Beaver Dam "Quality"

[HWeber]

Saw a post on facebook on beaverdams today where they were catching hell from a decent number of people for the decline in quality. Where's the best place to buy the old beaverdams? Ebay?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Saw a post on facebook on beaverdams today where they were catching hell from a decent number of people for the decline in quality. Where's the best place to buy the old beaverdams? Ebay?

Right on. I've got three older beaver damns and was going to pick up another one this winter.......until I noticed how cheap the parts they put on the new ones were. They really screwed the pooch with the new ones, a person might has well get a cheap tip up......no reason to spend the big money if beaver damn puts cheap parts on them now.

[HWeber]

I still think they are above the rest but at the price they get I think I'll try to track down some old ones before they become harder to get even if i have to pay a bit more. They eventually did respond after maybe 20 negative comments claiming this years tipups are improved, although last year they claimed nothing changed from before other than the nut on the spool instead of solder   

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I still think they are above the rest but at the price they get I think I'll try to track down some old ones before they become harder to get even if i have to pay a bit more. They eventually did respond after maybe 20 negative comments claiming this years tipups are improved, although last year they claimed nothing changed from before other than the nut on the spool instead of solder   

If I remember Correctly I was looking at one on clerance at Scheels. I took it out of the box and looked at it......I believe the spool & line guide looked to be lighter/cheaper quality. 

[DR.SPECKLER]

I like my beaver dams but on all my newer ones the flag spring and shaft are starting to rust after only 5 years..my 25 year old beaver dams dont have any rust.i bring them in and dry off each time too.

[Light liner]

Just like everything else, "dont make them like they used to".

[52isntbigenough]

I have 18 Beaver Dam flags and all but 1 work pretty much the same. Outside of the nut/solder thing, looks to me like the spool and guide are pretty much the same. I did notice on a new flag that I bought last season that while the guide was still cast, it was thinner.

[eriksat1]

Sounds like Beaver Dam tip ups went to crap after they sold out to Uncle Josh. My old ones are still working great even pushing 30 years old.

[Bad0351]

I was looking at the beaver dam tip ups this year but not if the quality is down...
If not beaver dam, then what would be a good choice to get for myself?
I only need 3 or 4
Thanks guys!
Dale

[DR.SPECKLER]

I was looking at the beaver dam tip ups this year but not if the quality is down...
If not beaver dam, then what would be a good choice to get for myself?
I only need 3 or 4
Thanks guys!
Dale

beaver dams are still nicer quality than most out there.i like that parts are available to keep them for many years..my oldest just hit 30 years old.i run my newer jolly rogers every time out too.

[Baetis62]

I'm not sure if the new ones are less functional than the old ones.  The spools held on by a nut instead of solder probably qualify as more functional but there seems to be a certain heft in the hand to that shaft assembly on the old ones that I can sense...maybe b/c of the solder?  Its kinda like picking up a piece of cherry vs a piece of cedar.

[HWeber]

Functionally still better than the rest but not as good as before.  Paying almost double what others cost to have to buy parts after two seasons shouldn't happen either. I picked up one old one last night,  hoping to get three more before ice

[Ice Surveyor]

A tip-up that was invented over 40 years ago - and is still the go-to brand - is hard to fathom.

The man that invented the beaver dam tip-up was a genius in his time. 

Yes, the quality has suffered a bit, but it is still the "ONE". 

[Bad0351]

Thank you everyone!!
I'll stick with beaver dams!  Sounds like I can't go wrong

[Agronomist_at_IA]

A tip-up that was invented over 40 years ago - and is still the go-to brand - is hard to fathom.

The man that invented the beaver dam tip-up was a genius in his time. 

Yes, the quality has suffered a bit, but it is still the "ONE".

Mainly because every company cheapened up, or made cheap products. Lets hope beaver damn holds on to the quality

[RyanW]

I was looking at the beaver dam tip ups this year but not if the quality is down...
If not beaver dam, then what would be a good choice to get for myself?
I only need 3 or 4
Thanks guys!
Dale

I’ve never been steered wrong by using HT Original Polar tipups. I also never understood the fascination with $50 tipups regardles of well they work. Some of my Polars are pushing 8 seasons and I’ve never had to maintain them. Just use them and put them away. Not to mention, one can get 5 HT’s for the price of one BD and accomplish the same thing.

[UFCreel]

Bought most of my Beaver Dams over 30 years ago. Cost was $13.89 a piece. Since then i have picked some old ones up on Ebay. Bought 5 for $70 bucks three years ago. Old ones on there now are pricey. Still use my original ones. No maintenance at all. They still spin smooth. Some guys buy expensive electronics. Some dont. But buying anything of good quality pays for its self many times over.

