which spinning reel??

[1911crazy]

My idea of spinning reels?? Confused which one to buy??  So which one will out perform all the others??      

I started out in the 70's with DAM Quick spinning reels(trout fishing) and mitchell 300 and 306 bass fishing. And when first bass fishing heavy I bought  a zebco adventurer spinning reel which the bass tore up in months so my quest began for a QUALITY reel? Now coming from an testing lab background i started buying and testing spinning reels. Of course the more bearings the better. I bought high end and low end reels to test. I bought a Quantum Iron 2 (4brgs), a Fin-nor 200S (5brgs), an Okuma Expitor 30 (10brgs), a Viva BT605k (5brgs), a viva 306 (5brgs), a Quantum XL2, a Quantum XR2, Okuma fina FS615(5brgs), Quantum LT2 (2brgs), Quantum LT3 (2brgs), and Quantum LT4 (2brgs). I have gone from $20 to $80 dollar reels just to get an idea for the quality difference, the feel, the smoothness, casting ability and how long it lasts or how long it didn't last? Well I have to say the Okuma's, Fin-Nor's, and the Viva's are the really topshelf winners of the group you get what you pay for and the more bearings the better. The quantums did all make except for one the only one that was my favorite and the best quantum was the Quantum Iron the plastic spacer between the handle and the reel just came apart one day.  Outside of the other cheaper ($25) Quantums just a little more noisy,but they did last with just regular maintenance. The XR2 and XL2 seemed better than the LT series and a little less noisy and smoother but not as smooth as the higher priced Okuma's, Fin-nor's or Viva's were. And  i know i missed a few reels but maybe you can fill in what i missed did they last? are they smooth? How many brgs?? whats the cost?
Okuma Expitor 30 $75, Fin-nor 200S $49, both viva's were $25, Quantum Iron $36, Quantum Lt $20, Quantum XL and XR were $20. I think you have to buy the most bearings you can afford if possible but doing regular maintenance is the key to any reel lasting. I lube my reels everytime i change my line and if your not changing line then time is the key factor every month when in heavy use and it will last a lot longer. But keep in mind too bushing bearings don't have the smoothness of ball brearings.
                                                                              BigBill
I still have my 70's Quicks and their still like new and they are in my antique fishing section along with all my older tackle that I have collected. I walked into an antique store lastyear while on vacation and seen one of my quicks there for sale $75 and i only paid $30 for mine in the 70's and that was a lot of cash then. I even have both my old quicks on rods too one UL fenwick and one garcia 5star of that era too(70's) orginal setups. So the moral of the story is for you younger guys don't throw away or sell your old tackle it will become "ANTIQUE" someday and worth more than you paid for it too!!!!!

[Skipper]

Personally, I don't like the Quantum stuff much at all.  Its built way too cheap to be dependable.  I don't use a spinning reel much at all, but when I want one, I want it working.  I have fixed/junked enough Shimano spinning reels to discount them too.  Daiwa seems to be amoung the better ones.  I would definitely get one of the IAR bearing types as opposed to the old fashoned dog stop type.  There is a company called Tica that puts out some pretty decent spinning reels.

Skipper

[Lawdog]

Skipper,

I must agree with you about Quantum.  It doesn't matter whether it's spinning or baitcasting.  The only Quantum baitcasters I got left are two older 1310's that just seem to keep going.  For spinning reels I prefer Daiwa with the long spool feature.  They took me away from Mitchell reels when they changed the 300 over to the piece of junk they are now.  For baitcasting I prefer Shimano or  Daiwa.  I really like the cast control feature on both of these reels.  What make baitcasters do you prefer?  Lawdog

[Skipper]

That old 1310 is a pretty good reel.  There's a lot of them around.  There is something on them, I don't remember right off that falls off or gets broken regularly.  Since there aren't parts anymore I haven't worked on one in a while.  Seems like it was a knob on them.  

Anyway, I originally wrote a longer post, but something happened to it.  So here it is.

In my boat, I use Shimano Chronarch, ABU 5500 series in C3, C4, and custom made C5.  I also have several 3600 ABU's that I use (Black Max, Pro Max, and SM series)  Everyone knows how durable ABU is, the 3600 series tuned properly is nearly as good as a Calcutta, but more durable.  Its a pittly ABU can't tune them from the factory.  The Chronarch in either the old silver one or the SF Gold reel is also a good solid reel.  I'm not sold on the new out MG series Chronarch.  Its a complete different gear case, and not very strong in my opinion.

Some other reels that I get in the shop that I have a high opinion of are the Daiwa TDX and TDS.  These 2 are far and away ahead of the other Junk Daiwa makes today.  The TDX is a little smoother than the Chronarch SF, but slightly less durable.  They have a poorly designed clutch cam.  I keep them in stock and install them regularly for 3 or 4 people who have them.  I've put 3 in 1 reel.  Its not an expensive part, about $10, but its a complete strip and rebuild to replace it.

The Pfleuger Supreme is another good reel for the money.  Not as durable as others, and parts have to come from Bass Pro, but they only cost about $75 and they are faster than a Chronarch SF.

Skipper