In my quest to find some decent and reliable swivels I thought I'd try some ball bearing swivels. After all they are supposed
to be more efficient under load than normal swivels aren't they? That's what the manufactures tell us. So I bought 10 Berkley
ball bearing swivels rated at 125lbs breaking strain. Firstly I had to return 3 of them immediately because they wouldn't swivel !!
One of them even had heavy corrosion visible around the joint. So that's 30% faulty for starters. Then I checked how
efficient they were under load. Answer - c.r.a.p !! They were no more efficient than ordinary swivels and certainly would not
eliminate line twist any better than ordinary swivels. Ok, so now I have some rather expensive swivels which are no more efficient
than swivels costing a tenth of the price - but at least I can still use them. Well, maybe, subject to the load test! So, first one on the
scales, guess what, it breaks at 69lbs!! Well that would be ok, but when I saw the way they are constructed I couldn't believe it.
There is absolutely nothing holding the two parts together! One half is simply pressed into the other half with a tight fit. A disaster
waiting to happen. If one can pull apart at 69lbs I'm sure there will be others that will pull apart at a lighter load than 69lbs. The
construction is total c.r.a.p. There is no way I will risk using them, more money in the trash can. I used to rate Berkley highly but
after my experience with their Fireline radial and now these c.r.a.p swivels I've changed my view on Berkley.
to be more efficient under load than normal swivels aren't they? That's what the manufactures tell us. So I bought 10 Berkley
ball bearing swivels rated at 125lbs breaking strain. Firstly I had to return 3 of them immediately because they wouldn't swivel !!
One of them even had heavy corrosion visible around the joint. So that's 30% faulty for starters. Then I checked how
efficient they were under load. Answer - c.r.a.p !! They were no more efficient than ordinary swivels and certainly would not
eliminate line twist any better than ordinary swivels. Ok, so now I have some rather expensive swivels which are no more efficient
than swivels costing a tenth of the price - but at least I can still use them. Well, maybe, subject to the load test! So, first one on the
scales, guess what, it breaks at 69lbs!! Well that would be ok, but when I saw the way they are constructed I couldn't believe it.
There is absolutely nothing holding the two parts together! One half is simply pressed into the other half with a tight fit. A disaster
waiting to happen. If one can pull apart at 69lbs I'm sure there will be others that will pull apart at a lighter load than 69lbs. The
construction is total c.r.a.p. There is no way I will risk using them, more money in the trash can. I used to rate Berkley highly but
after my experience with their Fireline radial and now these c.r.a.p swivels I've changed my view on Berkley.
.. surely that contravenes Trading Standards, or at
the very least "unfit for purpose" rulings.
