Quality revised downwards in the Alien Penn 320/330 Reels

[Ken_D]

Have other folks noticed that the metallurgy is different in the above alien Penns. The colour of the 'brass' parts is different. Not as deep a gold-yellow. In itself who would care, but the gearsets are wearing out at a much higher rate than the USA-made 320/330's.  

This is good for the 'cha-ching' of the repair folks, but not so good for the reel owner.  I hope that folks buying the reel don't give up on them, and switch brands, after noting that their USA Penns hold up for years, while the new ones fail after a season or two.

Also, some bozo decided it would be a great idea to drill the hole for the driveshaft pin-to-brakeplate connection in a lower place, which allows for really high clearance for up and down movement of the handle. The Chinese 330's exhibit as much up/down right off the bat, as USA penns show, after about 5 years !!  

And then they decided to smack the driveshaft with a drift pin, deforming it, so the pin is now waaaay harder to remove. That is a real negative addition.

The SS screws are a nice touch, probably 1/4 of the price over there, from chrome over brass. But then they made the holes in the bridge side plate snugger, so you need to thread the screws in, before making contact with the bridge. I've been drilling the sideplates to the same spec as the USA penns...a little looser to make it smoother to install the bridge to the plate,

[alantani]

you know, they could have gone with stainless steel and the cost might have been pretty close.   

[Irish Jigger]

The new Penn Defiance 20/25 and30 level wind multipliers ($125 app) have stainless steel pinions and machine cut aluminium gears. They are having issues with the aluminium gear teeth  bending under load. 

[akfish]

I agree that most of the Chinese Penns represent a decline in quality. However, with the bad comes some good. For example, the new 113H2 has several stainless steel components -- the dog and yoke, for example -- that were brass in the older US models. The same goes for the 209 and 309: Much of their insides is now steel instead of brass, and the 209 comes with a larger (24 066 instead of 24 155) handle. I hate to see US jobs going abroad but I do like to see reels of the quality of a Penn 320 -- even a Chinese Penn 320 -- selling for under $100. I don't fish them (I'm an Avet ad Accurate guy) but many of my customers simply can't afford to pay more than $100 for a reel.

[redsetta]

Good call ak.
I agree with Ken that the alloy quality has dipped noticeably.
Probably most common (recently) is water ingress down the gear sleeve tends to rust the metal drag washers with alarming speed, necessitating a much more involved servicing (and often new CF washers).
These are all economic decisions, however, and not a reflection of nationhood.
As ak notes, they're still a better option that many comparable reels and, with a bit of regular TLC (and, most importantly, a pre-fish service), will last pretty well.
Cheers, Justin