Tsurinoya GENIUS 🤓 replacing the DARK WOLF ULTRA 🐺?

Hey guys,
In this video we’ll be looking at the Tsurinoya Genius/Elf BFS reel. I believe this reel will be Tsurinoya’s replacement for the Dark Wolf Ultra, but they are still available and on sale right now. We’re going to take a quick look at what makes this reel different from the Dark Wolf Ultra and answer some questions surrounding this new reel. I aim to have a more in-depth review of this out soon but may skip a teardown as this reel should have the same internals as the Dark Wolf Ultra. Thanks as always for watching and please feel free to leave suggestions for things you’d like to see in the future. Cheers!
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
01:27 Genius Unboxing
02:00 Closer look
02:32 Comparison to Soloking Acura
03:52 Braking system
04:24 Spool
05:05 Circlip???
05:33 Spool weight
05:57 Gear ratio/s
06:38 Conclusion
Non-affiliate link:
www.aliexpress.us/item/325680...
Affiliate link:
Tsurinoya Genius reel
s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DBa...
#bfsfishing #baitfinessesystem #tsurinoya #soloking #shimano #daiwa #kastking #fishing #bfs #fishinggear #fishingvideo

[@chepachii]

G'day RnR ,nice to see you got your reel,looks awesome. One would expect it to be basically a DWU ,only difference being the braking system. Saw a brilliant review on the Valiant eagle 2 by a guy called chakoopz on KZbin hereabouts. He's a Malaysian guy I think you will enjoy watching it Cheers mate look forward to seeing your breakdown on the Genius.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey James! You’re pretty much on the money there. There are a few slight differences but the internals should be exactly the same as the DWU, we’ll definitely check that out. I did see chakoopz’s video on the VE2 but honestly it’s the same reel as the KE minus some bearings, a different handle and different frame material. Not expecting the performance to be much different over the KE reel, if at all. In any case, I appreciate the support as always and hope you have a grand day! Cheers!

[@chepachii]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL No worries, having trouble getting out fishing freshwater , we are having record rainfalls all the streams and main rivers are flooding , resevoirs up around 100 percent capacity. wet wet wet here at the moment. Its a good thing all the same long term , our native fish rely on floods to breed and it boosts the whole ecosystem. .Cheers

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@chepachii man wish you guys could send some of that rain out here to the US west coast! Stay dry out there and maybe it might be a good time to clean out some reels and respool some good line! Hehe cheers mate!

[@mikeoutdoors22]

Just subscribed buddy great video, iv just ordered this reel looking forward to trying it out.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi there! That’s awesome to hear! Hope you enjoy the reel and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. Alternatively, if you’re on Facebook and are looking for a BFS fishing group look for “Budget BFS Finesse Fishing”. Cheers!

[@mikeoutdoors22]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL cheers buddy, I'll look it up on Facebook cheers again 🎣🎣

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@mikeoutdoors22 right back at ya!

[@m.aimanharith3306]

Please check on tsurinoya genius's weird magnet plate. Turn the brake dial on 5 and by using a magnet or a metal, stick it to the magnet and pull it off. Surprisingly the whole set will come off. They (tsurinoya) should make locking mechanism that can hold the magnetic plate in place. And the handle is having same issues as the dark wolf ultra. Hold the body and pull the handle side to side. It have freeplay (or gabs). Tsurinoya hurricane's handle is better.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi there! I’m not quite sure I completely understand what you mean? Is there anyway you can send me a short video or photos? You can email me at [e-mail] or I’m also on Instagram @rnr4roo. As for the handle, this is probably due to poor tolerances of the handle bearing but also the fact that they use a carbon fiber handle. The CF handle flexes side to side as it’s only strongest in the direction of the cf weave. The gap you speak of is most likely the main shaft not being supported correctly by the handle bearing. It could also be a slight tolerance issue with the main shaft and the pinion gear. In my experience, I have not really experienced anything out of the ordinary. I appreciate you sharing your experience and hope that this is just an isolated incident. Cheers!

