We use a 10-point scale for scoring and ranking fishing reels. Here is how you should interpret the overall score we give each fishing reel:
- 10: This is an exceptional score. You won’t see this very often, if ever at all, but if you do, this reel is perfect in every aspect
- 9.5-9.9: This is an excellent score. Reels in this range are top-of-the-line reels that will deliver on all fronts and leave users in awe of their performance and quality
- 9.0-9.4: This is a great score. Reels in this range are still top-of-the-line but are slightly lacking in one or more areas
- 8.5-8.9: This is a good score. Reels in this range often fare well in most aspects but can do better in a couple of areas
- 8.0-8.4: This score is not bad. Reels in this range often fare well in most aspects, but definitely have a couple or more areas they can improve on
- 7.5-7.9: This is a decent score. Reels in this range can satisfy your needs, but you will find yourself wishing you had a better reel
- 7.0-7.4: This is an average score. Reels in this range can also satisfy your needs but tend to be severely lacking in one area or more
- 6.5-6.9: This is a bad score. Reels in this range will have plenty of flaws
- 6.0-6.4: This is a terrible score. Reels in this range will have plenty of flaws, possibly major ones
- <6.0: It’s unlikely that you’ll ever see a reel like this in our lists unless it excels in one particular area and is priced very affordably. Reels in this range have serious drawbacks
Metrics
To calculate this score, we look at eight different metrics. Each is assigned a weighting out of 100% depending on how important it is for a good fishing reel:
- Effectiveness For Task (25%)
- Line Capacity
- Maximum Drag Weight
- Ratio
- Smoothness (15%)
- Durability (20%)
- Weight (10%)
- Versatility (10%)
- Customer Service (5%)
- Delivery
- Support
- Warranty
- Aesthetics (5%)
- User reviews (10%)
As compared to our scoring system for fishing rods, we removed Comfort as a metric. This is because it’s a very small aspect of reels as it depends only on the handle knob.
Here is how the scores for each metric are determined.
Effectiveness For Task
To determine how effective a reel is for the task at hand, whether it’s bass fishing, surf fishing, or fly fishing, we need to look at three things – line capacity, maximum drag weight, and ratio.
Each fish species or fishing style will call for different requirements. For instance, surf fishing calls for larger line capacities, while you’ll need reels with stronger drags for musky fishing.
Based on the demands of the fish species or fishing style, we will score a particular fishing reel using this scale:
- 10 – Can handle the entire range of fish, eg if it’s for trout fishing, you will be able to catch all trout, from the tiniest brook trout to the largest lake trout. If it’s for surf fishing, you should be able to handle all the fish in the surf, though this is impossible
- 9.0 – Can handle almost the entire range of fish, except for the largest ones or smallest ones
- 8.0 – Can handle a good range of target fish
- 7.0 – Can handle a decent range of target fish
- 6.0 – Only able to handle a limited range of target fish
Smoothness
The smoothness of a reel is decided by the number and material of ball bearings.
To calculate the score for smoothness, we’ll add the individual scores for the number and material of ball bearings up, then divide it by two.
Number Of Ball Bearings
Scoring the number of ball bearings is fairly simple. In general, 5+1 ball bearings will give you a pretty smooth reel, so we’ll use that as a benchmark for a good reel.
This is the scale we use to determine the Number Of Ball Bearings Score:
- 10 – 7+1 or more ball bearings
- 9.5 – 6+1 ball bearings
- 9.0 – 5+1 ball bearings
- 8.0 – 4+1 ball bearings
- 7.0 – 3+1 ball bearings
- 6.0 – 2+1 or less ball bearings
Material Of Ball Bearings
When it comes to smoothness, we’ll need to go material by material.
This is the scale we use to determine the Material Of Ball Bearings Score:
- 10 – Ceramic. While not the most durable, ceramic ball bearings make for the smoothest reels
- 9.0 – Stainless steel. High-quality stainless steel bearings are very smooth, losing to ceramic by only a little, but possessing much greater toughness
- 8.0 – Chrome steel. With proper manufacturing, chrome steel bearings can be quite smooth, though still not surpassing stainless steel
- 7.5 – Titanium alloys and other steels. Other steels include carbon steel, chrome steel, and so on. Ball bearings made from these materials are relatively smooth, but don’t reach the level of high-grade stainless steel or ceramic
- 6.0 – Plastic is the worst out of the lot and is usually only found in low-quality reels
Durability
The durability of a reel constitutes both corrosion resistance and its ability to withstand abuse. To determine these, we look at the material and construction of the reel. This entails all its components such as the body, handle, bearings, and so on.
This is the scale we use to determine the Durability Score:
- 10 – Pretty much indestructible and immune to corrosion
- 9.0 – Can take lots of abuse and very corrosion-resistant
- 8.0 – Can take lots of abuse but poor corrosion resistance or high corrosion resistance but not able to take abuse
- 7.0 – Decent corrosion resistance and able to take some abuse
- 6.0 – Can take some abuse but poor corrosion resistance or decent corrosion resistance but not able to take abuse
Weight
When assessing the weight of a reel, we consider it in relation to the average or standard weight for reels of similar size.
This is the scale we use to determine the Weight Score:
- 10 – As light as it gets. Few, if any, other reels of the same size have achieved this lightness
- 9.0 – Much lighter than average
- 8.0 – Lighter than average
- 7.0 – Average
- 6.0 – Heavier than average
- 5.0 – Much heavier than average
Versatility
We assess the versatility of a reel based on the range of fishing applications it can be used for. Even if a reel is very effective for the task at hand, whether it’s trout fishing or musky fishing, it may not necessarily be versatile and useable for a wide range of fishing applications.
