Best Reel System

[Sigurd]

What have you found to be the best reels? Especially in terms of reliability and value for money. I've seen Ulhmann reels used quite a bit, and they seem to be sturdy, but I have had some bad experences with them. How would an Allstar reel conpare, and are there any inexpensive alternatives?

Any answers would be greatly appriciated!

[sparkie]

Sigurd,


1. Uhlman - too expensive, plastic collar for the cord wears out too fast, reel heads have too many f'ing nuts and bolts and the wires have to be laid out exactly as manufactured for the reel heads to fit back together.

2. Allstar - no idea

3. Leon Paul - not bad, but a pain to take apart and hard to find.

4. Favero - So far I'm impressed, they have a brushed steel case, a braking mechanism that slows down accidently released cords and have not shown any problems. Also, they are Cheaper than all the others.

5. Finally, you can make your own reels with pulleys, 1/4 inch bungee cord, and three strand wire (I've seen telephone cord used, uhlman wire, and also PBT has wire for sale fairly cheaply) You can check this thread out for another idea: http://www.fencing101.com/vb/archive/topic/3348.html

Originally posted by Sigurd
What have you found to be the best reels? Especially in terms of reliability and value for money. I've seen Ulhmann reels used quite a bit, and they seem to be sturdy, but I have had some bad experences with them. How would an Allstar reel conpare, and are there any inexpensive alternatives?

Any answers would be greatly appriciated!

[DHCJr]

The Leon Paul is the easiest to repair, but it also needs to be repaired more often. One trick with the Leon Paul is to have a few extra spring cases. If a spring breaks, release the tension, pull out the broken spring case, drop in a new one and fix the broken spring at your leasure. The newest version of the connector to the body cord is the easiest to repair, no soldering. Removing and fixing the commutator is easy, not like the old Uhlmann.

If you ever have a spring break on the Favaro, you are going to be doing a lot of work and have a bigger expense than any other. First you need to desolder 6 connections, and you must replace (not repair) all three springs, not just the one. Then you resolder the 6 connections. Hopefully with the braking system, the springs do not break as easily. It hasn't been out long enough to get a feel for it. The body cord connector is easier to work with than the Uhlmann.

The older Allstar commutator is more difficult to work with than the Uhlmann. Supposedly, if you can get it the new Allstar has the same inside as the Uhlmann, but a metal case.

If you have a permanent location an overhead reel system is very good to have.

[Sigurd]

The Favero reels do sound interesting, though I have never had the oppertunity to try it. Uhlmann reels, as I suspected seem a little to pricey for their breakability, I have definatley noticed that they sometimes don't register hits while the reel is moving, at least among the new ones. As for building your own, does anyone have any plans to follow for a bungee system? Although I am still interested in buying some reels, I would like to try building my own system. Any help with plans would be greatly appriciated.

[neevel]

Originally posted by Sigurd
The Favero reels do sound interesting, though I have never had the oppertunity to try it. Uhlmann reels, as I suspected seem a little to pricey for their breakability, I have definatley noticed that they sometimes don't register hits while the reel is moving, at least among the new ones. As for building your own, does anyone have any plans to follow for a bungee system? Although I am still interested in buying some reels, I would like to try building my own system. Any help with plans would be greatly appriciated.

Can you be more specific about "not registering hits"? That sounds far more like a problem that can be traced to personal equipment than the reel.

Uhlmanns are better at maintaining reliable line continuity than brush-contact reels, which is why they are generally preferred in spite of being time-consuming to work on when they do need maintenance. As noted above, they are a stereotypical example of German over-engineerng (why use just one screw instead of three?), but if you're having to keep a bunch of division reels in working order for tournaments that's generally preferable to having to keep track of a cleaning schedule for Leon Paul reels. OTOH, if you're just thinking of getting a pair for a small club, the ease of maintenance for LP reels might be the better choice.

The older Allstars used a rotating contact post that runs vertically down the center of the reel, and needed to be cleaned more often than the brush-and-commutator arrangement of upright reels like the Leon Pauls. The newer ones (which may be tough to find from US vendors) use a mercotac for the A and B lines, just like the Uhlmann (both the Uhlmann and the Allstar use the main bearing to connect the C-line directly to the metal base). Combine that with a very durable cast metal case that won't get a notch worn into it by the cable, and they look pretty good. They are easier to open up than the Uhlmanns for maintenance, and don't require nearly as much disassembly to perform repairs.

The Faveros look very promising, it's just a matter of people getting enough experience with them to see how well they hold up with use. How well the springs hold up will probably be the most important factor.

There's one more type of reel you may see, which I'll mention and then tell you to avoid, and that is the Russian reel. It's a copy of the Prieur reel (which isn't readily available in the US anymore). This design is very appealing in concept, as it uses a winding arm and pulleys to play the cable off of a stationary spool, thus allowing the cable to be soldered directly to the floor cord socket and doing away with rotating contacts. Unfortunately, the quality of materials and construction is not good (the OEM Russian reel cable is notoriously bad), so they're best passed over.

Even with the cost of shipping and the current US Dollar/Euro exchange rate, you can save a fair amount of money by buying direct from Europe. Fechtsport-Langenkamp in Germany sells Uhlmann and new (Mercotac) Allstar reels, and I believe Favero sells direct, too. You can find them both in the equipment vendor links on this site. Remember to use the non-VAT price to determing what you'd be paying. Langenkamp also has a shipping cost estimator.

-Dave

[R. Exnicios]

The Favero design and price were more than I could resist. We bought a set a few months ago. So far no problems. I'll let you know what I discover.

[DangerMouse]

Has anyone ever used the PBT reels? What type of design do they use (brushed, winding arm, mercotac, etc.)? How well have they held up?

Thanks

-DM