revo winch or lews bb1 pro

[2005tritontr186]

looking to buy a good deep cranking reel.  I'm torn between the revo winch and the lews bb1 pro(5.4/1 ratio)  Need advice

[JMGullo]

If I was going to buy a new deep cranking reel it would be a Lews BB2. It has a larger spool to hold more line just for casting long distances.  Im also willing to put money on the Lews will out cast the Revo. I have 18 Lews with some of them being 3+ years old and have yet to have one break.

[LgMouthGambler]

If I was going to buy a new deep cranking reel it would be a Lews BB2. It has a larger spool to hold more line just for casting long distances.  Im also willing to put money on the Lews will out cast the Revo. I have 18 Lews with some of them being 3+ years old and have yet to have one break.

This.

[JMGullo]

With that said I do have 2 BB 1 pros heading my way. I havent played with them yet but im sure it will work great if that's what your set on.

[Tavery5]

Both of the reels you have listed will give you great performance, just pick the one you like the best.  Both ABU and Lews have great customer service should you ever need it.  Internally the reels are almost identical as Lews are based on the Revo platform and many parts are a direct swap between them.

[Down4ttown]

I have a BB1 and the Revo Gen 3 Winch. No comparison on casting distance. The BB1 smokes it.

[Tavery5]

I have a BB1 and the Revo Gen 3 Winch. No comparison on casting distance. The BB1 smokes it.

You always here these type of claims across the internet but rarely see anyone put any numbers to support it.  My thinking is this, most rod and reel combos are capable in the hands of the average guy of making casts of around 40 yards or so, when you start going beyond this with average size baits then you are truly making long casts.  KVD often regarded as one of the longest casters on the Elite Tour once made the statement that he can cast about 60 yards with ideal conditions. 

Take it for what its worth

[Down4ttown]

I can cast my BB1 with a frog further than my Alabama rig with about 3oz of weight on it. Both using the same braid and the the frog is considerably lighter. Take it for whatever it is worth. The BB1 is not the same as a REVO though. It is the one reel with considerably different braking as ProReel has mentioned before.

[2005tritontr186]

I can cast my BB1 with a frog further than my Alabama rig with about 3oz of weight on it. Both using the same braid and the the frog is considerably lighter. Take it for whatever it is worth. The BB1 is not the same as a REVO though. It is the one reel with considerably different braking as ProReel has mentioned before.

I found the revo winch for about $20-$30 cheaper then the BB1 pro.  Would you spend the extra money to get the bb1 for casting distance and other benefits.

[Down4ttown]

If it is the BB1 Pro, then I say yes. Ron at Valley Sports can get you one probably cheaper than the standard $199.

[2005tritontr186]

If it is the BB1 Pro, then I say yes. Ron at Valley Sports can get you one probably cheaper than the standard $199.

emailed him lastnight and haven't heard back from him yet. 

[Down4ttown]

He will hit you up this morning. Have you felt a BB1 yet? I honestly don't think you can wrong with a BB1 Pro.

[Tavery5]

I can cast my BB1 with a frog further than my Alabama rig with about 3oz of weight on it. Both using the same braid and the the frog is considerably lighter. Take it for whatever it is worth. The BB1 is not the same as a REVO though. It is the one reel with considerably different braking as ProReel has mentioned before.

Some of the difference in your comparison may have to do with aerodynamics, and casting technique, I find it a much different cast between a frog and an Alabama rig. The BB1 has great reports of being a good casting reel, but the braking system seems like it would not be the best for distance.  It uses a spring loaded 6 pin centrifugal brake system that applies pressure to the hub throughout the entire cast, other centrifugal systems apply pressure to the hub based on spool speed, so as the spool slows there is less and less pressure, which is often thought to produce better casting distance. 

