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Ceramic bearings are not automatically better than steel bearings. They are better at one thing: letting a spool start with very little force and keep spinning. Stainless bearings are better at another: taking load, dirt and neglect. Which one belongs in your reel depends on what you throw.
What ceramic means in a reel bearing
In almost all ceramic reel bearings only the balls are ceramic. The rings they run in are steel. That is called a hybrid ceramic bearing. Ceramic balls are lighter and harder than steel balls and their surface is smoother. Less mass has to be set in motion, and less friction slows it down.
The differences you notice
| Ceramic balls | Stainless steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Start-up | Very easy. Light lures get the spool moving. | Needs more force to start. |
| Free spin | Long | Shorter |
| Noise | A little louder. Normal, not a defect. | Quiet |
| Oil | Runs with one small drop of thin oil, or dry. | Needs lubrication |
| Hard use | Good | Very good. Built to take a beating. |
Where ceramic pays off
With light lures. A light lure has little energy to pull the spool up to speed. Every bit of resistance in the bearings costs distance, and it costs the most at the very start of the cast. This is why finesse and BFS anglers were the first to swap their spool bearings. With fresh ceramic bearings many reels also cast lighter lures than they did before.
Where stainless is the better choice
With heavy lures and rough conditions. A big swimbait has more than enough energy to spin any spool. Start-up is not your problem there. What you need is a bearing that shrugs off load, water and dirt day after day. A robust stainless bearing does that better and stays quiet while doing it.
How we split it into three classes
- Apex: ceramic balls, ABEC 9. Maximum performance, the best bearings we make for light lures. Our pick for reels built for 2 to 60 g.
- Edge: hybrid ceramic, ABEC 9, sealed or open. The all-rounder between performance and durability. Our pick for reels built for 5 to 100 g.
- Core: full stainless steel with metal shields, ABEC 5. Built to take a beating, made for big bait anglers. Our pick for reels built for 8 to 200 g.
The lure weights are what we recommend each class for, based on what your reel is built for. They are not the load capacity of the bearing: Apex handles loads up to 150 g, Edge over 250 g, Core over 500 g.
What no bearing can do
A bearing does not make your reel stronger. How much a reel can handle is set by the reel itself: spool, gears, drag and body. The right bearings help you cast further and cast lighter lures. They do not raise the upper limit.
In short
Light to medium lures and you want every metre: Apex. One reel for everything: Edge. Big baits and hard days: Core. If you are not sure what your reel is built for, type it into the bearing finder and you get the pair that fits, with our pick marked.