Fishing Reel Oil Vs Grease – Grab The Best

I have a hobby of fishing with a fishing reel. If you have a hobby of fishing, then you know how good a fishing reel is. You can use a fishing reel for more than one year. It’s more efficient and more effective to use in any kind of water.

But, you can’t use a fishing reel in its original manner for a long time. With a duration of time, it will lose its sharpness. For better use of your fishing reel, you need lubricant.  Both you and I know that oil or grease can be used as a lubricant. But of course, we don’t have to use both. 

Oil is a liquid form of lubricant when the grease is thicker. You can use any kind of lubricant made of oil or grease. But, before that, you should have a quick peek at the term. What is best for your fishing reel? To find out the answer, let’s have a comparison of the oil and grease as lubricants for the fishing reel.

Fishing Reel Oil Vs Grease – Comparison

So, what are the differences between the oil and the grease that made them stand as an opponent thing to use as a lubricant? The oil and grease of a fishing reel perform as a different modifier. So, they are varied in several types like nature, ingredients, usefulness, application, duration, advantages and disadvantages as well as in making companies also.

So, of course, you will find so many examples in the super shop. So what to do? To make a decision, let’s set up a comparison table to inquire about the comparative points.

Comparison Table

Comparative topic	Oil	Grease
Viscosity	Low	High
Quality	Liquid and easy	More thick & messy
Thermal Stability	For Icy water	For Heat Weather
Gumming	Not Gummy	Gummy
How to use	Grab the oil bottle and put it on the drag, main rotor, pawl, or lever	Grab your grease and rub it Or use spray lubricant
Where to use	All motion points	Gears
Types	Alvey oil, light oil	White Lithium grease
Examples	Break Free CLP, Boeshield T-9, Liberty Oil, Lucas Oil, Product 10690 Oil, synthetic oil	Penn blue, PENN Reel Oil and Lube Angler Pack, Best Overall, Ardent Reel Care 3 Step Pack, Corrosion Technologies Ree lX 77000, Cal’s Universal Reel and Star Drag Grease, Abu Garcia Maintenance Kit, Yamalube ACC-GREAS-10-CT Marine Multi-Purpose Grease,
Reaction	Too much oil damages the reel	Sticky grease Damages fishing reel
Times of uses	Every couple of uses	Every 7-10 sessions
Duration	Stays for a single use	Stays for a long time
Clean Up	Easy to clean after use.	Becomes gummy to clean.
Cost	Cheap	Expensive
Disadvantages	Too much oil will-Unsmooth reelAttract gunk	Become ‘gumming off’, Makes the reel hard to wind, and Stops the drag pawl engagement. Collects sand and Grind paste lubricant.

So, if we want to face the real problem, let’s see the pros and cons of Fishing Reel Oil and grease.

Fishing Reel Oil

Pros:

• An exceptional product used worldwide by maintenance experts.
• Low viscosity that really slicks up your bearings.
• Highly protective of gears and bearings
• Won’t get gummy.
• It comes in the form of liquid which makes it easy to use.
• It can be used in all moving parts of the fishing reel.
• It’s not gummy at all. So, it makes it easy to clear the oil after use.
• It works just fine in Icy Water.
• Cheap to buy.

Cons:

• The applicator tip is too big.
• Too much oil can damage the fishing reel.
• You have to use it frequently.
• Can’t work in heated weather.

Fishing Reel Grease

Pros:

• It’s also an exceptional product used worldwide by maintenance experts.
• High viscosity that sticks to surfaces really well.
• Thick to stay for a long period.
• Salt water will not break down this grease.
• Work moderately in any weather. Mostly in heated weather.
• Highly protective of gears and bearings.
• Ideal for smoothing the performance of a rough drag.
• Available in two weights.

Cons:

• May be too thick for small reels
• More expensive than oil.
• Becomes Gummy to clean up.
• Only for gear of the Fishing Reel.

Which is better? –  Fishing Reel Oil Vs Grease

Before coming up with any conclusion, we need to know what actually we want from oil or grease. We need viscosity, lubrication, protection, thermal stability, and non-gumming from the oil or the grease for our fishing reel.

The viscosity measures the thickness of the material. The high viscosities indicate that the product is very thick. On the other hand, low viscosity means that the products are runny and thin. For oil, the viscosity of the oil is low when the viscosity of the good grease is high.

Then the lubrication. Good lubrication gives proper gear. It will help the gear to move frequently.

We also want to protect the gear, rotor, and spinning reel from corrosion, rust, and wear. So, good grease and oil will protect the fishing reel. 

Finally, thermal stability is a process the fishing reel protects from the very cold and the very hot. It is related to the viscosity of the lubricant. The oil works fine in icy water when the grease is a better option for the heated water.

As we can see, there are so many beneficial factors in fishing reel oil and grease. So, it’s a critical question about what is best for the fishing reel. The oil will work fine in cold water. It is perfect for it. But on the other hand, the grease will work nicely in salty water as it can hold the reel for a long time. So, better you choose your lubricant according to your casting water. 

Conclusion

The fishing reel bail doesn’t require so much lubricant. You can cast normally in its original manner for a time period. But, as it is used repeatedly, you need to use lubricant after a period. You can use oil or grease as a lubricant. As we have said before, both lubricants have pros and cons.

You have to use the particular lubricant as per your uses. The varieties depend on the types of reels and the water you are going into to cast your fish.