I have owned several Lews reels and I found them very good, I owned 4 of the TP reels soon after they were released, and I enjoyed them but in my fishing they did not stay smooth and casting distance faded greatly after only 1 year of average use.   I also had a couple of issues with parts in the clicking portion of the dragstar breaking.   I have not heard any of these issues recently so maybe it was just something particular to their initial offerings.

[2005tritontr186]

He will hit you up this morning. Have you felt a BB1 yet? I honestly don't think you can wrong with a BB1 Pro.

I haven't.  I have a lews speed spool and its pretty smooth.  I have several revo's

[Down4ttown]

I have four lews, four Abu's, three shimanos, and two Daiwa's. The lew's and the Shimanos have seen the most action and have served me the best. Just got the Daiwa's so I will reserve my judgement. I just think the Revo's that I have are far inferior to the others.

I have two Revo STX's, One Winch, and an S. I got them for 65 a piece from a rep, so I do think they are worth using. I would not pay full price for any of them though.

[Tavery5]

I haven't.  I have a lews speed spool and its pretty smooth.  I have several revo's

I had an opportunity to play with the BB1 Pro yesterday, it was a nice reel, smooth, deep spool, had a very interesting braking system, similar but still different from the  IVCB type braking,  very nice extended carbon fiber handle.   I did not get to put it on a rod and cast it, but the guys at my local tackle shop are very positive about the reel.

[2005tritontr186]

I have four lews, four Abu's, three shimanos, and two Daiwa's. The lew's and the Shimanos have seen the most action and have served me the best. Just got the Daiwa's so I will reserve my judgement. I just think the Revo's that I have are far inferior to the others.

I have two Revo STX's, One Winch, and an S. I got them for 65 a piece from a rep, so I do think they are worth using. I would not pay full price for any of them though.

LOL wish I could find 2 winches or bb1 at that price!  By the way my deep cranking rods are on the way and I got 2 of the new Falcon lowrider "XD CRANKER" its rated for 3/4-2oz

[Down4ttown]

The winch works great for deep cranking and the Bama rig. I just said the Lew's would be my choice of the two. Can't complain about any of them that much.

[2005tritontr186]

I had an opportunity to play with the BB1 Pro yesterday, it was a nice reel, smooth, deep spool, had a very interesting braking system, similar but still different from the  IVCB type braking,  very nice extended carbon fiber handle.   I did not get to put it on a rod and cast it, but the guys at my local tackle shop are very positive about the reel.

sounds like the bb1 pro is a winner

[Tavery5]

I have four lews, four Abu's, three shimanos, and two Daiwa's. The lew's and the Shimanos have seen the most action and have served me the best. Just got the Daiwa's so I will reserve my judgement. I just think the Revo's that I have are far inferior to the others.

I have two Revo STX's, One Winch, and an S. I got them for 65 a piece from a rep, so I do think they are worth using. I would not pay full price for any of them though.

I am assuming you are speaking of Gen 3 reels.   I have not been all that impressed with the Gen 3 Revo line myself, I only own 1, the winch, I used it some on a trip to Amistad last year and it performed well, I had no issues with it.  I own and use many of the Gen 2 reels, primarily the Premier and I also have a JDM version of the Premier in the Elite IB.  I think the Gen 2 Premier is a very nice reel and holds it own with any of the other reels in its price range.  I have held off on the Gen 3 stuff, too many bad reports, I hope ABU comes up with something else as Daiwa has been getting lots of my money recently.

[Bigwrench]

I can't speak for the BB1 pro or the Revo . I have 4 BB1's. 2 in 5.1:1 and 2 in 7.1:1 Once I learned how to adjust the braking mechanism it was game on ! I can absolutely cast farther with them than anything I've ever seen . I haven't taken the time to try and put a scientific breakdown of what a " Country Mile" really is in feet or yards but will have to try to get some measurements and share the results . If the Revo owners could do this also maybe we can start a new thread and put them through their paces and compare. Spooks , cranks, spinners just flat out fly with these things.  All of my other Lews reels cast a long distance also.

