Kevin aka Aethelbald
Well-known member
I've been trying out a few new reels and - not being able to see most of what interested me in the flesh - I wasn't able to decide, but it came down to a choice between the new Aero XR and the Aero BB. I thought this might help someone facing the same first world problem!
I won't go into the specs, other than to say that the Aero XR has the higher spec, comes with a spare alloy spool (thank you Shimano, I hate the plastic ones), and is about £119.00 compared to £63.00 (both TackleUK, plus shipping) for the BB. They both come with one set of spool reducers (double thank you Shimano).
Edit: the BB seems to have more features if you watch the Shimano product video. So it definitely has the Hagane Gear and X-Ship, but the video says it has Silent Drive... which, for me, means the XR has no additional features that matter to me.
I'll use these reels on my Acolyte Plus 14ft float rod. I wanted two spools, so the option is either one Aero XR or two BB's. They are both very light and come in 3000, 4000 and 5000 sizes, and although Shimano say that the 5000 is for feeder fishing it's light enough for me to want to compare it with the 4000 size, especially for use as a trotter.
The options I bought are the Aero XR 4000 and the BB 5000. The only physical difference is the size of the spool - it's hard to align the bailing arms, but even they look the same size (albeit a slightly different shape). Both spools fit on either reel. I had thought, from photographs, that the Aero BB spool would have a wrapped label, but the graphics are printed, or etched (who knows) onto the alloy. The bodies are made of matt finished CI14+ on the XR and a slightly less matt (it's by no means gloss) XT-7 on the BB. The silver parts on both spools (more obvious on the BB) are a beautiful gunmetal colour.
Without using them, it's hard to know what difference there is in the clutch (if any - there's nothing in the specs to suggest any difference), but they both spin forever and feel reassuringly smooth.
I like them both, but I'm erring towards getting two BBs just to have the option of setting up two rods in future... and that gunmetal spool is lovely!
Here are some comparison photos.
I won't go into the specs, other than to say that the Aero XR has the higher spec, comes with a spare alloy spool (thank you Shimano, I hate the plastic ones), and is about £119.00 compared to £63.00 (both TackleUK, plus shipping) for the BB. They both come with one set of spool reducers (double thank you Shimano).
Edit: the BB seems to have more features if you watch the Shimano product video. So it definitely has the Hagane Gear and X-Ship, but the video says it has Silent Drive... which, for me, means the XR has no additional features that matter to me.
I'll use these reels on my Acolyte Plus 14ft float rod. I wanted two spools, so the option is either one Aero XR or two BB's. They are both very light and come in 3000, 4000 and 5000 sizes, and although Shimano say that the 5000 is for feeder fishing it's light enough for me to want to compare it with the 4000 size, especially for use as a trotter.
The options I bought are the Aero XR 4000 and the BB 5000. The only physical difference is the size of the spool - it's hard to align the bailing arms, but even they look the same size (albeit a slightly different shape). Both spools fit on either reel. I had thought, from photographs, that the Aero BB spool would have a wrapped label, but the graphics are printed, or etched (who knows) onto the alloy. The bodies are made of matt finished CI14+ on the XR and a slightly less matt (it's by no means gloss) XT-7 on the BB. The silver parts on both spools (more obvious on the BB) are a beautiful gunmetal colour.
Without using them, it's hard to know what difference there is in the clutch (if any - there's nothing in the specs to suggest any difference), but they both spin forever and feel reassuringly smooth.
I like them both, but I'm erring towards getting two BBs just to have the option of setting up two rods in future... and that gunmetal spool is lovely!
Here are some comparison photos.
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There are lots of reasons for the choices we make - not all down to conditioning.