[HWeber]

Picked up three old beaverdams in the last week averaging around $25 a piece. IMO there is no comparison with old beaverdams and HTs. HTs might compare to the lower quality new ones. I suppose you fish an Ice Blue and say that accomplishes the same thing as a nice custom rod?

[DR.SPECKLER]

Hts are not comparable to any bds.in a tournament a few years ago my ht tipups kept freezing up and the flags would not trigger.i gave them all awAy after that day.yeah they will do the same thing but nothing to be handed down for generations.ht has cheap hardware.the plastic cross brace is the only thing thats going to last.ht is the bottom line of ice gear as far as being cheaply made.prices are right for what it is i guess.

[eriksat1]

After using B D's for years, I tried using some HT's as a back up when some hooks broke off my B D's leaders and I didn't feel like retying. What a difference the HT's are crap, freeze up easy, tangle easy is the worst part for me, and just plain feel cheap. You get what you pay for.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Picked up three old beaverdams in the last week averaging around $25 a piece. IMO there is no comparison with old beaverdams and HTs. HTs might compare to the lower quality new ones. I suppose you fish an Ice Blue and say that accomplishes the same thing as a nice custom rod?

Lol....depends on how you fish. I've iced a lot of panfish with an ice blues and code blue no 8 tackle reel. I fish it next to $250 ice Rod setups I own, and enjoy it. Catches fish just has often. Great site Rod......feel sucks on it though.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I’ve never been steered wrong by using HT Original Polar tipups. I also never understood the fascination with $50 tipups regardles of well they work. Some of my Polars are pushing 8 seasons and I’ve never had to maintain them. Just use them and put them away. Not to mention, one can get 5 HT’s for the price of one BD and accomplish the same thing.

The HT tipups work for bigger fish/hard bites, but the main difference you'll see is how smooth/light setting trigger a beaver damn can be set for.  If a guy keeps the shaft greased up small fish like panfish can be caught on them fairly well. If a guy is just soaking pike bait for pike a HT original polar would work fine.

[52isntbigenough]

[HWeber]

Love it  can't wait to see what kinda crap they put on the shelves this year and claim the same old design

[Damn Yankee]

A tip-up that was invented over 40 years ago - and is still the go-to brand - is hard to fathom.

The man that invented the beaver dam tip-up was a genius in his time. 

Yes, the quality has suffered a bit, but it is still the "ONE".

Back East here I have tip-ups (Fishcrafter made in Worcester,MA brass spools, running flags and all) that I bought about 1960. To say BeaverDam invented them seems to be a stretch. Also Uncle Tony and Vin had tip-ups a lot older than mine.

[HWeber]

Rail style or the tall tipups?  There's a few different types of tinpups
Edit: looks like they are the other style that doesn't seem to get used much in the Midwest. Completely different designs if the ones I found are what you're taking about

[Baetis62]

LMAO 52!!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Thats was good 52

[32footsteps]

I’ve never been steered wrong by using HT Original Polar tipups. I also never understood the fascination with $50 tipups regardles of well they work. Some of my Polars are pushing 8 seasons and I’ve never had to maintain them. Just use them and put them away. Not to mention, one can get 5 HT’s for the price of one BD and accomplish the same thing.

Same here. I have a handful of HTs that are close to 30 years old and run smoother than any other rail type tip up I’ve ever had. I gave all of my BDs away because they didn’t run as smooth as I could get the HTs to. The BDs have more drag when unspooling line than the HTs did. Take care of them and they’ll last a long, long time. For me they save weight, less drag, more cost effective, not as bulky, and simple to maintain.

I get a kick out of the “your choice of tip up sucks, my choice is better” threads. We all have our reasons for using what we use. A fish doesn’t swim around choosing which one to bite. “Hey Larry, I found a line attached to a Beaver Dam...better eat this meal because the guy using it is smarter than the guy using that willow branch over there.”

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Same here. I have a handful of HTs that are close to 30 years old and run smoother than any other rail type tip up I’ve ever had. I gave all of my BDs away because they didn’t run as smooth as I could get the HTs to. The BDs have more drag when unspooling line than the HTs did. Take care of them and they’ll last a long, long time. For me they save weight, less drag, more cost effective, not as bulky, and simple to maintain.

I get a kick out of the “your choice of tip up sucks, my choice is better” threads. We all have our reasons for using what we use. A fish doesn’t swim around choosing which one to bite. “Hey Larry, I found a line attached to a Beaver Dam...better eat this meal because the guy using it is smarter than the guy using that willow branch over there.”

I don't think it was that kinda thread....more a thread about companies lowering the quality of a product.