterfeit Chinese products exist because someone decided he was going to start making fake products, it was often a matter of circumstance to avoid layoffs or costly inefficiencies.

[Mr. Bigdeal]

Usually ya get what ya pay for...but a 4000 series Saltwater...for 55 bucks, ya use it as long as it lasts and toss it.....could be my new fluke reel.....leave the Certate at home.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Mr. Bigdeal

[EricDice]

8 mins ago, Mr. Bigdeal said:

Usually ya get what ya pay for...but a 4000 series Saltwater...for 55 bucks, ya use it as long as it lasts and toss it.....could be my new fluke reel.....leave the Certate at home.

Why not??!!

[EricDice]

13 hours ago, FishingWithAido said:

Hey everybody! As I was wondering my local Walmart I saw an interesting item. A reel that looks suspiciously similar to a tsunami shield. Upon further inspection it has the same amount of seals and used the same proprietary tool as the shield. I love my shield and these reels are half the price. Does anyone have any experience with the Ozark trail branded saltwater reel? 

I had some off brand reel from Wally. Used by me & sons/nephews. Fluke. Three of the same model. $20. First was good enough to justify another one when #1 started to age. Great line management and a bearing in the line roller. Wow!

 

#2 was very much like the specs & schematics of the one Pfleuger reel I forget. It was instant IAR. Two bearings in the line roller. Really smooth. Sweet a$$ reel for $20. Bearings everywhere. Many unshielded but I don’t care at that price. 
 

Then I lost the handle for that. Grabbed #3. Same off brand name. Outdoor Anglers or something. This one was like #1. No IAR. One bearing in the roller again. Had to trash #2 because the handles were not compatible. May have been a direct copy of #1 who knows? Trashed that long before. Still have it but not often used. 

[EricDice]

Point is, if you get this and like it, don’t necessarily expect the next year version to be the same innards or results even when they look identical.

 

It’s a strange thing though, putting roughly $20 of braid onto a $15-20 reel. 

[Mr. Bigdeal]

....but is it sealed.....Oh boy....yah, in a plastic bag.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Mr. Bigdeal

[adam42]

I'd rather buy something like this than a cheap brand name piece. I bought a shakespeare firebird 12' rod & reel combo for like $25 years ago and it's such a pos that I barely use it

[55555s]

3 hours ago, adam42 said:

I'd rather buy something like this than a cheap brand name piece. I bought a shakespeare firebird 12' rod & reel combo for like $25 years ago and it's such a pos that I barely use it

Firebird!  

My son has (had?) a shakespear firebird 5.5 or 6' medium freshwater rod that caught probably 20,000 fish with!   He fell off the dock when he was 8 and let go of a rod.  I think thats the one.  Ole Blue.  Gone but not forgotten. 

[adam42]

9 mins ago, 55555s said:

Firebird!  

My son has (had?) a shakespear firebird 5.5 or 6' medium freshwater rod that caught probably 20,000 fish with!   He fell off the dock when he was 8 and let go of a rod.  I think thats the one.  Ole Blue.  Gone but not forgotten. 

I think firebird would be fine in that size, but a 12' version of it, no thanks.

[KarpsnKatz]

Take a chance. Columbus did.

[lurejunkie00]

I bought a WalMart FLW casting reel a few years ago. Never got a fish. Nylon gears inside self destructed 

[EricDice]

12 hours ago, KarpsnKatz said:

Take a chance. Columbus did.

Great line! A bit “dated”  though. ;-)