ABU 7000 C3 Syncro Drag and 7000 C4 LD

[The Dirty Fecker]

While primarily an uptide reel the 7000 has always been a sure winner. This reel has a levelwind and is well balanced in the fact that it is powerful enough to handle Ray and Tope while not being overly big like many boat reels. It casts well like all 7000's and can be used with lines up to 25 lb. These have been the rolls royce of gilling reels for years with the perfect retreive rate of 4.2:1 There have been many variations of the 7000 over the years with some better than others for various aplications. This particular model is fantastic. The main star drag on the power handle is used to merely set the drag level required for your fishing. With this set it is the actual handle pulled backwards while fighting a fish that is used to set the drag! No more reaching for star drags or levers! The preset drag can be set up so that when fighting fish like Tope it will always slip at a certain point rather than snap the line! This is great as there is no point in your line snapping now is there? This also doubles brilliantly for gilling when wrecking as a snag in the wreck while drifting often results in damaged gears. No More! with the preset drag it can't happen! This is a quality this reel shares with another model, the '7000 C4 LD' This reel actually has no free spool button. It is the drag lever that holds it tight. Therefore you can not damage your gears in a snag as you can also preset your drag strength! These are both high quality reels that with a bit of care and a wash under the tap after each use should last forever.

The only draw back as with all levelwind reels is that a bit of copper grease should be applied to the worm gear to help stop wear on the tooth...

[Tanglerat]

Ahem.... Can I disagree with you re the C4 LD? :?

Well, maybe not so much disagree, if you get a good quality sample. There's the problem. I know 3 anglers over here England who've had 5 or 6 of these reels fail on them. They gave up on them in the end. Levelwind went belly up on them, causing line bunching and jamming.They had other problems too.

It seems to be a quality control issue. ABU used to be famous for it, but over the last couple of years that seems to have gone downhill. Outsourcing to the Far East is probably not helpful. I think my mate summed it up succintely when he said:"They've had the accountants in."

It's a crying shame, it really is. The old ABUs are still going strong, fantastic reels. Classics, that's why I've been buying up a couple of them on ebay. Investing in the future. And why oh why have they discontinued a reel such as the Morrum 7700?

Mind you, I haven't heard anything bad about the C3 Syncro Drag. :D

[The Dirty Fecker]

What was the problem with the levelwind? Lack of grease I suspect? The tooth can wear down stopping it from moving back and forth propperly. I have had this problem also but that is a problem with all levelwinds. If you grease it it is fine.

[Tanglerat]

They were brand new reels Luke, blew up after 2 or 3 trips!

[The Dirty Fecker]

Blew up? Must have had a bit of dynamite lodged in there :lol: That sounds a bit mad though! Can't say i had this problem. I use mine all the time and would'nt part with it. bad luck for your buddy though.

[mike]

many an angler has had serious problems with these reels, there just not up to the job at all. i read about a bloke who had a nice ray just about his. and bang level wind went and the handle buckled, needless to say he lost the fish and the tackle dealer nearly lost his life! it was the reels first outing.

[Tanglerat]

Yeah, it seems to me that the first batches of them were suspect: you could get a good'un or a bad'un. Presumably ABU fixed the problems for later production runs but I dunno cos nobody I know would buy one after hearing what they were like!

I reckon if you've had one for a while and used it a fair bit then you've got a good one and can have confidence in it.

Otherwise.....I'd be thinking about the Penn International 975LD!!!

[Tanglerat]

Here's a new one!

New Ambassador 7000 LEVER DRAG MULTIPLIER REELS BG7000LD + BG7000 (NARROW) LD THE latest addition to the Ambassador range are the two new 7000 lever drag multiplier reels.

They are both part of the Big Game range which was launched by Abu Garcia two years ago. The Big Game range is distinctive with its stylish gold colouring and solid quality build.

The difference between the two new reels is down to the spool size. The 7000LD has a line capacity of 325 yards of 17lb, while the 7000NLD has a narrow spool with a line capacity of 210 yards of 17lb. The narrow model is popular with anglers who prefer to use braid rather than mono line.

The reels incorporate the excellent casting ability of the 7000 series with the advantage of a smooth, infinitely adjustable lever drag when playing fish. Now you can confidently control hard-fighting fish with smooth efficiency, thanks to the oversized, waterproof drag unit that offers a broader range of pressures while maintaining silky smooth line delivery.

The 7000LD multipliers are ideally suited to general boat fishing. The 7000 series has been used for charterboat fishing for almost 35 years and the name has always stood for reliability, durability, design and quality engineering.

These sound very interesting indeed. Can't wait to see one of them in action. Remains to be seen though, what quality control and build control are like!

[Tanglerat]

Here's a link to a piccy:

http://veals.co.uk/acatalog/BG7000LD.JPG

Not too :D expensive, either!

[Drew]

I've got the Abu6500Syncro, No Bother with it at all, It casts like a dream!
Even though I only usually match it up with a 10ft Uptider off the Shore I can still achieve a half decent distance with it.

Kick Arse.

[The Dirty Fecker]

Funny how opinions change! Tanglerat, Just read your reply rather late! The big game C4LD is exactly the same reel except one is purple and the other is gold! How can you think one is good and the other is'nt? Word of warning to all reel users with levelwinds, put some copper grease on if you use them for casting as you will wear down the tooth! Can't say enough good things about these reels myself and I have quite a few. Horses for courses i guess....

[Tanglerat]

Eh? :?

Let me quote myself :

These sound very interesting indeed. Can't wait to see one of them in action. Remains to be seen though, what quality control and build control are like!

The other part of my post praising the new reels are a quote from another site, not my opinion. Maybe I didn't make that clear. :(

I'm still looking forward to having a firkle with them, but I'll reserve judgement untill user reports are in.


Now, If you want a bulletproof reel, a quality piece of engineering design and build, have a look at this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... RK:MEWA:IT

I'd have gone another fifty quid to get this item.

But I didn't have to. Bargin! :D