Updates on Favero Durability

[Pieter]

Hi folks,

My club is looking into purchasing new reels. Being a poor college club, we are looking at cheaper options.

I noticed the favero reels run a bit cheaper. A bit of searching (Google, F.NET Equipment Reviews, and armory forum) I found mentions about them. Namely, that they are an absolute pain to repair.

However, most of these posts were made relatively long ago. So my questions are this:

How are the favero's holding up now?

Would you say the maintenance cost exceeds that of, say, an Uhlmann turtle (including replacing the guide)? I know it's complex, but are breaks less frequent, more frequent, etcetera?

Failing that, what is the reel that you would recommend? I know in the past the Uhlmann turtles were the defacto standard, is still that true?

[The Jersey Devil]

The reliability of the Faveros is comparable to the Uhlmans and they seem easier to repair. The Faveros stay in place much better than the Uhlmans and are also less expensive.

[CvilleFencer]

The Favero reels function better than the Uhlmann, are about the same in time between repairs, are cheaper to repair, and are only more complex to repair when it comes to replacing the spring, which I have not had to do in 5 years. Our division and our club switched to the Favero reels as the standard and we have been pretty happy with the switch. The one thing to watch with the Favero reels is that you want to make sure the cable is coming out of the reel straight. If it is at an angle, it will greatly decrease the life of the plastic block at the front of the reel and the reel cord. Same is true with the German though...

[SJCFU#2]

We have one set of Favero reels which is at least six years old now. They have seen steady use since day one and the only repairs they've required to date have been replacing the plastic housing on a fencer end sockets that was damaged during initial shipping, replacing the cable guides on each reel after about four years (which is about the same longevity I would expect from an Uhlmann turtle and if anything the repair was slightly easier), and replacing a lost retaining clip on a fencer end socket (actually I'm surprised we've only lost one to date). One of these years I should probably also replace the centrifical brake on each of those reels but that looks to be a simple enough job (unlike most repairs on Favero reels that one doesn't even require a soldering iron).

Eventually the spring packs will have to be replaced - I don't look forward to that. However for now that repair still looks to be somewhere on the (hopefully) distant horizon. And Uhlmann turtles aren't exactly designed for easy repair either.

You might also want to look at the FWF reels. They are essentially the 2002 version of the Allstar reel, which means they use the same Mercotac connector as the Uhlmann turtle, plus they have a metal case which stands up better to abuse than the plastic case of an Uhlmann (or current Allstar, which is essentially an Uhlmann in red) and adds a little extra weight (which helps reduce the tendency of the reel to follow its fencer down the strip). The downside would be that since they aren't as common some repair parts might be more difficult to obtain but my experience with older Allstar reels has been that they are pretty durable, with most repairs being on the electrical side, and that's the part they replaced when they redesigned the reel to use a Mercotac.

[Purple Fencer]

Faveros are infinitely easier to do most repairs on than most other reels...the only hard one I've had experience with was something that involved taking the drum off and resoldering on the top circuit board...the repair was easy, but it took Don Clinton and me an hour and a half to get it back together because of how the design was (it was also the first time either of us had worked on one).

For most typical repairs...pretty darn easy. The wire connections in the plug are FAR easier to work with than the Uhlmanns, since they're a solder connection direct to a circuit board and not the solder lug connection of Uhlmann.

The only real design flaw I see is the cable guide....because it projects far into the interior of the reel and is fairly thin, you don't see it being cut by the wire until it's FAR too late. At least with the Uhlmann you can see it starting....

[Wetmelon]

We currently use Favero reels at our college. They almost NEVER move... and I fence Sabre. I even stepped on one yesterday, it's perfectly fine... and I'm not a small guy - 210lb :P

[Pieter]

Thanks for the feedback, I think I know what our next reel system will be.

[Purple Fencer]

We currently use Favero reels at our college. They almost NEVER move... and I fence Sabre. I even stepped on one yesterday, it's perfectly fine... and I'm not a small guy - 210lb :P

Don't get in the habit of stepping on them. One of the few drawbacks of the "pizza box" design is there's less protection from being stepped on because the top's flat. At least with the dome of the Uhlmann, there's resistance to weight damaging the drum.

[Rockstar44]

Eventually the spring packs will have to be replaced - I don't look forward to that. However for now that repair still looks to be somewhere on the (hopefully) distant horizon.

Don't worry, replacing the spring pack on a Favero is a piece of cake. Ten times easier than on a turtle. The entire design is extremely intuitive.

There are only three drawbacks to the Favero design.
1. DON'T STEP ON THEM! The sheet metal cover can be bent and will then come in contact with the spool. Getting it straightened back out can be a chore. Somebody suggested putting traffic cones on them and it has eliminated that problem.
2. Each of the three springs is part of the electrical circut (great idea, no moving electrical parts). If one of the solder connections at the end of the spring comes off due to the end of the spring bending, you better have six hands to put it back. If I have this issue again (which is actually very rare), I will just replace the entire spring pack, which is easy as pie.
3. Putting the spool back onto the spring pack can be very difficult, as the wires are less than an inch long and can't be seen as you mate the parts. This problem is solved by soldering six inches or so of wire to each lead, making it easy to thread the wires through the holes. Once the spool is tightened down, merely unsolder the extensions and make your connections.

Only three drawbacks, and each of them easily solved or mitigated.

Favero is going to put Uhlmann out of the reel business!

[Wetmelon]

Don't get in the habit of stepping on them. One of the few drawbacks of the "pizza box" design is there's less protection from being stepped on because the top's flat. At least with the dome of the Uhlmann, there's resistance to weight damaging the drum.

Yea, we normally have them just 6" to one side of the strip centerline, so that we don't step on them. Judge also called halt, but it took me a second to stop and I stepped on 'er :/
*NOTE: University in Canada


My club in North Carolina only has 1 electric strip, but he's got home made ceiling reels. <3333

[Purple Fencer]

Yea, we normally have them just 6" to one side of the strip centerline, so that we don't step on them. Judge also called halt, but it took me a second to stop and I stepped on 'er :/

That's EXTREMELY poor placement....the tripping hazard for a competitor (retreating or fleching) is far more of a risk than the reel being stepped on. They should NOT be placed anywhere within the field of play, and that includes the runoff.

We had this issue at the US Pentathlon nats this year when the setup crew ignored the layout map provided and put the reels within the boundaries of the runoff...we had some people trip during the mens event, but because of how the crew did the setup, there was no way to move them (don't get me started on guys who hire an expert and then ignore what she tells them)

[Wetmelon]

Let me rephrase - we NORMALLY have the reels outside of the runoff, but I guess I was being lazy and lined up straight with it (we don't really have pistes, just gym floor), and I ended up stepping on it. I'm lucky I didn't trip over it :P