Boca Bearings = Made In China!

[GearGuy]

Hi there,

I have installed two 3-10-4 Boca Bearings (Orange Seals) in my Daiwa Steez 21 Limited SV TW 1000 and they are very noisey - I wrote to Hedgehog In Japan, and the say that Boca Bearings are made in bulk in China. Is this really correct - or does Hedgehog just need to say so when asked? Anybody know more detailed about it?

[GearGuy]

So - Now I have been out fishing with the new Boca ball bearings (spool bearings) and my disappointment will almost never end. The ball bearings are noisy in a way that almost borders on the completely ridiculous. I will immediately take them out and put in the factory ball bearings for now. Later I will try Hedgehog Studio's Kattobi AIR HD. I have these bearings in my Shimano reel, and they are absolutely noise-free and spin very well! Does anyone else have similar experiences with Boca ball bearings?

[scoobydoo]

10 hours ago, GearGuy said:

Hi there,

I have installed two 3-10-4 Boca Bearings (Orange Seals) in my Daiwa Steez 21 Limited SV TW 1000 and they are very noisey - I wrote to Hedgehog In Japan, and the say that Boca Bearings are made in bulk in China. Is this really correct - or does Hedgehog just need to say so when asked? Anybody know more detailed about it?

They source many of their bearings in china. have for as long as I've known about them.  They offer ok bearings.

My favorite source for cheap fw bass bearings are roro.

 

Buy their sic knob bearings for your reel...and spool bearings.....

While you're at it buy a bfs spool for that reel. 

 

hybrid ceramic bearings do have some rasp to them.  Full ceramics are very loud.

 

The RORO hybrids weren't as loud as the bocas...

[Surf bomber]

Abec 5 with a minute half drop of thin oil will get you a good spin time … and minimal noise … the videos on u tube… been using abec 5s in most of my reels and not many people are casting further of the beech … in a pinch I’ve been known to put a drop of olive oil on the abec 5s as well as level wind screw shaft and casted all day with no issues … as for bearings not made in China not sure 

[ridenfish]

Ceramic bearings are a big waste of money in a fishing reel. They are for high speed applications.

[GearGuy]

Redinfish...........and you dont think the spool bearings in a baitcaster is high speed?

 

[ridenfish]

18 mins ago, GearGuy said:

Redinfish...........and you dont think the spool bearings in a baitcaster is high speed?

 

Hi speed is multi thousand rpms.  The CNC router I run has ceramic bearings in the spindle because it spins up to 50,000 rpm. 

I am a bike racer too. The industry has been scamming people to buy ceramic bearings for the wheels and bottom brackets. It's all about money. Regular bearings are the way to go for reels too.

[GearGuy]

Redinfish......I begin to think that I'm with you here about this. However - I have a couple of Kattobi bearings from Hedgehog Studio in Japan in my other shimano reel - and they are absolutely quiet and spins very well. They say it' a matter of precision in the bearings.

[Surf bomber]

if the reel is going to give you a professional back lash because the rod is to short to handle the speed of spool unless the spool is slowed with magnetic , plus centrifugal and line diameter then so called faster bearings maybe a waste… one of the best ways to check the bearings is to put your new bearings in and give it a spin then clock spin time  … take them out , soak your old ones in some sort of cleaner until the fluid flows clean , put them back in the reel (if not damaged from use ) and give them a whirl … and clock spin time … u tube videos were supposedly getting near two minutes with abec 7s . that’s wonderful but I’m not pendulum casting of the beech with a 14 foot rod … do you need abec 7 bearings …  If your casting over 600 feet I guess there worth it if you can extra yardage out of it …what ever works the best for you is the best … every one is different … I think my tourno has abec 7s in it I will have to time it 

[ExcessiveAngler]

On 1/24/2023 at 2:58 PM, Surf bomber said:

if the reel is going to give you a professional back lash because the rod is to short to handle the speed of spool unless the spool is slowed with magnetic , plus centrifugal and line diameter then so called faster bearings maybe a waste… one of the best ways to check the bearings is to put your new bearings in and give it a spin then clock spin time  … take them out , soak your old ones in some sort of cleaner until the fluid flows clean , put them back in the reel (if not damaged from use ) and give them a whirl … and clock spin time … u tube videos were supposedly getting near two minutes with abec 7s . that’s wonderful but I’m not pendulum casting of the beech with a 14 foot rod … do you need abec 7 bearings …  If your casting over 600 feet I guess there worth it if you can extra yardage out of it …what ever works the best for you is the best … every one is different … I think my tourno has abec 7s in it I will have to time it 

So did you happen to do your spin time test on your Tourno?

I’m kind of curious what you came up with?

 

EA

[Surf bomber]

I did ,but I don’t remember the number and I don’t think it was 2 minutes .. if you do have a reel that spins for two minutes …. It will take a mighty toss not to backlash it … even the so called pros back lash their reels …. One statistic /feat that just doesn’t go away was the guy who casted a baseball out of yankee stadium in the 50s or early 60s … it doesn’t sound like he had any kind of mag brakes … but he did it twice I think on the same day … it’s on one of tommy farmers u tube video from Delaware …but I will check the tourno against the clock …

[Don B]

On 1/24/2023 at 7:16 AM, ridenfish said:

Hi speed is multi thousand rpms.  The CNC router I run has ceramic bearings in the spindle because it spins up to 50,000 rpm. 

I am a bike racer too. The industry has been scamming people to buy ceramic bearings for the wheels and bottom brackets. It's all about money. Regular bearings are the way to go for reels too.

 

Well, tournament casters (not all) hit 45,000 rpm. The extreme distance casters will hit higher rpm.

Neil MacKellow was the first to cast a recorded distance of over 900 feet. He used stainless steel ABEC 3 bearings that were first broken in by fishing,

 

Hybrid ABEC 5 is probably optimum for attaining longer distance.

No shields or seals is good for casting farther.

Steel shields will rob energy.

Rubber seals rob the most energy.

 

Rubber seals will be best when fishing.

 

Don

[ZAFisher]

1 hour ago, Don B said:

Regular bearings are the way to go for reels too

Spinning reels yes.

Multipliers spools that spin at silly rpm? I disagree.

Don is on the money with regards ABEC 5 spec for longer distance. I have found the tighter tolerances of 7 and 9 rob distance.

 

[Surf bomber]

The one video on u tube has the caster using abec 5 … I’m a little old school so most of my reels do have abec 5 s … I like being able to lube a bearing the  few reels with abec 7s work just fine … I  will do the spin test …and  pull the mag off of the side plate to get a true reading … stainless steel is not corrosion proof when it comes to salt water… agreed it will rust at a much slower rate but will rust … 

[Surf bomber]

Excessive angler asked about spin time sooo …stock diawa 7ht -26sec….grandwave 30 ,abec 5s - 26 seconds…..diawa x30sha , stock no mono mag or centrifugal  beads 17 sec…..Penn fathom 2 stock -33 seconds …abu 7000 and 6600 both were 27 seconds abec 5 bearings …All reels have full spools , used only handles to spin , then kicked into free spool … the diawa x30 does not have a mag brake .all mag brakes were fully backed off but not removed … a longer handle may give a longer spin time , I used the stock handles … as for the tourno with the abec 7 sounds crunchy I will try some rocket fuel later today … all reels are room temperature and in good repair …. I will also spin an old pflueger contender And some other oldies that later today … I don’t know how they spin the reels for two minutes on u tube …