alantani- your perspective on Accurate twin drags?

[Drifter]

alantani,

I think it would be safe to say that you have certainly earned respect from many of us concerning your knowledge of reels. I sincerely appreciate that you share your insight.

Perhaps you've shared opinions on Accurate's twin drag reels previously on the forum and I missed it, but I would be interested in your thoughts of both series of Accurate reels (Boss and ATD). Perhaps you can disregard the high prices and tell us how these reels stack up to the competition from a performance standpoint.

Thanks

[alantani]

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"

Drifter - 3/26/2005 11:06 AM

alantani,

I think it would be safe to say that you have certainly earned respect from many of us concerning your knowledge of reels. I sincerely appreciate that you share your insight.

Perhaps you've shared opinions on Accurate's twin drag reels previously on the forum and I missed it, but I would be interested in your thoughts of both series of Accurate reels (Boss and ATD). Perhaps you can disregard the high prices and tell us how these reels stack up to the competition from a performance standpoint.

Thanks

drifter, thank you.

they're beautiful reels, well designed, and very expensive. top of the heap. i actually have yet to ever crack one open. several had been brought to me with slight problems. there was no urgency so i referred their owners back to the manufacturer. for the price they are asking, i think these reels should fix themselves. and if the high price truely can be disregarded, then i think we would all be fishing with them.

the still subjective, but more tangible, features i look for in a reel are a smooth drag, smooth freespool with a long hang time, smooth cranking and corrosion resistance. the accurate has all of this and more. it is incredibly solid. it's also hard to swallow the price tag.

[Drifter]

Thanks for the feedback.

As for the price, Accurate reels can often be purchased used and in excellent shape for about the same price as other premium brands NIB. I was simply curious of your perspective. If you ever crack one open, perhaps you can offer additional insight.

Thanks again.

[Nomans]

On a slightly sour note, I have an Accurate Boss 270 casting reel that has been a bit of a disappointment. The drag was very smooth, but the lever and fixed adjustment mechanism left a lot to be desired. It was hard to get precise settings and it was easy to lose freespool. The expensive Shimano casting reels such as the Calcutta are more of a pleaseure to use.

In fairness to Accurate, I sent the reel back to the factory and they replaced the entire drag adjustment mechanism with a redesigned version and also replaced the bearings and drag itself (all for free). It was much better when it came back and is now very satisfactory. It just isn't "super special" which is what I expected for the price.

A friend has the big Accurate twin drag offshore reels on his boat, which I have used on many occasions. They have an outstanding feel and precision. Are they much better than the Shimano Tiagras I use? Not enough to justify the price difference, in my opinion. I have never used the Accurates under the most challening conditions --- really big fish for the tackle weight -- so perhaps at that end of the spectrum, there is a bigger difference. But for landing a 70-100 lb tuna on a 50 weight, I would be really hard pressed to say that the Accurate was much better than my Tiagra 50W LRS reels used in the same situation.

In the end, I suspect this may be a bit like what happens with cars. Will your Audi get you everywhere you want to go and deliver great performance? Yes. But is there something special about making the trip with a BMW M5 for twice the price? You bet, but you're paying an awful lot for not much of a difference.