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[Ken D]

There was reference made earlier by a gent working in the trade, who noticed (in his view) an abnormal amount of Abu product in the warranty bin. Said gent went on to say he was disappointed in quality and performance, based on returns. I think crap played heaviliy in the description..
I am curious to learn what types of warranty claims were put forward, what general reels were being turned in, (5500, 6500 etc).   
Based on my experiances, (I also work a little retail) the reverse has been true.
In order to compare apples to apples, I'd pose the 'per capita' question, based on a unit of sale. 
If you sold 1000 reels, and 100 came back, that would be 10%. If we sold 100 reels, and 10 came back the per capita percentage is the same. 10%.
So: if the gent cares to comment:  how many came back, and how many were sold?

[rln]

 Working in the business, I would have to say that 99% of all problems with C3's and C4's has something to do with the levelwind worm gear or pawl.This has not been a "large" problem by any means just what seems to wear out first. The rest of the reel seems to be problem free. Now for 2006, Pure Fishing has redesigned the product and it is smoother, quieter, and hopefully trouble free. The pre 2006 product is still good and the end user should be just aware of the issue mentioned above and if they have any problems, contact Pure Fishing about n/c replacement parts if the reel is less than a year old.

[Ken D]

Rodger that, RLN......the worm and the pawl can last 5 minutes, or five years, based on the one variable:the operator. A general post for all the readers:
Experianced level winders NEVER (or hardly ever) permit the line and the line guide to get a divorce....(allowing the line to slip out of the line guide during a lure change etc.....the line and the line guide are always in sync.
Inexperianced operators let this happen, and then continue to fish with the line guide on one side of the spool, and the line on the other !!  This sets up huge torque and tension strains on the worm and pawl with a fish on: less, but still present during retrieves. 
The line guide works overtime, stressing the pawl and worm,, to pick up line from the other side of the spool.
The operator somehow wants to blame the equipment for failure, instead of stopping fishing, re-threading the line thru the guide, engaging cast button, and sending out a looooong cast way past any fish run of the day, re-marrying the line and the line guide. 
Then, when home,  paying out all the line, or getting it re-spooled at the sports shop for the whole spool.

[Stratocaster]

Although I am mostly a Calcutta person, I think overall, Abus are a good low cost alternative to those that can't or aren't willing to pay the amount for a Calcutta.  I think KenD has a good point in that Abus outnumber calcuttas by a wide margin.  Don't forget also that in recent years, alot of these reels are being used on the Fraser for Sockeye and I don't think they were meant to cast 3 and 4 oz betties.  Also just one grain of sand can reek havoc on your worm gear and pawl (How many people clean their reels after a day on the Fraser?)  No doubt that Calcuttas are better built than abus but they are also twice the price.

[Ken D]

Doug's post is good stuff......I think any endeavour, be it fishing, biking, etc, has players of every skillset...from world number one to newbie. In this fishery, expectaions run high, and folks always want their gear to overperform from the intended use.  50 pound braid on a 5000 ?
40 pound mono, or 80 pound braid on a 6500? Well now...... The maker puts a decal on the reel, indicating line capacities for various line tests.....and somehow I don't think 40, 50, 80 quite meet the deal. Add to this, the worm/pawl/line guide thing, and ........................
I do casual fixem-ups for friends, the odd stranger, and family up this way. It's faster. The big Vancouver area repair shops, in peak season, are awfully busy, and the wait can be an antsy thing. Abus that are very heavily fished seem to have a life-span between tuneups of betwen 3 and 5 years, based on the markings inside the reel, from when they DID go to Vancouver. these are reels that would be fished between 90 and 100 days a year. Not bad for a reel under 150.00.........
Many "serious" fishers migrate to a Calcutta, get 2 grains of sand somewhere, can't fish, and go to the backpack for the trusty ole Abu....   Lots to be said for precision engineering, and very close tolerances, but that can sometimes be a mixed blessing. Wear parts are wear parts. Worms and pawls and drag washers in whose-ever reel will wear. Or abnornmally wear, if that operator chooses to make that happen.

[Big Steel]

Many "serious" fishers migrate to a Calcutta, get 2 grains of sand somewhere, can't fish, and go to the backpack for the trusty ole Abu...

I have owned a Calcutta for about 4 years now, I have used it barfishing, on the fraser, float fishing, and on the ocean.  It has had more than a few grains of sand in it and it has always worked fine.  No problems what so ever.  I was going to leave this alone until that comment was made.  You know I went to the Calcutta, because I was sick of having reel problems with the Abu's every second trip out!!  I've had the 6500 c3, the uc 6500, and the only one that I'm happy with, the 7000.  Well the uc6500 is a nice reel and still performs great when I use it,  I work on it after almost every trip. That seems to be the only way to keep it running totally smooth.  I have never had to go to the back pack for the "trusty" abu.  I have been stuck, and had to go to the Trusty Calcutta more then once though!

