Other than the mention in another post, all the info I find on these reels seems to be two years old. Lots of comparisons with other reels, which usually gave the Piscifuns a good mark. In that time period, has anyone had problems with these reels? My Shimano and Abu reels have brass or bronze gears, and the Piscifuns have anodized aluminum gears. I'm interested in the Phantom, which is $70, at their higher end. Seven bearings, fewer than Abus and Shimanos. At 1/4th the cost, can they be near equal in quality and reliability?
Be interested in opinions of reel techs, especially. Thanks, IslandJim

I like mine but not much time on it. Hope to get alot more time on it this spring.

There are some good KastKing and Piscifun reel breakdowns on Youtube.
You could get lucky and have years of good service; but the quality of the internal parts isn't as good as Daiwa/Shimano.

Not much help on the Piscifun. If I were to buy another baitcaster under $100 it'd be the Lew's American Hero. As long as you keep it clean it's great for most baitcasting inshore applications. I have one on a Ugly Stick Elite Pro 7' rod and it's the best $100 combo available IMO.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lews-Ame...Mr21Opz7Dx-Dl1lAfj1kSWId9xcaAsLZEALw_wcB

Out of curiosity, I bought a Piscifun Phantom about a year ago based on this gentleman's comparison video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmD-UsW-QwI. I think the Amazon price at that time was $59. The Phantom has some pretty good guts underneath the side plates, the video is worth watching. That said, I haven't fished it yet. It does have a very smooth feel and crisp operation. It's sitting on my desk as I type this.

.

I bought 5 of the Phantom X reels and one of the carbon reels about 6 months ago for less than $300.. so far so good..The Phantom X only have one tension adjustment while the Carbons have 2..Once they were dialed in, they cast further than anything else in the box (Revos, Lews, Shimano)..couldn't believe it. Light weight, stout drag and the oversized handles are so nice... I also love that the Phantom X reels are color coded for each specific speed of retrieval...Time will tell, but as of now I am thrilled with the value.. I am about to order some of the carbon spinning reels to to replace some older gear..

Well, just before the Super Bowl started, I decided to order a Piscifun Phantom low-profile baitcaster. They hammered my credit card in about ten minutes in London. Got an e-mail that my order was processing. Later, got an e-mail that my reel was being shipped. No details. Monday, early, I got a note that my reel was in transit. No details. Today, Tuesday, I got an e-mail that my reel was in a USPS truck and out for delivery in Rockport! I went to the mailbox at 3:30, and my reel was here! I had visions of waiting days or weeks for a delivery from China(think AliExpress). My reel shipped from Fort Worth. Amazing! Two days.
The reel is very light, smooth, and seems to be a quality piece. It compares to a $275.00 Shimano, and the list price of $69.99 was discounted to $58.80! Maybe it won't last as long as a Shimano, but I can buy two of these a year and never have to service a reel again. I spooled it with McCoy's Mean Green 15, and can't wait to give it an on-the-water test on Friday. Oh, yeah, it came with a nice reel cover. The price and quality makes me think that Shimano's, Okuma's and Lew's might be cheaper, if they didn't have giant advertising campaigns, sponsorship of Pro Anglers, etc. IslandJim

I like my Phantom

Well, I took my new Phantom fishing today. I used artificials of many types. Didn't catch anything. All the fishermen I saw catching were using live bait, mostly shrimp, and their catches were small trout. I don't really care for magnetic braking, but the Phantom has a 6-position centrifugal brake system inside, and a 10-position magnetic brake on the left side cover. I used plastics on jigheads of varying weights, Grasswalkers, and other bottom lures. I was able to dial the dual braking in fairly fast after a lure change. If I started a little heavy, then I could start backing off either the centrifugal or magnetic brake, or both, and get long casts without backlashes. Spooled with McCoy's Mean Green 15#.

The Piscifun Phantom is smooth and quiet. My Shimano sounds like a 12-volt winch, while casting. I was able to cast a little further than I can with the Shimano. Time will tell whether the Phantom will be a reliable inshore saltwater reel. But, my first impressions are that it's about equal in quality and design to my $270 Shimano, and much better than my Abu Garcia. The Abu has really suffered in saltwater, the Shimano, not as much. The Piscifun is almost all carbon fiber, but the internals are quality brass and aluminum, with very little plastic. For $58.80 mailed in two days, I think it's a bargain. YMMV.

Now, I'm looking at their fly reels. IslandJim

The first 2 baitcasters ive ever had are Piscifun Torrents. Got them on amazon for $35? If I remember about a year ago. So far so good. I use them a lot. I keep one in my truck incase I come across an interesting body of water.

I've fished my Piscifun Phantom a couple of times. Last time out, I caught 10 trout 13" & under. The reel works as good as my Shimano, and is quieter. If it doesn't last five years, I'll just buy one or two a year and be money ahead. IslandJim

Often times, these low end reels is every bit as good as the high end ones for 1/3, 1/4 of the cost. One difference would be the manufacturing tolerances of the components; looser tolerances than the big names who have tons of marketing and reputation at stake.

If you get one that is using tightly manufactured components, it will be an excellent reel. If you get one on the edges of the manufacturing tolerance, it will suck. You’ll know it right away and you can simply return it for another. Statistically speaking, the ones on the outer boundaries are probably in the .5% of the reels made. With today’s manufacturing processes, it’s probably a lot lower. So, go buy you a Pisifun or KastKing, and you’ll be happy with its performance to price trade off. My favorite reels are my Kastkings; I have 3 baitcasters and 2 spinning that I favor over my Chronarchs and other Shimanos. Just my opinion.
Tim

I have bought 3 Kast Kings bait casters. Two Legends and one White something or other. They all work very well and were less than $40 ea. on Ebay.

The rod you put them on will make all the difference in the world about how they cast. In my opinion and really good rod and cheaper reel is better than the other way around.

Wayne

You'd be correct on this!
Tim