Have learned that the favorite rod that was stolen from my favorite deckhand had a trigger style seat. Every one I have looked at was downlocking. I'd prefer uplocking for the security margin. Does ANYBODY make an uplocking reel seat? Could roll my own after some time and contemplation I guess, but there's no time.

BTW, the guys story grows. Not only was his favorite stolen, but his last remaining combo disappeared yesterday off the boat. Talked with the captain last night, and he saw what happened. A client picked up the rod and was using it, thinking no one would care. Apparently broke it by using the rail to rest the rod on. Then to eliminate the evidence, threw the broken rod (with reel still on) overboard. Captain saw the whole thing. So now I need to get this together fast. Trigger seat thing came out of the blue last night, as the captain remembered it.

1. I can ignoire the last minute info and go with what I have assembled.
2.I can put on any olf Fuji trigger seat I can find quickly and not worry about the security fine point
3.Or, I can try to find an uplocking trigger seat that I'd have a bit more faith in for heavy daily usage
4) Or I can try to make my own up from pieces (chop the trigger section off a seat, ream and key it to the channel on a standard seat,and fit between the nut and shoe?).

Option 3 would be the most expedient. Anyone seen an uplocking trigger seat in the 18 - 20 mm ID range?

I don't know of one in any of the molded trigger seat styles. Not sure why it would be more secure. If one is out there somebody here will likely have seen one and can let you know.

My guess is that most manufacturers don't want to have to work some sort of moving barrel or sliding skip around the trigger and/or rear molded portion. And, unless the trigger moved with the locking portion its relationship to the reel would change depending on the length of the particular reel foot (although most are very similar.

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Never seen one either

Uplocking is less likely to loosen. It can, but is less likely. Line pulling on the reel forward. If the front shoe is fixed as in uplocking, then the back show need only keep the reel from lifting up. But if downlocking, the pull forward need only get a little play in the threads (or overcome friction) to loosen,,, and once the loosening begins it escalates. If you have both types that you fish with, have you not noted that the uplocking threads never seem to loosen and don't need periodic retightening? Downloading types often do, however.

The Fuji style, and those that have adopted the same cushioned hoods, don't loosen, one way or the other. That slight elasticity in the hood coupled with the nylon shim means that once you tighten it, it stays tight. Works sort of like having a strong, thick, rubber band there.

I've never used many aluminum type seats precisely because they do loosen, both up and downlocking styles. I have no doubt it could be worse with the uplocking models. But there are very few aluminum trigger seats still on the market.

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I know that the more plastic plastic yields an increased comfort buffer in this respect, but if any of them get even slightly loose, a downlocking will become selfloosening much much faster because the pull is in the same direction you would go ir you wanted to loosen the shoes. Threads are just a circular ramp afterall

Plastics almost always have greater thermal contraction and expansion than metals. Sit any of the seats out in the sun , and what seemed tight before can now be further tightened.

Perhaps a somewhat minor safety factor for the absent minded, but )&#%)& happens, and seemingly when it's least welcome. The more bulletproof I can make something, the better.

I'm sure it could happen, but I have reels locked in Fuji seats that have been in place for 15 years or more and they haven't come loose yet. That sort of thing just isn't common with these seats. Yes it could happen, but rarely does.

In fact, the plastics used in these seats mean less likely that a seat will loosen (or tighten) in extremes of heat or cold. That's where they really shine. By having that stretch factor, the material in the seat can expand and contract a good deal without letting go of the reel. Not so on most metal type seats where even the slightest bit of contraction or expansion can mean a loose reel or a jammed nut.

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It sounds like another problem that does not exist is being manufactured. The thin metal band over the thick nylon cushion means that the fuji type seat provides almost a spring clamp over the reel feet. Sitting one in the sun isn't going to do anything except maybe cause your reel's grease to thin a little. The seat will not come loose.

Exactly. You put it better than I did. These seats were designed not to come loose under temperature variations and vibrations. Materials are only one piece of any puzzle - design counts for much, sometimes even more than the materials themselves.

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Whatever guys,,,, uplocking is more guaranteed. The reel has no place to go being pulled forward if the shoe is fixed, and the lever action lifting at the back is not rearward and has mmuch less force to push the nut down the threads. If no one makes one, so be it. I suspect they are all made downlocking for ergonomics of the hand at the trigger position. But it is certainly not as guaranteed a lock as the other way around.

Sure they design as they can to keep such things from happening, but there are more design points they reach for than just locking. I could wish the tradeoff's were valued differently to mechanical properties vs ergonomics. Looking over the catalogs, it seems there are no heavy duty triggers made anyway. All have the wall thickness of standard reel seats, not heavy duty seats. That makes them a little suspect in this application anyway.

Nothing wrong with trying to come up with something better, but the seats in question do not suffer from the maladies that you suggest.

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Interesting oddity then that every non-trigger rod I have hanging out in the garage is uplocking, about 1/2 of which I never did the seat on but just rewrapped factory rods . Same uplocking story with all the ones I just sampled pics of at BassPro.
Someone just made the decision to favor ergonaomics over pure engineering. If it seems to work, that's fine. I note the triggers are not on any heavy rods, which may be why they can make that decision. Pretty sure I can make an uplocking one out of a regular heavy seat. Probably not worth the bother tho.

Purely accidental. Those are spinning seats (even when used on casting rods) and the traditional method for most companies is to mount them uplocking. They are not mounted that way to keep them from loosening. Fenwick was one of those that always mounted them downlocking. A few others did, and do, as well.

But again, the Fuji style pipe seat pretty much did away with the problem of loosening or jamming under any and all conditions. It's just not an issue, up or downlocking.

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I think spinning reel seats are uplocking because the vast majority of anglers hold the rod in their right hand. The pressure put on the nut from the anglers hand is in the direction to tighten the reel seat.

However, I prefer to reel with my right hand. In this case when I use an uplocking reel seat on a spinning rod, the pressure from my hand tends to loosen the threads, and actually does. It happens every time I use a new rod with an uplocking seat. As the seat ages for whatever reason, the threads seem to tighten up a little (they probably build up some dust and grime, causing a tighter fit), and I'm less likely to need to tighten them.

Uplocking reel seats are a compromise, like many things.

Joe

Most companies just decided which way to mount theirs based on aesthetics more than anything else. Fenwick always mounted their spinning seats downlocking, Lew's mounted theirs uplocking. I once mounted mine uplocking but switched to downlocking in the last few years for the greater comfort I felt when using them that way. None have allowed my reels to come loose. I think its a mute point. I'd mount them whichever way you feel more comfortable with or whichever direction you have more confidence in and let it go at that.

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Mtrix Vetre system is uplocking it uses the Butt grip as the screw mechanism for locking in the reel. Almost like mounting a Fuji IPS backwards with the trigger inegrated.

Bill in WV



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2007 04:30PM by William Bartlett.

Thanks guys. Think I am convinced I can get away with the commercial trigger seats up to the 30-40 pound range. Not much time to play around with this project and it is a 30lb max rod.

I have a mind to roll-my-own for optional usage on my own heavy stuff later, using HD seats (uplocking of course) and custom reel clamps. Tripped over a product called the Trig'rr Clamp which is sorta like the thought, but I'm thinking more streamlined and with some adjustability. Don't like it for the app, can adjust. Still don't like it, can just pull it off. Some tubing, a little machining, and a trigger either made up or adopted from the zillions available for firearms and tools.