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- *****- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseFantastic watch as described. Warp speed delivery and well packed. Good coms from seller.
- p***e (837)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseGood quality, great value, immediate delivery. What more could you want?. Highly commended ebayer ππ
- *****- Feedback left by buyer.Past yearVerified purchaseWatch was in excellent condition, exactly as described and was delivered very quickly. Price was great and seller was very good with communication. Top ebayer!!
- *****- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseBrilliant service
- *****- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseGreat item thank you for the quick delivery.
- *****- Feedback left by buyer.Past yearVerified purchaseExcellent reel, great e Bayer, good comms, many thanks
Reviews (7)
08 May, 2016
Abu's last decent Cardinal
The Cardinal fixed spool reel was originally launched in 1965. It featured a true worm drive and was made in Sweden, as we're all Cardinals until the early 1980s. They were the best reels money could buy - twice the price of the best seling Mitchell 300, but worth every penny.
Since then, Abu followed the way of the world and production was moved first to Japan, then Bangladesh, Korea and ultimately China. And with it, build quality declined, and new budget versions appeared that were totally unrecognisable from the original iconic reels.
The late 1990s saw the resumption of production in Sweden with the Suveran, rated by many as the finest fixed spool reels ever made (note that as a coarse fisherman, I refuse to use the term "spinning reel"). Sadly, the Suveran was discontinued just a few short years later, leaving only Chinese reels in the Abu range.
It was in about 2008 that Abu realised that they really needed to add some quality to their Cardinal range, and so the 700 and 800 series reels were launched. Marketed as "deliberately overbuilt", for once the product lived up to the hype. Although still made in China, the build quality was substantially better than any previous such model. The body was aluminium alloy and inspection of the gear chain and bearings showed better quality materials and engineering. This was reflected in the smooth winding and durability. The 800 series had four extra ball bearings, bringing the total to 11.
The 700 and 800 series was soon refined and upgraded within the same body shell, becoming the new Soron range. These were now by far the best Abus since the Suveran, and good enough to compete with the best that Shimano and Diawa could offer, the two brands having long since seized Abu's crown for top quality gear.
Sadly, Abu shot itself in the foot yet again and discontinued the Soron in favour of the new Orra and Revo ranges, which are the current offerings. It appears that, in spite of claimed technological advances, reviews on the Internet report all kinds of issues with these reels, including bale arms that just snap, broken stems and gear boxes which suddenly grind and seize up. Yet still Abu regularly wheel out one irritating Australian gentleman on You Tube to tell us all how brilliant these new reels are. Don't believe a word he says - they are expensive rubbish!
And so to the Cardinal C702LX. If you have an affinity for Abu and are looking for a top quality small fixed spool reel which is a joy to use and will last a lifetime, buy one of these while you can. Otherwise, look out for a Soron SX20 or STX20. Once these are all gone, that's the end of Abu as a quality manufacturer.
11 Dec, 2019
Best value travelzoom camera with realistic specs
1 of 1 found this helpful Cameras of this type usually have 20mp sensors. This is far too many on a small 1/2.3 type sensor, which causes too much noise and poor image quality in low light shots. Panasonic got it right by going down to 12mp, which means fewer but much bigger pixels, each capturing more light. The TZ70 is still a very full featured camera which is a joy to use. I was impressed by how smoothly the WiFi functions work. There are only a couple of cons with this camera. The flash is easily obstructed by your fingers when used - a pop-up design would have been better. Also I'd like to have the ability to adjust noise reduction and image sharpening like the Sony cameras offer. On the whole however, I rate this camera as better than all the other travelzoom compacts which cost more, in some cases, double the price.
12 Sep, 2018
Great value
Does exactly what it's supposed to do without any problems. Amazing price compared the the high street. Highly recommended.