[@m.aimanharith3306]

Hi... Thanks for the reply 😊. I tried sending you short video through email but failed every time. I can only send a short video limited to 25 MB in size. Sooooo....i send you some photo.Take your time investigating the magnetic braking mechanism. And im sure you can find the issue that i mentioned earlier. I do believe that tsurinoya still interested in dinamic bracking system due to wobbling magnets plate 😅.

[@mojondro]

I like the way it looks,i like murder out looks on this kind of reels,for the roud ones im waiting on my carved ming yang,and the glasfin in orange,yes the carved reel looks the part look for it in KZbin shorts from enjoy creek fishing channel

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey victor! Hah funny you say that. I have a W300 on the way as well and maybe a glassfin, unsure on this lol… I plan to do some reviews on the mingyang as they made some changes to the reel recently. I do like the darker look of the genius/elf but there’s a tiny bit of blue flake that they added to the paint that throws me off a bit lol. In any case, my guess is this reel will be just as capable of the outgoing DWU. Which should a person get? All depends… all depends… Anywho, cheers and thanks for the support!

[@alex111683]

Would you recommend the lower gear ratio if I'm mainly using spoons and jerkbaits? I feel like a faster ratio is bad for smaller spoons as it doesn't allow them to have the proper action

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

What kind of water are you fishing? Streams and rivers it helps to have a bit of a faster ratio. You do lose a bit of torque with a higher ratio and so they’re typically better suited to lighter fish. Lower ratios will give you a bit finer control and more torque to fight larger fish. That being said, these spools are so lightweight that fighting large fish on them may just end up warping the spool all together.

[@alex111683]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I fish everything from small brackish rivers for Cutthroat, stocked ponds and fast mountain streams. Most fish range from 1/2 to 2lb range.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@alex111683 I think either ratio is going to work out for you tbh. Doesn’t sound like you absolutely need a lower ratio but also 8.0:1 isn’t so fast that you can’t control the speed of the retrieve. If you want something in between the Soloking Acura, tsurinoya dark wolf ultra, kingdom micromonster, and black knight 2 all have a 7.1:1 ratio. So… there are other options for you in those reels as well.

[@davidcloyd1296]

Great quick review, I appreciate it. Boy, that color looks bland.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey David! My pleasure as always. The color is interesting to say the least. I don’t love it but I also don’t hate it… that being said, I think this will be another great option in the grand scheme of DWU variants but I always advocate to look out for sales when possible. Thanks as always for the support!

[@hpcam1]

Have you fished with it yet? Looking to get a reel that will work with baits down to 1 gram.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Yep! It’ll definitely work for 1g lures with an appropriate rod and line. There are some modifications you can do to help make it even better. Swapping out the spool bearings helps and then also adjusting the braking system slightly also assists with this. I don’t have a video on adjusting the magnets yet but hopefully soon!

[@pampeesantiago77]

Spools interchangeable between the two reels ?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Which other reel are you referring to? If you mean the DWU then yes but you need to use the DWU side plate. If you mean the Acura then yes and you can still use the genius side plate. Hope that helps!

[@dirkvanderpoel6797]

Hi there, do you know if the spool bearings are the same as dark wulf ultra?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hi there! Yes! The genius shared virtually all of the same parts as the DWU and the spool bearings are the same size. You will need 2x 834 sized bearings. Hope that helps and cheers!

[@dirkvanderpoel6797]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Thank you very much for your help!

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@dirkvanderpoel6797 of course! My pleasure and cheers!

[@MrNoMDI]

Since I use lures that weigh between 5 and 7 g which would be better in terms of casting distance: DWU and its variants or Kestrel/Valiant eagle 2? I now use a Fishband PW100 and i’m looking for a better reel…

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

I hope to test that soon with my “non defective” kestrel. That being said, my inclination is that the DWU variants will be better suited to distance casting as they’re not as overbraked. Keep a lookout for an updated casting comparison video!

[@MrNoMDI]

I’m not sure an overbraked reel with feather weight lures would have the same behavior with 5-7 grams lures…

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@MrNoMDI this is true however in my initial casting comparison video with my older “defective” reel I wasn’t getting nearly the same distances as the Acura reel. This is why I say I can’t answer for sure but have a hunch that the “non defective” kestrel won’t cast as far still. To be honest, my old kestrel didn’t seem much different from this “non defective” one. The spool rotates about the same when I’d test how long it was able to free spool. I can’t give you a definitive answer yet but I hope to get some testing done very soon!

