I had my Shimano Calcutta 400B fail on me at Bazar
- Thread starter royboy
- Start date
Polychaete
Senior Member
[color=#006600]neilg[/color] wrote:
No, that IS true for different reason though. I have stopped buying reel spares as far as is possible and just purchase a new reel for spares because of the price of the parts.
Trouble is that mostly the same parts wear out.
I suppose the answer must be then to buy two shimano reels at the same time, one to use the other for spares
Excellent Churp China, u da man(NOT TRUE OFCOURSE)
No, that IS true for different reason though. I have stopped buying reel spares as far as is possible and just purchase a new reel for spares because of the price of the parts.
Trouble is that mostly the same parts wear out.
Poly, case in point. I will start procuring my Shimano gear offshore from now - sometimes slightly cheaper, and the warrantees / spares issues are resolved way more effectively (and quickly) remotely.
I can guarantee this based on my T&T fly-rods which I have broken on big fish twice in the past, and were resolved by T&T USA, and they even covered the shipping!!!! At no cost to me!!! Without me bitching for service!!!! And quickly.
This is GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE and is worth paying for. I will always support them because of this - it is worth the premium you pay up front. Thomas & Thomas rocks!!!
I also had the drag on my Bauer M3 saltwater fly-reel fade a few years ago. (Coincidentally at Bazaruto). Dave Levine (Stealth South Africa) had the reel sent back to the US, they installed an upgraded drag and shipped it back to me via David, again at NO CHARGE. This is SERVICE. I will always support Stealth because of this, and guess what? they are the SA Agent for Accurate Reels in SA. Have you guys seen these things? The Accurate Boss? Awesome stuff. I'll bet that they will continue to focus on after-sales service = happy and retained customer. Maybe next year.......
This attitude I have developed does not benefit the local dealers (Shimano dealers in particular), I know, but when you cannot fish because a reel is waiting for "spares that will take forever - or at least as long as the next big shipment, which could be twice a year", well then the costs of replacing parts internationally become insignificant. Trips cost a lot of money, and if we cannot depend on rapid problem resolution of premier gear from local agents because of Spares availability, we end up buying competitive products that DO have after-sales support.
I cannot help but get vitriolic about this, because if the truth be told, this little Calcutta 400B IS MY FAVOURITE REEL! I have caught fish that were way too adventurous for it, or maybe I locked down too hard on the drag, or any combination thereof, but the fact remains - Distributers should carry the spares (Particularly those prone to failure) so that it can be fixed quickly and be back on the water - QUICKLY.
Note to myself - (Calm Down, it will be as good as new in a week and 2 days)
Jeez, I sound like I have PMS!!!!
Fact is, I have to ensure ultrahigh service levels to my customers, my suppliers need to do the same for me.
I can guarantee this based on my T&T fly-rods which I have broken on big fish twice in the past, and were resolved by T&T USA, and they even covered the shipping!!!! At no cost to me!!! Without me bitching for service!!!! And quickly.
This is GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE and is worth paying for. I will always support them because of this - it is worth the premium you pay up front. Thomas & Thomas rocks!!!
I also had the drag on my Bauer M3 saltwater fly-reel fade a few years ago. (Coincidentally at Bazaruto). Dave Levine (Stealth South Africa) had the reel sent back to the US, they installed an upgraded drag and shipped it back to me via David, again at NO CHARGE. This is SERVICE. I will always support Stealth because of this, and guess what? they are the SA Agent for Accurate Reels in SA. Have you guys seen these things? The Accurate Boss? Awesome stuff. I'll bet that they will continue to focus on after-sales service = happy and retained customer. Maybe next year.......
This attitude I have developed does not benefit the local dealers (Shimano dealers in particular), I know, but when you cannot fish because a reel is waiting for "spares that will take forever - or at least as long as the next big shipment, which could be twice a year", well then the costs of replacing parts internationally become insignificant. Trips cost a lot of money, and if we cannot depend on rapid problem resolution of premier gear from local agents because of Spares availability, we end up buying competitive products that DO have after-sales support.
I cannot help but get vitriolic about this, because if the truth be told, this little Calcutta 400B IS MY FAVOURITE REEL! I have caught fish that were way too adventurous for it, or maybe I locked down too hard on the drag, or any combination thereof, but the fact remains - Distributers should carry the spares (Particularly those prone to failure) so that it can be fixed quickly and be back on the water - QUICKLY.
Note to myself - (Calm Down, it will be as good as new in a week and 2 days)
Jeez, I sound like I have PMS!!!!
Fact is, I have to ensure ultrahigh service levels to my customers, my suppliers need to do the same for me.
[color=#0066cc]Simen [/color]wrote:
Simen, thanks for the warning......I'll go prepared.
shot Roy waiting for you then.
