I'm going to be building a couple of spinning rods over the winter. One for a guy who is my tournament partner when I fish team tournaments, and one for myself. I'll be putting a Shimano Vanford reel on the rod I'm building for myself, and I like the idea of being able to throw some color into the reel seat with some of the Perfect Fit stuff that Fuji offers.

What I am looking for is opinions on comfort from people that have used a TVS reel seat. So far, all the spinning rods I've built, I've built them with down locking reel seats. If I go with a TVS I am looking to build it up locking, with the hidden thread set up they offer. Are there any comfort issues with building it as up locking and with the hidden thread set up? Any pressure points on the hand caused by the reel seat hood? I see that Mud Hole offers a CFX carbon fiber sleeved fore grip for the TVS hidden thread set up, and if I go with a TVS, that is the route I will most likely go.

Just any thoughts you guys can share would be greatly appreciated.

I built on a MHX S842 blank up locking with the Fuji Perfect Fit carbon thread cover and CFX carbon fiber foregrip and fighting butt. I found it to fish quite comfortably.

I like the Fuji products but I’m not a huge fan of the TVS reel seat. It’s pretty thin and becomes uncomfortable after a day of fishing unless you have very small hands.

Steven and Josh, thank you both for your responses. I really appreciate them.

Steven, my main concern would be whether or not you can feel the edge of the adjustable hood where it meets the seat body. It looks like there could be a gap between it and the body that you might be able to feel in the palm of your hand?

Josh, when you say it's pretty thin and becomes uncomfortable, can I ask what kind of spinning seat you usually use? I've used skeleton reel seats in size 17 on all of the spinning rods I've built thus far, and I don't find them to be uncomfortable to fish with for long periods. Are you more of a fan of seats with a palm swell built into them, like the Aero seat has?

As an additional question for anyone reading this. Does anyone have experience with the Apex G2 spinning seats from American Tackle? Those look pretty cool. I'm wondering how they are from a comfort stand point? And does anyone know if the hidden thread hood for it and the Fuji TVS are similar in size to where one might be able to use the CFX hidden thread fore grip on one of the Apex reel seats?

Again, thank you for the responses I've received and for any further responses I might get. They are and will definitely be appreciated.

I’m also not a big fan of the TVS or Apex G2 seats, but others love them. Both of these seats are quite similar in feel. Just a matter of personal preference. My favorite spinning seat is the Fuji IPS coupled with an NFC soft touch CF IPS grip. You can use either the Fuji TVS or SK2 hidden thread hoods. For carbon hood sleeves, the AmTac matte 3K CF fore grip sleeve matches the NFC 1K grip, the new matte twill Fuji perfect fit thread cover matches the NFC 3K grips. NFC also makes a soft touch CF grip for the Fuji VSS16 seat, but it is a little smaller in diameter. If you want the more traditional CF foam core grips, NFC makes them to fit the IPS seat as well as the all of the VSS (16, 16/15, and17) seats. In my opinion, both types of these CF grip/seat combinations are very light, sensitive, good looking, and comfortable. If you want more detailed information email me.
Norm

I do have small hands. I use a 16 seat. I feel no discomfort at all. Although in my opinion the Aero seat is more comfortable.

David,

In response to your question I usually utilize the size 17 Aero seat or the Fuji IPS like Mr. Miller suggested. The IPS seat with the NFC soft touch carbon grips is a very comfortable and attractive combo. It doesn’t bother me to have my finger on the threads of the reel seat, so I usually just use a graphite winding check to finish it off, but the hidden thread hood makes a good looking combination as well.

David, I emailed you, it won't help, but I sent it anyway. Lol. God knows how big the pic will be,

Aero seats are comfortable, but I just cannot get past how ugly they seem to be to me. A size 17 Fuji DPS uplocking is comfy and good looking.

Wow, a bunch of great responses guys!!! And a lot to consider.

Norman, thank you very much for your response, it's given me a lot of things to look at. I had never checked out the grips that NFC has to offer. Man they sell a bunch of different kind of grips !!! Your response is much appreciated.

Steven and Josh, thank you for your additional replies, they are much appreciated as well. Like Michael, I'm not really a fan of the looks of the Aero seat. They do look as though they would be comfortable though. Definitely more of a handful than the skeleton w/ insert type seat that I have used thus far.

Lynn, you nut !! lol I replied to your e mail and it definitely helped. I appreciate it a lot man.

And Michael, thank you for your response as well. As I said earlier, like you, just based on appearance, I am not much of a fan of the Aero seat.