[@MrNoMDI]

Can’t wait to watch this test ! 😉👍

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@MrNoMDI appreciate the support as always! I’m also very curious to see the results as many other KZbinrs absolutely love the kestrel. I might be one of the only reviewers out there that has had a bad experience with my first copy of the kestrel. I hope the new reel performs better but I’m not getting my hopes up…

[@richardgoller6803]

Could you do me a favour? To me the drag clicker on it feels odd, not as smooth as the soloking, not sure if I got a lemon. There are only like 30 clicks when you turn the handle one full rotation vs 50 on the soloking. How many clicks does your one make? Thanks

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Richard! That is a good question. I wonder if the spring behind your little ball detent is on the weaker or potentially even stronger side… I’ll check the number of clicks and get back to you but if you could do me a favor and respond to this message so I don’t have to search through a sea of comments to find yours again haha. I suggest reaching out to Tsurinoya and asking them what the issue might be and if there is a potential fix. I will check as well in the meantime. Cheers my friend!

[@richardgoller6803]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL yeah, I was wondering also if the spring is too strong because that’s what it feels like

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@richardgoller6803 yea I’m not sure how they source their parts but it’s possible they changed a supplier for some reason… I always suggest reaching out to the store you bought your reel from. Just checked and you’re correct. The genius has 30 drag clicks and my copy of the Acura seemingly has 37(?). The clicker on the Acura appears to be “smoother” due to a weaker spring or shallower grooves for the ball detent to click into. It’s interesting you counter 50 on your Acura as mine wasn’t nearly as many clicks. This also somewhat shows and proves my point that the different companies that use the OEM that makes this reel for them use widely varying parts sourced from different stock it seems… Very interesting find! Thanks for noticing that Richard! Imho, the Acura is still my number 1 DWU variant pick. The genius isn’t bad though by any means and is still my number 2 budget pick under $100 for the time being. Cheers my friend!

[@richardgoller6803]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Wow, interesting then, just double checked my soloking has exactly 50, so there is even difference within the brand. Yeah it does feel smoother in every way, I bought both to compare them and not just on videos, but with the plan of returning one of them…and I just can’t get over the color of the acura, the genius to me looks so much better. So the clicker and the -1 bearing I’ll have to live with, but that shouldn’t really make it perform worse…I hope.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@richardgoller6803 I checked with the giveaway Acura lol and you’re right 50 clicks. So my personally copy has a slightly older clicker design with around 37-40 clicks. To answer your question the lack of the worm gear does not detract from casting performance AND there’s nothing stopping you from performing the upgrade in the future should you choose to do so. I wasn’t a huge fan of the silver myself tbh but then after I debadged the reel with some acetone I thought it looked way cooler than the genius. Either way, both are phenomenal reels and you can’t go wrong with either choice. Cheers my friend!

[@thou_shalt_kill1355]

What is the weight in grams? What is the smaller this one or the Kestrel elite?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Real world weights of the reels with approx 50m of 0.6 goh braid is 128.25g for the Kestrel and 135.65g for the Genius. In regards to palm size the kestrel wins. If you have average to smaller hands then the kestrel of definitely more comfortable. Not ~$90 more comfortable but it is more comfortable. What weight lures are you casting?

[@thou_shalt_kill1355]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL my minimum lures are 5g metal and plastic. I only fish on saltwater, so better bearing is a must in saltwater. Saltwater destroy reels. The Kestrel elite is now 150 usd in my country.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@thou_shalt_kill1355 I think most of these reels used stainless shielded bearings and “feature” NMB bearings. I don’t really know if that means much but from my experience both reels perform much better with hybrid ceramic bearings. I feel like the you might be better off just purchasing the genius as you’re going to go through bearings anyways and then replace the bearings as needed. Less buyers remorse if the reel gets trashed?

