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ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 20/12/2016, 6:36 am

Good morning all,

I am considering the purchase of an ABU Garcia Ambassadeur Blue Yonder reel (6500) to use alongside my 6500 Chrome Rocket. What are your thoughts on the BY?

Merry Christmas from the BOP

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 20/12/2016, 7:54 pm, in reply to "ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

If its one of the new Blue Yonder they have not had the best reviews now being made in China. If it is the older Blue Yonder that came out in I think the late 80s? that occassionally appear on ebay then a good one is worth the asking price and are brillant reel fast but very castable and ultra smooth.Mine came from an angler in Asia and it is the first reel on a rod for me in the BOP. Why not just get a matching 6500 CR?

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 21/12/2016, 6:34 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

I am more than happy to have another 6500 CR but was just checking to see if there was a better ABU. It appears the 6500 CR is pretty much the top model.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 22/12/2016, 7:27 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

At this time it probably is. Unless you can source a ABU assembled prior to their move out of Sweden the CR would be the better option.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 22/12/2016, 9:56 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

When did ABU move out of Sweden and where are their reels manufactured now?

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 22/12/2016, 12:24 pm, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

A while ago in terms of reel assembly I understand it is now from China.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 22/12/2016, 2:13 pm, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

That's a bit of a concern when you see so many new ABU's being advertised as being "Made in Sweden". Maybe a good time to look at other reels.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 22/12/2016, 2:18 pm, in reply to "ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

This is what I mean about new ABU's being marketed as "Made in Sweden". It is even highlighted in Blue.

http://www.veals.co.uk/acatalog/abu-6500ct-chrome-rocket-39.html#SID=4

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 23/12/2016, 6:19 am, in reply to "ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

The following is the reply I got from ABU Head Office when I asked for a comparison of the 6500 CT & the Blue Yonder and ... are ABU reels made in Sweden or China?.

Thank you for contacting us. The 6500 CT Chrome Rocket is comparable to the 6500 Blue Yonder. Some of our reels are manufactured in Sweden.

Abu Garcia Customer Service

What a full and detailed answer .. "NOT".

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 23/12/2016, 6:33 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Parts sourced from China and assembled in Sweden? For some reels.
Personally unless you can get a genuine older ABU made from the start in Sweden the general opinion is these new ones are not as good and somewhat over priced.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 23/12/2016, 9:06 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Looks like I might keep using my 40 year old 10000.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Nick_VL on 24/12/2016, 6:24 pm, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Have you looked at the 6500i TSR? Made by ABU for the UK market. I have one and very happy with it. Does claim to be made in Sweden. One of the easiest overhead reels to cast with. Where in NZ are you maybe you can give it a try....

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 24/12/2016, 6:57 pm, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

The TSR is out of production but does appear on ebay at ebay prices $360NZ!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Abu-Garcia-6500i-TSR-MULTIPLIER-FISHING-REEL-1211117-2017-/262718605284?hash=item3d2b3fc7e4:g:3-YAAOSwcUBYKZbC

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 25/12/2016, 6:27 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Hi Nick, Have a look at the following review.
http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/topic/452015-ambassadeur-6500i-tsr-review/
After reading the review, the perfomance of this model is probably similar to my 6500 CT Chrome Rocket.

The issue I am having is that I can't get anyone to tell me if ABU's are still made in Sweden with Swedish made parts. If the are being assembled with Chinese made parts are they still top line reels?

I am now starting to look at Penn SQL15 reels that look very good.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 25/12/2016, 7:57 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

There are plenty of reviews out there in regards how good are ABU today compared to those of thirty years ago. The Mag systems for example only change the mag setting from half way down due to setting of the mag plate.
Will find a couple and place them.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 25/12/2016, 9:01 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Hi Team Century, I agree there are heaps of reviews however the one I posted was very extensive and probably one of the best I have seen. The problem is as I explained above, getting anyone to provide a definitive answer to questions about ABU reels, makes me wonder how good their customer relations are, which is why I am now looking at other brands such as the Penn SQL15 which appears to be a very good reel.

As an aside, up until now I have been an avid ABU fan but slowly going off them due to lack of answers to my questions, particularly to ABU HQ themselves.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 25/12/2016, 9:41 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Yes it seems ABu are not totally forthcoming about their reels today especially after AKIOS was set up.
Chinese parts assembled in Sweden perhaps?
For me Ive had my Daiwa MAG turbos magged and they perform better than the later ABUs, and once Ive got my new Century rods early in the new year I'll look at the top end Daiwa Mag 7HT ST as an excellent casting/fishing reel.I looked at the TSR i but it stll has the same MAG system and the plastic cog for the pinion and racket.
Hopefully some new kit along with new venues will improve my arwful spring catch rate.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 28/12/2016, 9:06 am, in reply to "ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Finally starting to get some answers on the ABU range.

The Blue Yonder BY-6500 is produced in Sweden, the BY-7000 in China. The 6500CT Chrome Rocket is also produced in Sweden.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 28/12/2016, 5:00 pm, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Ftom what I could find out they moved back to Sweden for the top end ABUs after the Chinese built reels did not go down well.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by ABU Man on 29/12/2016, 6:32 am, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

I am trying to clarify how a buyer identifies a Swedish Reel from a Chinese reel but the ones in the know are being very cagey. I shall post my progress on here as it comes to light.

Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder

Posted by Team Century on 29/12/2016, 5:56 pm, in reply to "Re: ABU Ambassadeur Blue Yonder"

Orginally they came stamped with made in sweden, both my orginally 6500 CT Blue Yonder and my 6500 C3 CT mag hi speed have this however do the parts their both made from come from Sweden? I know the Blue Yonder was but the Hi speed?
For this reason I'm now only after an older ABU in VG condition if I can find them!

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