I'm shopping for a new fishing reel for this spring. I noticed that all of the spinning reels tell how many bearings they have. Is it better to have less or more bearings, and what purpose do they serve, what advantage do they give you?
They put bearings at points of friction, there are three main places on the inside of a reel that are a must, not including the roller bearing. that's why the Shimano Sahara works so well, with three high quality bearings. More than five bearings, plus the roller bearing is not needed. A high quality six bearing reel will feel very smooth and will last longer than an eight, ten, or twelve bearing reel, because the other locations do not help the reel last longer, they only help the reel feel a little smoother. The extra bearing in the reel create more week spots in the reel.
In reference to bearings, most of the time more is better, like exert above said. Bearings make the reel smoother but you also need to still buy a quality reel because no amount of bearings will accommodate a reel if they are of poor quality. Check on the reel's specs and see if they claim to be sealed or water-proof bearings. I have some low-end reels that have 6 and 8 bearings but the first time I used them in a hard rain they became hard to operate. And when I tried to clean them after wards they were just never the same. A good rule of thumb in reference to buying fishing equipment is to buy the best you can afford. Spend the money on a good reel, a quality rod, name brand line, and a few lures to start with. Then you can start to purchase more terminal tackle (lures,hooks,weights,etc.) when you are able. Anyone at a reputable tackle store will be glad to help you and if they won't , then email me back and I certainly will.
There will be as many opinions on this as there are fish in the sea......and everyone will swear they are correct, and to an extent they will be.......... here's my $.02 Bearings will determine how smooth a reel will be. You need to try different reels in the store and see for yourself. If you pick up a reel w/ 4 or 5 ball bearings and it feels as smooth as one with 8 and costs $50 less, you have to determine if the cost is worth it. I would reccomend 4 ball bearing minimum. You also need to choose a reel for the type of fishing you are doing. What I mean by this is gear ratio. The higher the ratio the faster the reel will bring in line. Downside: the higher the number the less torque the reel will have. For most light freshwater applications (say a 7' medium fast spinning rod with 6-10 lb test line) a gear ratio of between 4:1 and 6:1 will be fine. Next up: drag. Even if a reel has 8 or 9 ball bearings if the drag sytem is poor, the reel isn't worth a wooden nickel. You'll have a choice of front or rear drag. While rear drag reels are easier to adjust, they don't have the guts of a front drag reel. Front drag reels usually have larger multiple washers (usually teflon) than rear drag reels. Now we come to brands.... Diawa, Shimano, Okuma, Penn.... forgive me if I don't mention them all. Each will have it's own feel. (I'm partial to Shimano) but you should compare brands and see what feels best to you. When all is said and done you should find a very good reel with at least 4 ball bearings, a 4:1 to 6:1 gear ratio and preferably front drag for under $100. I use Shimano Stradic (about $120) reels on my spinning rods
