Components

Metal VS Nylon Reel Seats

Metal VS Nylon Reel Seats

As we have mentioned in the past, there are not too many hard and fast rules in custom rod building but from our experience and the experience of those who have come before us we try to pass along the things we have learned.

In my opinion, reels seats are a major part of my rod’s component selection, I might dare say the most important. Before you start pointing fingers, I am mainly referring to a casting reel seat. I am going to walk through many others in this blog, but I am very picky when it comes to a casting seat. If you have read previous blogs or watched Mud Hole live, you know my preferred casting reel seat is a Fuji ECSM. I am going to go beyond just the model and help you choose the right seat for your next build and possibly even squash some reel seat myths.

Reel Seat Selection

If you head over to MudHole.com and just click “reel seats”. You will notice we have 9 pages of reel seats with 24 seats on each page. Needless to say, we have reel seats and reel seat parts for ANY rod build.

There are categories that tend to be a hard line. Like, you really shouldn’t put a casting trigger reel seat on a spinning rod. Then, you have categories where the seat says spinning but with it being a barrel seat, it also belongs on an offshore conventional rod. That is before we even begin to talk about what material the reels seats are made from.

Lets talk materials.

Metal Reel Seats

Why would you want a metal reel seat? Is it for durability, look or tradition? Well, it can be any or all those reasons. As we discuss metal reel seats, 99% will be made from Aluminum. It is light, strong, corrosion resistant and you can anodize them cool colors. The other 1% of metal reel seats you will find will be made of Titanium, which is light, strong, virtually corrosion proof but you pay a price for it. The Titanium usually shows up in fly seats or Fuji’s new plate style seats.

A common misconception is that metal reel seats only belong in saltwater. We know that is false and carry an excellent selection of aluminum reel seats in traditional freshwater sizes like a 16. Two incredible options from American Tackle are the Aluminum Comfort Lock Reel Seat – ACLR and the Heavy Duty Aluminum Jigging Reel Seat – ARC.  Both seats feature a lightweight and durable aluminum body anodized in five stunning colors. Built to withstand saltwater use but delicate enough for freshwater rod builds.

In terms of use I would build the ACLR on your saltwater and freshwater spinning rod builds as it features a precise channel, ensuring maximum security for your reel stability during long fights as well as an ergonomic shape is specifically designed to fit snugly in your palm. As for the ARC seat, I would use this more for saltwater builds on either a spinning or conventional rod. Along with its ergonomic shape, and a tri-channel alignment sliding hood, it also features 12-sided, knurled double locking nuts with Delrin inserts ensuring your reel stays in place.

Moving away from your small body aluminum reel seats, we start to get into the more typical sizing where you see aluminum seats. Once your rod blanks diameter requires seats to be greater than 18mm (.71”) you being to see a shift to metal reel seats. No, this isn’t always the case, but it is a reason why you might find aluminum seats that start at a size 18 and not a 16.

Our choices for offshore aluminum seats typically depend on whether you are using them on a spinning or conventional rod. Can you use the following for either build? Yes, but in my option, one stands out as a better option for your offshore spinning rod. That seat is the American Tackle Posi-Lock seat. Featuring sizes from 18 up to a big game 24 the Posi-Lock has a unique channeled design with dual locking nuts to keep your reel secure. It is a slimmer design from its cousin, American Tackle’s Heavy Duty All-Aluminum Reel Seat, and since the reel seat spends a lot of time in hand, go with the Posi for a spinning seat.

Heavy Metal 

If you need to do some serious pulling, we do recommend the Heavy-Duty All-Aluminum Reel Seat from American Tackle I mentioned above. Not only does it feature two reverse knurled aluminum collars with our exclusive dual black electrolysis ring guards, but this seat has premium anodized finish and extra heavy-duty aluminum hoods. Moving to the inside of the seat American Tackle has created a ribbed inside wall to help facilitate the strongest epoxy bond to your rod blank.