[Matuka Jack]

Not too many reels can handle casting heavy bettys into the Fraser.  The wormgear just takes a massive beating, when you get backlash.  I do not think they are design for this type of heavy casting.  I have a Penn International 975 as well as numerous Abu reels and they pretty much suffer the same consequence when they get backlash. 

What I did is remove the level wind mechanism completely when they break. If you do not have it --you cannot break it.  I can cast greater distance with them taken out. The reel become a little bit lighter too.

[ColinB]

Doug's post is good stuff......I think any endeavour, be it fishing, biking, etc, has players of every skillset...from world number one to newbie. In this fishery, expectaions run high, and folks always want their gear to overperform from the intended use.  50 pound braid on a 5000 ?
40 pound mono, or 80 pound braid on a 6500? Well now...... The maker puts a decal on the reel, indicating line capacities for various line tests.....and somehow I don't think 40, 50, 80 quite meet the deal. Add to this, the worm/pawl/line guide thing, and ........................
I do casual fixem-ups for friends, the odd stranger, and family up this way. It's faster. The big Vancouver area repair shops, in peak season, are awfully busy, and the wait can be an antsy thing. Abus that are very heavily fished seem to have a life-span between tuneups of betwen 3 and 5 years, based on the markings inside the reel, from when they DID go to Vancouver. these are reels that would be fished between 90 and 100 days a year. Not bad for a reel under 150.00.........
Many "serious" fishers migrate to a Calcutta, get 2 grains of sand somewhere, can't fish, and go to the backpack for the trusty ole Abu....   Lots to be said for precision engineering, and very close tolerances, but that can sometimes be a mixed blessing. Wear parts are wear parts. Worms and pawls and drag washers in whose-ever reel will wear. Or abnornmally wear, if that operator chooses to make that happen.

Ken,
You raise a valid point about line strengths. 
But does not the diameter of the line play a part in the scheme of things? My ABUs have both line strengths and diameters marked on them. 
My 50lb braid is less than the 0.35mm printed on the side of the reel [say a 6001C]. 
So am I wrong to be using the 50lb braid or the 0.35mm line??
I hope this makes sense!

I would add that I own 6 ABU multupliers [that's what we call them over here in the UK] and have never had a moments trouble with any of them.  Having said that I do strip them down and clean and lubricate them on a regular basis.

Colin

[mooch]

I use only 15lb Maxima on my Abu's and I have had a ton of problems with the reels. I used these reels in the Vedder and the Chehalis only. I have fished with Daiwa and Shimano reels since the 80's and they are bombproof. I tried Abu's for the last three/four years and I have found that they are nice lookings, but they are unreliable. I've had too many problems with them to list and have found that the cost of repairs were not worth my while. Shimano reels on the other hand are excellently made and are virtually trouble free. I agree that some people use lines that are rated too high for the reels and they abuse them on the Fraser, but there are lots of experienced fishermen out there who'll tell you that the Abu reels made in the last five/six years are of lesser quality.

[Ken D]

Hio, Colin.....the diameter on the decal refers to monofilament...unsure if it;'s in metric or inch.
If it's inch, then 035 is about 15 pound test, not 50 pound.  Braid is good, in the hands of those that understand it.....many rod makers refuse to honour breakage warranties when braid is involved...when a rod is rated for 30 pound test, and the user is running 80 pound braid..... tough perogies.  You can surf this site, for more info.
http://www.johnston-tackle.com/lt15-20.htm
best, KD

[copperspoon]

Used Abus in the chuck, the rivers and down south for years great little units.
That was 10+ years ago now I've gone Shimano and won't go back.
New and improved Abus?
They improved them once and made them cheaper and sh*ttier now they're changing them back?
How smart is that?

[ColinB]

Ken,
Thanks for the reply.

The problem seems to be that none of the smaller level winds are suitable for use with braid if you consider the way they were intended to be used?

I was thinking braid, if used sensibly, is much the better option, smaller diameter, better abrasion resistance, ability to get lures and spoons back from snags[but not with a direct pull from the rod and reel].  Also ability to get more line onto the reel ready for those 200+ yard runs from big Chinooks.  Downside is a burnt thumb and possible cuts if you come into contact with the braid as it gets rattled out really fast.

My 6001c is a fairly old model and is fine.  The newer models are standing up well.

Colin

[Ken D]

Rodger that, Colin.....anything lighter than 35# braid is too thin.  Our guys use 35 on 5000's, 50 on 6500's, and 80 on 7000's.  T.U.F. is the brand marketted here.
kD 

[redside1]

for they guys that say they have had too many problems with Abu's, how about listing them instead of "Too many to mention". Some one mentioned problems at the begining but no one else has mentioned any other problems since.

[Sterling C]

Ok how about:

Reel 1) 3 worm gears, 6 line pawls, and one broken drag (I don't remeber the exact part name)

Reel 2) 2 worm gears, 3 line pauls and one broken casting brake.

All of this even with regular cleaning and lubing and the use of reel covers. (albiet they were both used in the fraser)