So far, I have used one full length carbon fiber grip on one of the spinning rods I've built, for the others I have went with split rear grips. For the split grips I've used either a 2" tapered fore grip that I just mount backwards, or a modified fighting butt, again mounted backwards, as the rear grip on my spinning rods. I figure that with spinning gear I'm holding the reel seat when I cast, so why have a longer rear grip. Plus using the shorter grip allows more blank to show between the rear grip, and the butt grip. The IPS, VSS, and similar seats that require special contoured grips look cool, but I just don't know about them. If I do go with the TVS w/ hidden thread, I was planning on using the 1 7/8" stubby carbon fiber cap that CFX makes.

Lots to think about, that's for sure. Again, thank you all for your responses. I truly appreciate them.

Now off to look at some more reel seat pictures lol

The unique thing about the IPS and VSS seats is they become a seamless part of the handle. So when you grip the reel you are also gripping both the reel seat and the handle. Because of this the IPS/grip OD where you hold the reel is approximately 27 mm, or about the same OD as the rear grip on a casting rod. The OD of the VSS16/grip is a little less. Thus, it is more hand filling and comfortable than any other spinning reel seat you can use. In addition, when using a split grip version there is very little handle behind your hand, less than you would have using a TVS or Apex reel seats, unless you use no rear grip. As far as reel seat hoods are concerned, you can use any Fuji hood you desire. I separately purchase both the reel seat body (without a hood) and the hood type I want to use. Gives you a number of different options. As I mention above there are matching CF sleeves available for the hidden thread hoods. In addition, if you don’t want a fore grip, you don’t have to. If you don’t like the EVA winding checks that come with NFC IPS and VSS soft touch CF handles you can substitute the AmTac aluminum G2 winding checks they fit perfectly, just have match the OD of the blank with the ID of the winding check. These are a few other things to think about.
Norm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2021 01:48PM by Norman Miller.

I’ve got a NFC MB733 I’m building into a nice spinning outfit with a vanford. I opted for a NFC soft touch VSS grip for a Fuji VSS seat and I’m using a Fuji KSKSS hood with matagi carbon fiber collar and red trim rings/red winding checks.

Norman, thank you for the additional response. It is much appreciated. I was looking at more pictures of the IPS and VSS seats with their corresponding CF grips. I can see what you're saying about the length of the grip behind the actual seat itself. It's definitely the type of length I would be looking for., I'm just unsure if I would like that type of set up. It's one of those things that I am just going to have to try before I know if I'd like it or not. As far as the hidden thread thing .... I would only go that route if it's a reel seat that I would have to mount up locking. If it's down locking, I just trim the thread barrel so I have a minimum number of threads exposed. Once again, thank you for your response. Definitely helpful and appreciated.

Kyle, it sounds like that's going to be a sweet looking and performing rod. As far as the Vanford goes, the first time I held one in my hands, it was something I had to have. We have a pretty high end tackle shop near me, and I had went in looking to pick up a Stradic. Well they didn't have any Stradics in stock, so the guy behind the counter pulls out a Daiwa reel. I know these guys pretty well so I told him to get that thing away from me, I told him it wasn't spelled right. lol So he says, "a Shimano guy huh?" and pulls out a Vanford. After looking it over and turning the handle a couple of times I called one of the store owners over and told him his sales guy wasn't being fair to me. When he asked me why, I said he handed me this .... showing him the Vanford. We all had a good laugh, and I walked out with a new reel. lol


Anyhow .... super sweet reesl. I'm going to be using it on a rod I'll be building on a NFC SJ 704 IM blank that I received this past week. I'm thinking it's going to build into a sweet Ned rig rod.

David, more e-mail. lol

Love my Vanford 2500 on my PB691 spinning rods! Looking at buying a 500 size for my Winter.Phenix 5'6" Elixor UL build (with a TVS sizes 16 reel.seat)

I use a lot of TVS reel seats on my PB rods. I can feel the blank through the insert window.as well as forward of the foregrip. I use the TVS reel seats with the hidden threads.

Thank you all for this discussion!

I follow closely every time I see Norman Miller's name as part of the thread/topic! (Okay, Roger Wilson, too...ha!)

I am building on some NFC blanks once they arrive (yes, yes, I know, I know) and have been researching some styles and materials for the seats, grips, and the bling parts.

Angler's Resource Handle Book is genius, IMO, and a great starting point! I appreciate all the parts listed in detail for each handle style. I don't have to ask "Have I forgotten anything?"
Looking over this document gets my mind working if nothing else.

It is guys like Norman who help with the "cross pollination" of brand mixing by having walked the path ahead: What Fuji stuff works with NFC and American Tackle stuff, and vise versa. There seems to be a dearth of specific information available currently about this. Some simple info would be so helpful in the product descriptions! If I want to go with an 18mm or 20mm reel seat instead of the ubiquitous 16-17mm seat, which winding checks or trim rings will fit? What is the O.D. of each part? I.D. is commonly listed, but not O.D., for example.

Anyway, that's my rant for now. Thanks again to Norman for some specifics!