[@ryanpearson1410]

Do you have a link or store name for where you got the lures from? Thanks

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Ryan! I got these from the letoyo AE store. I can’t vouch for their performance but they do look like decent quality facsimilies. Here are some non affiliate links to the lures: a.aliexpress.com/_mqjcJGU a.aliexpress.com/_mPbwK6y a.aliexpress.com/_mLX1m3A a.aliexpress.com/_mLF1sbe

[@ryanpearson1410]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thanks they do look good. Just ordered the reel myself for a fish bfs setup. Fishing for perch in the uk.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@ryanpearson1410 I think it’ll prove to be a great reel then again… I don’t think I’ve come across any of these DWU variants that are outright bad! All of them offer great performance for money. Do note that the DWU itself is on sale right now on aliexpress!

[@ryanpearson1410]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I did see that. There’s only £3 in the price in the uk right now so not much between the 2 of them.

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@ryanpearson1410 ah ok yea then in that case the Genius or elf might be a good choice depending on the gear ratio you’re looking for. Let me know what you think of the reel once you get your copy in!

[@cleavedspot]

How does it fish and feel? Better than the Ultra?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

It’s actually about the same since they are essentially the same reel. The biggest differences are the braking system, the paint job, and the two different gear ratios. Given the choice between a DWU and a Genius/Elf I think I’d take the Genius/Elf simply because I prefer the feel of paint and also the look of the reel. Also, oddly enough newer DWUs apparently develop a very odd greenish tint to their matte gray color. So… if I were in an absolute budget I’d go with a DWU because those are selling for around $55ish USD. If I could spend a little more I’d just go with the Genius/Elf. I did hear one complaint of the Genius/elf’s handle feeling less solid than the DWU but I haven’t experienced that with my copy. It may be that that person’s Gelf has a handle bearing with poor tolerances. Definitely an issue that can be presented to Tsurinoya either way. Hope this helps!

[@cleavedspot]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Is the Soloking Acura still a better reel or is this basically a repainted Acura?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@cleavedspot in my experience, the acura is an overall smoother reel. i havent done the worm gear bearing upgrade on my GELF to bring it to the same number of bearings as the acura but i feel like the gear and pinion of the acura are smoother. this is purely subjective though and its highly possible that another persons GELF will be smoother. i do wish that the gelf included 2 spool options like the acura but its not a deal breaker. imho, go with whatever gear ratio, color preference, and/or spool options you want in your purchase. im probably splitting hairs saying that i prefer the acura over all other dwu variants haha. finally, to answer your question, the answer is sort of... im pretty sure the OEM who supplies these reels has different lots of parts that get used in the different reels. there may be slight tolerance differences or quality control issues with some parts more than others. take the bk2 for example. ive heard of multiple instances of the bk2 antireverse bearing being very sloppy and failing in some instances on the newer bk2s. anyhow, without writing an essay just pick a reel that suits your needs and you will probably be happy! cheers!

[@bangauberbillow]

How about size kf50s and genius sir? Same size or not?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

The dark wolf ultra and the genius/elf are virtually identical. The major differences are the braking system, the spool(because of the braking system), the gear ratios, and the paint finish. You can technically put a dark wolf ultra spool and sideplate onto a genius and vice versa. Hope that helps!

[@bangauberbillow]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL owh ok tq sir..

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@bangauberbillow my pleasure!

[@jeysirantharumalingham245]

Hello bro, whats the size for the bearings?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey jey! Which bearings were you referring to? If you meant the spool bearings then you will need 2x the 834 size. Let me know if you need info on other sizes. Cheers my friend!

[@jeysirantharumalingham245]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL good day bro, i just searched for the size but i couldnt find it, where do you buy the bearings from bro?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@jeysirantharumalingham245 hey jey! Aliexpress has some options but you can also check rorolure.com as well. Cheers!

[@jeysirantharumalingham245]

@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thank you bro.. cant wait for it, im gonna pair it with kuying freestyle walker 2-6lbs rod, thank you for ur time

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

@@jeysirantharumalingham245 hey jey! My pleasure! Let me know how it goes! I’ve heard good things about the freestyle walker. Cheers!

[@sorenk9962]

For real which of the two performs better or which is smoother or is the same?

[@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL]

Hey Soren! In my experience, I would say that the genius performs ever so slightly better. The two reels are virtually identical but they have different spools, braking systems and paint jobs. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!