This score, like the Effectiveness For Task Score, will depend on the line capacity, max drag weight, and gear ratio of the reel.
This is the scale we use to determine the Versatility Score:
- 10 – Incredibly versatile reel that can be used in both saltwater and freshwater and can catch both large and tiny fish
- 9.0 – Versatile reel that can be used in both saltwater and freshwater and can catch a good range of fish
- 8.0 – Relatively versatile reel that can only be used in freshwater and can catch both large and tiny fish
- 7.5 – Decently versatile reel that can only be used in freshwater and can catch a good range of fish
- 7.0 – Relatively versatile reel that can be used in both saltwater and freshwater but can only catch a limited range of fish
- 6.0 – Limited range reel that can only be used in freshwater and can only catch a limited range of fish
Customer Service
We assess the customer service of a brand based on three factors – delivery, support, and warranty.
A maximum of four points can be deducted, so the lowest any reel can score in this category is 6.0. Here is how points are deducted for each factor.
Delivery
Starting with delivery, delivery time often depends on Amazon or other third-party couriers, so we will not be taking it into account as any fault is not with the fishing reel brand.
Instead, we will look at the packaging used which will affect the condition of the item on delivery.
As for whether all the items were delivered correctly, it is inevitable that items are wrongly delivered sometimes, and what matters is that the company promptly resolves it. As such, this will fall under the next factor – support.
All in all, we will deduct 0.5 points for Delivery only when the packaging used is poor and is likely to harm the reel’s condition during shipping or delivery.
Support
Next, when it comes to support, what we’re looking for is how responsive and helpful the customer service team is, whatever the issue is. This includes returns, exchanges, part replacements, warranty claims, and so on.
This is the scale we use to determine how many points to deduct:
- 0.0 – No negative remarks whatsoever from user reviews
- 0.5 – Slow response, but still able to get issues resolved
- 1.0 – Most users issues are resolved, a couple complaints here and there
- 1.5 – Some users report issues with claiming warranty, exchanges, and so on
- 2.0 – Many reports of issues with claiming warranty, exchanges, and so on
- 2.5 – Unresponsive customer service team
Warranty
For warranty, we opted not to factor in the coverage of the warranty, because most warranties nowadays only cover basic manufacturer defects, unless you’re paying a very premium price. Instead, we’ll be deducting points based on the length of the warranty.
Note that it’s not uncommon for the length of the warranty to increase with the price of the fishing reel, so the answer to “What’s a good warranty length?” is a little subjective. For example, if you bought a $40 reel, a 3-year warranty would be wonderful, but if you’re buying a $200 reel, you probably wouldn’t be too impressed by a 3-year warranty.
As such, we will be deducting points based on the price range of the reels. The price ranges we will be using are entry-level (<$50), mid-range ($50-$150), and high-end (>$150).
This is how points will be deducted according to warranty length:
- 0.0 – At least 3 years for entry-level, 5 years for mid-range, and 7 years for high-end reels
- 0.5 – 2 years for entry-level, 4 years for mid-range, and 6 years for high-end reels
- 1.0 – No more than 1 year for entry-level, 3 years for mid-range, and 5 years for high-end reels
Aesthetics
Moving on to aesthetics, this is the hardest to measure for obvious reasons. As such, we will once again be depending on user reviews.
Also, note that the thing with aesthetics is that even plain reels don’t look that bad, so the lowest score for this will be only 8.0.
If you’ve also read our scoring system for fishing rods, you may notice that for reels, we place a smaller weighting on aesthetics. That’s because the reel is much smaller and less noticeable than a rod.
This is the scale we use to determine the Aesthetics Score:
- 10 – Users praised aesthetics of the reel
- 9.5 – Users had no positive or negative remarks about the reel’s aesthetics
- 8.0 – User reviews mentioned negative remarks about the reel, eg too bright, ugly design, and so on
User Reviews
Finally, no matter how impressive a reel’s specs or technology may be, what matters is its performance on the water. But with the amount of reels we need to test, we may not be able to extensively put the reel to the test in different situations.
As such, we rely on a wide pool of user reviews to gather information on not just how a reel will fare in different situations, but also how well it serves anglers from different experience levels.
This is a rather straightforward score to calculate because Amazon and the brand’s website will clearly display it.
This is the scale we use to determine the User Reviews Score:
- 10 – 4.6 stars and above. No reel is perfect, but if it can score more than 4.5 stars based on many users’ reviews, it’s a very strong sign of an excellent reel with few, if any, flaws
- 9.0 – 4.2 to 4.5 stars. This is still a great score for a reel to have and is a strong indicator of a top-notch reel with minimal flaws
- 8.0 – 4.0 to 4.1 stars. Reels in this range are generally of good quality with minor flaws
- 7.5 – 3.8 to 3.9 stars. Reels in this range are still of commendable quality, though perhaps with some catches
- 7.0 – 3.5 to 3.7 stars. Reels in this range tend to still deliver the performance needed but are often lacking in one or more areas
- 6.0 – 3.4 stars and below. Reels that cannot score higher than 3.5 stars often have major flaws, but may still be worth buying at very low prices
Exceptions
We usually stick to this scoring system, but we may adjust it on a case-by-case basis.
Here are the exceptions to this scoring system:
- Best Ice Fishing Reels: For ice fishing, the number of ball bearings matters less than the material, so this is the updated scale we use to determine the Number Of Ball Bearings Score:
- 10 – 5+1 or more ball bearings
- 9.5 – 4+1 ball bearings
- 9.0 – 3+1 ball bearings
- 8.0 – 2+1 ball bearings
- 7.0 – 1+1 or less ball bearings
Questions
Need clarification on any part of our scoring system? Contact us here.