Simen, thanks for the warning......I'll go prepared.
shot Roy waiting for you then.
Hi Johan, that is a good question....I asked it myself.
The answer is that they manufacture it out of plastic for sacraficial purposes, ie when it fails, it does so without the level-wind wormdrive and other "more expensive" components being compromised. That is the theory at any rate.......in this instance, the wormdrive also failed on my reel, but they had this part in stock.
I would have prefered the reel without levelwind, as there is less that can break. My advice, buy the Calcutta 400, and not the 400B (B designates levelwind).
The answer is that they manufacture it out of plastic for sacraficial purposes, ie when it fails, it does so without the level-wind wormdrive and other "more expensive" components being compromised. That is the theory at any rate.......in this instance, the wormdrive also failed on my reel, but they had this part in stock.
I would have prefered the reel without levelwind, as there is less that can break. My advice, buy the Calcutta 400, and not the 400B (B designates levelwind).
RB, isn't it going to be rough on your fingers if you have to guide fireline/braid onto the spool without a levelwind? Or do you fish mono?
And something else I wondered about, it didn't seem to have adjustable breaks, how is the casting? Do you manage ok when varying the weight of your projectile, or does it have breaks that I missed.
And another, not many guys fish with the Calcutta, where do you use it specifically, when compared for instance with the Tor/TN14. (Sorry for taking the thread of track a bit!)
And something else I wondered about, it didn't seem to have adjustable breaks, how is the casting? Do you manage ok when varying the weight of your projectile, or does it have breaks that I missed.
And another, not many guys fish with the Calcutta, where do you use it specifically, when compared for instance with the Tor/TN14. (Sorry for taking the thread of track a bit!)
The traditional Calcutta is an "older" reel having been around without major design changes for about 10 years. The TE and "DC" are obviously newer technology, that still carry the Calcutta branding. (My guess is that this is done for commercial and brand continuity reasons). There is a BIG Calcutta following in the US.
The Trinidad range is "newer", but make no mistake, the Calcutta range have a loyal following (guys like Simen, Nepps, myself etc.) and they can all attest to how good these little reels are. Nepps has had a MONSTER on his 400.....
The drag is less that of the TN, (Calcutta 400 is around 17lb). They also cost around half of the TN price.
They alo have a very good cast control (with adjustable brakes) and I change the cast control dependent on the weight of my sinker/bait. I can only remember a few overwinds on this reel that were quick to "unpick", but with practice, the educated thumb means that you depend less on the cast control as your casting improves.
The reel is an overhead, so it is your left thumb that lays the line on the reel during retrieve. After many hours of fishing, thumb starts to get a bit sore - apply a plaster onto your thumb (a groove soon forms in the plaster) and fishing continues. This is true for all non-levelwind reels.
There are also times that the levelwind becomes a pain in the @ss, and you have to spool all your line from the reel onto the beach, and reel it back on to the reel under pressure so that it is "true" with the levelwind. I have had this a bit more frequently with 30lb braid. Probably every 250-300 casts.
Depending on your application (and budget) the Trini is a VERY VERY good reel, and is superior to the traditional Calcutta (my opinion) but I have caught many, many hard fish on my Calcutta including a 15Kg couta, bonnies in the 5-7Kg range, Queenfish, and and and, so you become hugely confident and attached to it.
The Trinidad range is "newer", but make no mistake, the Calcutta range have a loyal following (guys like Simen, Nepps, myself etc.) and they can all attest to how good these little reels are. Nepps has had a MONSTER on his 400.....
The drag is less that of the TN, (Calcutta 400 is around 17lb). They also cost around half of the TN price.
They alo have a very good cast control (with adjustable brakes) and I change the cast control dependent on the weight of my sinker/bait. I can only remember a few overwinds on this reel that were quick to "unpick", but with practice, the educated thumb means that you depend less on the cast control as your casting improves.
The reel is an overhead, so it is your left thumb that lays the line on the reel during retrieve. After many hours of fishing, thumb starts to get a bit sore - apply a plaster onto your thumb (a groove soon forms in the plaster) and fishing continues. This is true for all non-levelwind reels.
There are also times that the levelwind becomes a pain in the @ss, and you have to spool all your line from the reel onto the beach, and reel it back on to the reel under pressure so that it is "true" with the levelwind. I have had this a bit more frequently with 30lb braid. Probably every 250-300 casts.
Depending on your application (and budget) the Trini is a VERY VERY good reel, and is superior to the traditional Calcutta (my opinion) but I have caught many, many hard fish on my Calcutta including a 15Kg couta, bonnies in the 5-7Kg range, Queenfish, and and and, so you become hugely confident and attached to it.
