Upgrade or replace Penn 545?

[garrick]

A trusted Penn 545 GLS is showing signs of wear, and getting tired.  Buying opportunity!!

So what else is close to that size which will be an upgrade?  the 545 is a perfect size for me, so I do not want to stray too far off that size.  And I really want a spool shoulder that I can brake on, so that would disqualify the usual Saltist 40/Torium20 reels. 

From what I can find out on the 'net (have only a small selection of reels to look at in my town) they would be the go-to replacements.  But Penn seems to have taken a few steps  in the right direction with the Fathom 25 or 30.  I will be buying this reel sight unseen, so looking to ask some key questions that are not dealt with in the marketing.

What size is the Penn Fathom 25 and 30 as compared to the 545?  Can someone please post a pic of the two together - the critical dimension is the spool width.  Alternatively, can you measure the two and let me know what diameter and width spools we are talking about? 

Many thanks. 

[Jimmer]

I don't have any of these reels. comparing penn's sated line capacity in the same size mono might be a good starting point.

[Brendan]

     I would never try to stop someone from buying a new reel, but I would service the 545 and keep it. I went through mine about a year ago and it still works great.

[Keta]

Rebuild the 545 and get a FTH25N

FTH25N   450/50   (Spectra)     25 lbs max drag    40 in per crank    17.9 oz

FTH30      625/50   (Spectra)     25 lbs max drag    40 in per crank    18.4 oz

545GLS    525/50   (Spectra)    13 lbs max drag    40 in per crank    23 oz

[CapeFish]

A fathom 30 should take about the same amount of line as a Torium 20/Saltist 40 which I suppose is pretty close to your original 454. Those PENN GS reels are nice, just a pity about the canyon between spool and frame that makes it gobble line if you fluff a cast, the fathom doesnt have this problem they are very nice casting reels