What makes you buy one reel over another

[Backwater Outfitters]

I am often asked what makes you buy a certain reel over another. My initial response is that, "I just have had good luck with the reel". I use Abu Garcia reels (Revo's). As of thus far I don't have any complaints. But I know others that swear by Shimano, Lew's, or Penn. Why? I am not sure. So I am reaching out to the forum to ask, "What do ya'll look for, What is it that makes you buy a certain kind or brand? Is it just Brand loyalty? There are some obvious things like number of bearings, and heavier duty parts. But is there anything else?

Looking forward to a healthy conversation. Help me to help others understand.

[Ron Jones]

#1 for me is familiarity. I have tried using something other than star drag single speeds, but it just seems more like trying to use an unfamiliar OS than fishing. Second is function, I look for the least expensive way to get into the equipment I want. Third, of course, is nostalgia. I put a whole bunch more money into reels than I need to to get then to function at the level they do, but that makes me feel good and satisfies my rule #1.
Ron

[George6308]

I like older  Penn's. Started with them in 1963, model 85, and never wanted any other. Although a Mitchell Garcia 300 was purchased in 1965 since Penn did not make a fresh water reel at that time. It was replaced by a Penn 722 in 1970.
One of their features was that with the factory in Philadelphia parts and service were just a short bus ride away.

[philaroman]

#1 for me is familiarity. I have tried using something other than star drag single speeds, but it just seems more like trying to use an unfamiliar OS than fishing. Second is function, I look for the least expensive way to get into the equipment I want. Third, of course, is nostalgia. I put a whole bunch more money into reels than I need to to get then to function at the level they do, but that makes me feel good and satisfies my rule #1.
Ron

ditto...  for an amateur who repairs his own, brand loyalty is mighty convenient:

I'm kinda' stuck on Shimano spinners from the 90's, because I have a modestly respectable parts "library" for repair/modification/upgrade; can often work without schematics; recognize certain design platforms by sight & know which parts are interchangeable w/ which other models, so I can get good deals on non-functional reels; and no reel ever truly dies -- parts of it go on in other reels

[Rancanfish]

I have no loyalty to any brand.  I have some of the best of each and every major brand.

Penn, Shimano, Daiwa, Mitchell, Pro Gear, etc.

My favorite reel in my hand?  My Cortez squidder.

[happyhooker]

Not positive why I now prefer the older reels to most anything "newer" I can buy in/from a retail store.

My first "serious" reel was a Mitchell 320; yeah, they were bargain basement, but for a poor college kid, it was a step up.  Got 'er with a Conolon rod for "Green Stamps", if anybody remembers what they were.  So, been a bit preferential to Mitchell for a long time.

Probably a member of the Foakes school of spinning reels now; like using mostly metal-bodies spinning reels from the "golden age", that being roughly 1960-1990.  Pick good ones & they are tough, likely to last forever with a little care & I'll always have a reel or two with long ago memories associated with 'em.  I'm a bit of "homer", as I like the old US-made reels, but don't turn my nose up at good, durable reels from other places (witness the Mitchells).

As you can guess from my use of "tough" and "durable", I look for reels that were well made likely to last.

[handi2]

I buy reels I know work well for what it's for. For star drag reels it's the Shimano Trinidad and Penn Baja Special all used offshore. My trolling reels are Shimano Tiagra's. My multi purpose reels are Avet, Makaira, and Shimano lever drag reels.

My inshore spinning reels I like the best are Shimano and Quantum Smokes. Also Quantum Cabo's.

My offshore spinning reels are Shimano Twinpower, Penn Slammer III, and Daiwa Saltist. The Saltist are the oldest and have never let me down. The Slammer III 6500 is the newest and everyone loves it. It has brought in all sizes of Amberjack like it was made for it.

[Ron Jones]

Recently I have been reading more and more about Mitchel being a bargain brand. This kinda floors me, I never knew that was the case and never felt under-gunned with one. I've also read that the 300 is a fresh water reel. That blows my mind. I guess I should tell all those bonita, barracuda, halibut, white sea bass and sharks that they should not have been landed by a reel as inapropriate as the one I was using.

Yeah, I like French made Mitchel spinners.
Ron

[newfuturevintage]

I've also read that the 300 is a fresh water reel. That blows my mind. I guess I should tell all those bonita, barracuda, halibut, white sea bass and sharks that they should not have been landed by a reel as inapropriate as the one I was using.

Awesome.

How did they hold up to the salt for you? I've fallen into so many of them that's it's silly I don't think of them for light salt use.

[handi2]

I used them too. Why..? That's all we could get when I was a kid. Ive been through plenty of them. All saltwater fishing for me. Ive caught so many fish with the 300 its ridiculous. I used them up until 1988 or so.

[alantani]

I am often asked what makes you buy a certain reel over another.

gotta be gold.....   

[festus]

Ambassadeur baitcasters are still my favorite.  Why?  I remember the first time I saw one, it was red, probably an Abu 5000.  You can see a round metal culvert at the arrow.  This was one of my favorite fishing holes as a teenager some 50 years ago.  Lots of shad minnows ran through there, and I caught a wide variety of fish, largemouths, smallmouths, white bass, yellow bass, sauger, crappie, channel cats, drum, buffalo, carp, suckers, even an occasional rainbow trout. 

Back to the Abus, most every time I was there fishing, an older, well dressed gentleman smoking a cigar wearing a Fedora hat would park up the road a few yards and stand on this side of the guardrail at the X and cast a big Smithwick Devil Horse beyond a fallen tree at the bullseye where there always seemed to be 4 or 5 big largemouths lurking.  Never saw him catch one of those big bass, he would only make 2 or 3 casts and go on down the road. I was amazed at the range of that reel and the sound of it.  I was lucky to cast half that far with my Zebco 606 spincaster and Zebco 707 spinning reel. Some time later my dad got me a D.A.M. Quick 220 spinning reel which is my second favorite, which I still use.

A few years later after I went to work, I bought a red Abu 5000 that had a baitclicker, a Mitchell 300, and a Mitchell 308 the same day.  Still got the Abu and the Mitchell 300 but lost the 308. Next reel on my wish list will be a D.A.M. Quick 110 or one of their vintage ultralights.

[Bryan Young]

I am often asked what makes you buy a certain reel over another.

gotta be gold.....   

Gold bars. 

[Midway Tommy]

Gotta have a fulcrum brake! Nothing else will suffice when I'm seriously fishing. Needless to say, I haven't bought a brand new, from a retailer, spinning reel for quite a few years. My bonafide fishing arsenal consists of 1 black & tan ABU Cardinal 4, numerous green & cream Zebco Cardinal 3s, 4s & 6s, numerous black ABU Garcia Cardinal 3s & 4s, but my main, and favorite, go to reel, mounted on a custom built, by me, St. Croix Legend Elite rod, is an American Classic IV made in the USA. Not many people are even aware they exist. They were made & sold by American Classic Sales of Salt Lake City, UT from 1996 through about 2007. They are more or less an exact replica of the ABU & Zebco Cardinal 4 but have an aluminum spool. All parts are interchangeable with the ABU/Zebco Cardinals. Here's what they look like. The one on the rod is my main outfit.

   

[wailua boy]

I prefer reels made in the USA.