A Unique Option

I must put my two cents in since I am giving options about light offshore builds and aluminum reel seats. I love catching sailfish either bump trolling live baits or kite-fishing and since I do like an aluminum reel seat for a conventional rod build, I take it a step further and have since upgraded to the Winthrop Epic butt. It is not like your typical aluminum uni-butt as the Epic is a blank through design just like you would build a reel seat and separate handle, except this is all one piece. It is great for keeping your smaller diameter saltwater rod light and nimble but still using a beautifully designed aluminum butt.

When to Say No to Aluminum

Is there ever a time to say no to a metal reel seat? Well, if you are one of us who have fallen in love with slow pitch jigging you might already know this is one instance where we say no to aluminum reel seats. The reasoning is in the slow pitch blank’s action. A slow pitch blank flexes way into the handle and since the handle is so long, you can feel the handle components and reel seat flexing when fishing and fighting a fish. So, since aluminum is considerably more rigid than the nylon reel seats, we chose to go with a nylon seat when building a slow pitch rod.

Nylon Reel Seats

I need to get this out of the way first. So, if you are thinking what is a nylon reel seat, I have only seen them called a graphite reel seat. Well, I am calling them nylon because that is technically what they are. I say that because we are in the age of carbon fiber reel seats and graphite is carbon fiber, but the reel seats called graphite are not carbon fiber.

Confused yet? For years manufactures called their reels seats graphite because they are graphite filled nylon and graphite sounds better than nylon. Most of the reel seat is made of nylon but has some graphite mixed in for the lightweight and sensitivity that graphite brings. So, it isn’t technically wrong to call them a graphite seat but it’s not technically right either. I am only bringing this up because when we speak of carbon fiber reel seats those are made from technology using compressed carbon or blow-molded carbon. Very similar to carbon auto parts or carbon bicycles. With American Tackle's Tsuka 2 full carbon handle system or Gaho's CCT reel seats it is worth mentioning to differentiate from a nylon reel seat to carbon fiber. So, hopefully I educated a little without too much confusion. I say it not to take anything away from all of our favorite nylon reel seats.

Even though I mentioned aluminum seats in freshwater and really do like the ACLR and ARC I do not have the need for the creative aspects that the five colors of anodizing bring. They make some incredibly stunning rod builds but I will keep my nylon seats for my freshwater and light inshore builds.

Big Game Nylon

What about nylon in saltwater? You already know I do really like the Winthrop Epic butt for my conventional sailfish or what some might say, light offshore. Well, I am not sure if that is really a term but since we have light inshore, I’m calling it light offshore since there is a big difference between heavy tolling gear or heavy bottom fishing and using 20-pound stand-up gear for sailfish and mahi. Here below you can see the comparison of the American Tackle ARC seat on a light offshore build along side a similar build using a Fuji DPSM barrel style spinning seat. 

My nylon seat of choice for building a light offshore bait rod or pitch rod is the Fuji DPSM but I step it up a notch and add a second locking ring. Very few seats go from a size 16 all the way to a size 26! That is over 1” inner diameter on that size 26. As I mentioned I am adding the Fuji BACK STOP Lock Nut System. It adds a little extra security when we are handling the rods offshore during the chaos of double and triple hookups.

You can't possibly put a nylon reel seat on a big game offshore rod, right? Come on, order an American Tackle GHD or a Fuji DPSH and you might change your mind right quick. Both seats are built will oversize nylon-graphite hoods and an aluminum band in the locking nut. The GHD and DPSH are designed for heavy lifting and to withstand the rigors of charter boat use. These are the number one choice for boat rods as they will not damage railing or teak boards aboard an offshore vessel.

Nylon Fly Reel Seat

I cannot talk about nylon reel seats without giving a nod to our rod building legend Bob McKamey here at Mud Hole. He is a true believer in using a nylon spinning seat as a fly reel seat. I remember the first time he told me to try a spinning seat, I laughed but I knew he was right. It locks down better than many aluminum fly seats, it will not scratch your beautiful fly reel, and it weighs less than the typical aluminum fly seat. Even knowing he is right and after trying it myself to find it does in fact work great, I just can’t bring myself to use anything other than an anodized aluminum fly seat on my saltwater fly rods. As hardheaded about it as I am, at least I can admit when Bob is right. Use an nylon barrel style spinning seat on your next fly rod build and you just might be pleasantly surprised.

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