Piscifun Sword CNC machined reel

iveofione

iveofione

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Perpetually curious, I ordered one of these to see what a $45 reel was actually like and if it was the great buy that internet buyers thought it was. I wanted to use it on my 3 and 4 wt rods, have as a spare and be a loaner when friends visit. I was very impressed with the fit and finish, no slack in the spool whatsoever and no rough edges or loose tolerances. And it is a very pretty and smooth operating reel also.

But there are some downsides that newbies might not notice. The first is that the spool-which is beautifully machined by the way-attaches with a threaded knob rather than a snap in click. I have already had that knob loosen and the spool fall out, not gonna happen with a snap in that is properly seated.

The second, and the fatal flaw is the drag. It is poorly designed, poorly executed and loosens with the slightest bump. This is pointed out in the reviews and if you have ever had a reel do this you know what a pain in the ass it is. I took the reel apart to see how the drag operated, it was supposed to have detents that a spring loaded brass pin would register in to give a tactile indication of drag strength. It turns out that the machined detents are quite shallow, the spring is microscopic and the brass pin doesn't have enough purchase to be useful at all. In theory I suppose it might work but it was so poorly done that the result is a drag that is either on or off with very little in between. The beauty of this reel is all exterior and cosmetic, it's function is highly suspect. Beware.
 
Good review.
I have a couple, for the same reasons you had, and have the same observations.

I've had a bit of success installing a small rubber washer in the drag, but didn't use a good lube so it bound up a few times. Better than freespooling though.
I plan on installing a thin plastic washer one of these days. Mine sit on the shelf right now.
 
Chinook Angler said:
Agree, the drag is pathetic, but there is no need for any drag in a trout reel. As the fly line holder they work as good as any other reel on the market.
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Nonsense. Even click pawl reels have enough drag to keep the line from free spooling. And no, they don't work as well as any other reel on the market. The whole point of this conversation was to point out that they don't work as well as other reels.

One small design change could make the drag effective but Piscifun failed to make that step. Don't reward poor engineering.
 
Considering we often drop $25 to $50 in gas just for a 'there and back' fish session for the day, when fishing anything but the small stream dinks think it worth setting a minimum bar when it comes to fly reel drags, such as the discounted reels from Cheeky, Sage, Hardy, Redington, Lamson, etc routinely on sale at Sierra Trading Post. And the TFO NTR often found at $125 or so might just be the best price point reel out there.
 
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iveofione said:
Nonsense. Even click pawl reels have enough drag to keep the line from free spooling. And no, they don't work as well as any other reel on the market. The whole point of this conversation was to point out that they don't work as well as other reels.

One small design change could make the drag effective but Piscifun failed to make that step. Don't reward poor engineering.
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When people react this way to an opinion post I wonder why even bother.
 
I'm a firm believer in a good drag on a trout reel, and I just catch little fish in small streams. But I collect line, they run, repeat. Fished my disk 2 instead of my Battenkill 3 and was really happy with the way it performed today. Plus it sounds good. Sound is important:)
 
I musta missed something...

I do wonder which company Piscifun stole their technology....perhaps Maxcatch who stole it from....
 
clarkman said:
I musta missed something...

I do wonder which company Piscifun stole their technology....perhaps Maxcatch who stole it from....
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I got an Allen reel when I got my 8wt from someone here several years ago. I think it was pretty much the same technology. Didn't care for it.
 
Tom Butler said:
I got an Allen reel when I got my 8wt from someone here several years ago. I think it was pretty much the same technology. Didn't care for it.
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I mean, many of those reels are probably even made in the same factory. A while back I ordered a no name "machined" reel off Amazon and it looks identical to one of the lower end Cheeky reels. So close that I wouldn't be surprised if the spools were interchangeable, but I wasn't about to spend 6x as much to find out. That reel didn't last very long either.

For trout, it's tough to find anything more budget friendly than a good old Medalist.
 
clarkman said:
I mean, many of those reels are probably even made in the same factory. A while back I ordered a no name "machined" reel off Amazon and it looks identical to one of the lower end Cheeky reels. So close that I wouldn't be surprised if the spools were interchangeable, but I wasn't about to spend 6x as much to find out. That reel didn't last very long either.

For trout, it's tough to find anything more budget friendly than a good old Medalist.
Click to expand...
My medalist needs service. Old, gooky, and I want a new drag catch that works the same left handed as right! I'm fishing the Lamson Remixes on the 6wts instead, lotta value there too IMO.
 
I’ve been slowly going through and replacing my trout cheap reels with new battenkills. For some reason they just feel like the right amount of sturdiness for close to $100 when you can find them on sale. I even got rid of my redington zeros that were slightly less money but just didn’t do anything for me.
 
iveofione said:
Perpetually curious, I ordered one of these to see what a $45 reel was actually like and if it was the great buy that internet buyers thought it was. I wanted to use it on my 3 and 4 wt rods, have as a spare and be a loaner when friends visit. I was very impressed with the fit and finish, no slack in the spool whatsoever and no rough edges or loose tolerances. And it is a very pretty and smooth operating reel also.

But there are some downsides that newbies might not notice. The first is that the spool-which is beautifully machined by the way-attaches with a threaded knob rather than a snap in click. I have already had that knob loosen and the spool fall out, not gonna happen with a snap in that is properly seated.

The second, and the fatal flaw is the drag. It is poorly designed, poorly executed and loosens with the slightest bump. This is pointed out in the reviews and if you have ever had a reel do this you know what a pain in the ass it is. I took the reel apart to see how the drag operated, it was supposed to have detents that a spring loaded brass pin would register in to give a tactile indication of drag strength. It turns out that the machined detents are quite shallow, the spring is microscopic and the brass pin doesn't have enough purchase to be useful at all. In theory I suppose it might work but it was so poorly done that the result is a drag that is either on or off with very little in between. The beauty of this reel is all exterior and cosmetic, it's function is highly suspect. Beware.
Click to expand...
 
I agree with the drag spring it’s absurdly small I had two swords so I combined the springs from one drag knob and it helped immensely I’m searching for like a larger spring or even a third one of the same size if I could triple them up that way you’re right that little Clicker will dig in a little bit harder to the indentations ….. if you can solve that issue, it’s a great real and the drag if you can get it to be more decisive and consistent is really smooth
 
A true statement, but every reel has its quirks certainly every real in the price range that we’re talking about here… But honestly, the only thing this thing needs is a more robust spring in the drag knob and you’d have a pretty workable reel
 
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