[Tavery5]

I can't speak for the BB1 pro or the Revo . I have 4 BB1's. 2 in 5.1:1 and 2 in 7.1:1 Once I learned how to adjust the braking mechanism it was game on ! I can absolutely cast farther with them than anything I've ever seen . I haven't taken the time to try and put a scientific breakdown of what a " Country Mile" really is in feet or yards but will have to try to get some measurements and share the results . If the Revo owners could do this also maybe we can start a new thread and put them through their paces and compare. Spooks , cranks, spinners just flat out fly with these things.  All of my other Lews reels cast a long distance also.

I have owned most of the popular reels by Abu, Pflueger, Lews, and Shimano and have recently started getting more and more into the older Daiwa reels.   They all cast good when they are maintained, as I said earlier, I can reach 40 yards fairly consistently using 3/8oz weights.  In my opinion where a reel really shows its ability is when you start dropping down in weight to a 1/4 oz and under, this is where you will see just how effective a braking system is, how much spool weight and design have an effect on casting distance, bearing quality and a bunch of other reel related variables.   

Even with all this to consider rod choice and line play an equal if not greater part in casting distance.

[Down4ttown]

I am assuming you are speaking of Gen 3 reels.   I have not been all that impressed with the Gen 3 Revo line myself, I only own 1, the winch, I used it some on a trip to Amistad last year and it performed well, I had no issues with it.  I own and use many of the Gen 2 reels, primarily the Premier and I also have a JDM version of the Premier in the Elite IB.  I think the Gen 2 Premier is a very nice reel and holds it own with any of the other reels in its price range.  I have held off on the Gen 3 stuff, too many bad reports, I hope ABU comes up with something else as Daiwa has been getting lots of money recently.

There is the problem. I have only Gen 3 Revos.

[Tavery5]

There is the problem. I have only Gen 3 Revos.

I hear a lot of negatives about the Gen 3 line of ABU reels and if a guy only started using ABU products recently  I can see how this would influence his opinion about ABU products.  The Gen 3 ABU stuff is going through a period much like when Shimano moved from the E to the G, not quite of the same magnitude but similar.   I would tell you to make a fair assessment of the ABU reels  get your hands on a Gen 2 STX or Premier and see what you think, they have a larger profile than some people like but their performance is right up there with any of the better reels.   The Gen 2 Winch is an awesome deep cranking reel, it is heavier than some of the others out now but I feel like its construction may be better.
Anyway if you get the chance give one a fair shot and see what you think.

[Pro Reel]

As Tavery5 pointed out, there are several models out there of these reels we are talking about. The reovs have 3 generations with the same names. Each generation is quite a bit different. They also have several models, they also are quite a bit different. One thing they all seem to have in common is that out of the box, the whole revo line up doesn't seem to cast as well as it should. I have serviced hundreds of these reels and after servicing them, they all cast as good as any other similar reel. My conclusion is that even though many of us know these reels are all built in the same place, each brand chooses sligtly different options. One of those options is the bearings. I can tell that because the bearings in a lews are not the same exact bearing as in an abu. BPS reels are built in the same place and they use several differnt bearings also. Now, I'm not saying that any of these are better than any others, they may be, some seem to be, but there are several factors about bearings that you would have to know and they don't release that info. I can only comment on how they spin. Abu bearings are somewhat slugish out of the box. Lews bearings seem to spin a lot easier out of the box. Both of these reels use different lubes in the bearings. If you flush the lubes out and use the same lube in both of them, then they spin about the same.
When I tried some lews reels, they did cast slightly easier than my own revo stx gen 2 reels did. When I used a revo premier gen 2, it casted better than the lews i had used. When I cast my curado E7, I think they cast better than all the korean reels do. A lot of it probably comes down to perception and most are probably closer than we think, as long as thye are in the same condition. The problem is getting them in the same condition, All brands have duds that are overlubed, some more than others. Thats usully the cause of poor performance and is easily remedied.