Fin Nor LT 100 rated well by Alan Hawk. Ok, its a spinner.

[Reinaard van der Vossen]

Remarkable well notes from Mr Hawk for this spinner.

Almost to good to be true even but for this price (and I only have seen very well documented and sincere ratings from Mr Hawk) I'm going to play guinea pig and I ordered one.

The spinner is also reasonable well available in Europe but as I am next week in NY I ordered one trough Amazon and have it delivered to my hotel in NY.

A possible sincere testing is not before summer though and I never have used a spinner for anything serious at sea (other than a couple of bonito's and somewhat larger mullets) So this is for me a somewhat hesitant start to use a spinner for something slightly larger

[foakes]

In my opinion -- There are a few "giants" in the fishing reel and tackle engineering world.

Fortunately for us, some of them are on this board.  They have names like Sal, Bryan, Alan, Dom, Daron, Keta, Dawn, Erik, -- and many others.

Others would include Carl Newell, Cal Sheets, as well as other pioneers and innovators.

Imagining for a moment, that I would have only two honest & unbiased sources for information about fishing reels -- my choices would be simple -- Alan Tani & Alan Hawk.

Alan T. would be my source for procedures, troubleshooting, experience, servicing, and all things pertaining to angling.  Particularly the conventional salt water reels.  Alan T. offers us this board that promotes learning, sharing, inclusiveness, wisdom, and an enjoyable experience -- all at no cost to us.  Along with the fact that Alan's board in not for sale to either corporations, manufacturers, or advertisers -- we can rest assured of sharing our knowledge under the guidance of a humble man who is ego free.

Alan H. would be my "Consumer Reports" advocate to cut through the manufacturers hype, selling gimmicks, claims, and corporate business practices -- to test reels in real world fishing conditions -- then report back to us with brutally detailed honesty.  Fearlessness, coupled with an appreciation for primarily salt-water spinners -- and able to communicate so well, that we can all understand the important details and points of his evaluations -- is a rare combination.  Also, like Alan T. -- there are no advertisers or corporations allowed to contribute to his site -- it is a true independent report.

These things are important to me -- and I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions these folks have made to our craft. 

In this day and age of corporate deception, selling at any cost, less than honest trade practices, selling based on hitting a target market (instead of facts) -- these two gentlemen stand by themselves.  They are not for sale -- they help us unselfishly.

Basically, in my opinion, if Alan Tani or Alan Hawk say it is true -- I don't need to spend any time looking anywhere else -- they may not be the last word -- but whatever they say, will be accurate & something we can count on.

And, I am grateful to both of them -- Thank You.

Best,

Fred

http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/lth10.html

[alantani]

i'm so glad alan hawk does the work that he does.  i hate spinning reels.....   

[philaroman]

http://www.ecofishingstore.com/finnor-lt100-lethal-spinning-reel-p-2601.html

ALL their reel prices are obscenely low & their S&H to US is $45 flat-rate, no matter what you buy

what do you guys think  SCAM   ...wouldn't want to start  GoPro! Part Deux 

[Nuvole]

http://www.ecofishingstore.com/finnor-lt100-lethal-spinning-reel-p-2601.html

ALL their reel prices are obscenely low & their S&H to US is $45 flat-rate, no matter what you buy

what do you guys think  SCAM   ...wouldn't want to start  GoPro! Part Deux 

The site is base in China

Domain Name: ecofishingstore.com
Registry Domain ID: 107563203_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.west263.com
Registrar URL: www.west263.com
Last updated Date: 2014-03-24 11:31:08
Creation Date: 2014-03-24 11:31:08

Expiration Date: 2015-03-24 11:31:08
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-03-24 11:31:08
Registrar: Chengdu west dimension digital technology Co., LTD
Registrar IANA ID: 1556
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: domain@west263.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +86.02886263960-245
Domain Status: ok
Registry Registrant ID: 1556-1086497-d-001
Registrant Name: fotiaoqiang fotiaoqiang
Registrant Organization: fo tiaoqiang
Registrant Street: fujianputianlichengquxinduzhen
Registrant City: fuzhou
Registrant State/Province: Beijing
Registrant Postal Code: 351110
Registrant Country: cn

[philaroman]

in other words, SCAM!!! 

maybe if they had been around for a few years & only sold reels made in China it could be legitemate, but NO WAY are JDM's & US-made PENN being imported into PRC, to be sold at half-price

Sneaky little hobbitses. Wicked, tricksy, false!

[Three se7ens]

www.srmo.com has them for $100 plus $12 shipping.  I've ordered from there a few times with no issues.   You can also find them on ebay a that price.

I've had my eye on that reel every since it was announced last fall, and I had very high hopes for it.  I was hoping Alan Hawk would test it, but I'll admit I was worried that it wouldn't live up to the potential of its specs.  But it seems it achieved and even surpassed what I was hoping for from it.  Now I just can't wait to receive my reel.

[Cone]

i saw one on ebay for 118 bucks shipped. That was the cheapest 100 yesterday.

[wallacewt]

$115aud,includes postage
dinga-fishing_australia(2217)on ebay

[erikpowell]

Tackledirect.com   ..... no messing around, they have always been good to me. The only place I buy new gear.
why gamble to save a few lousy bucks..

[mhc]

Interesting review by Alan Hawk, in particular the quality of the gear train for a cheaper reel, brass main with SS pinion.

'Well, the gear is made of brass indeed, but I don't believe it's forged. Upon close inspection I can see machining marks quite clearly as obvious in the above photo. Maybe they were referring to the method used to produce the supplied bar stock (billet) from which the gear was made, but this doesn't make the gear a forged one since it's definitely made by machine cutting. Regardless, the drive gear of the Lethal 100 is a very resilient part that's made of a strong brass alloy. In terms of mechanical properties machined brass is way above the cast zinc alloy drive gears we usually get at this price point and even much higher. For example Penn's Conquer has a cast zinc drive gear and it sells for $219.'


Michael

[coonhound]

It's a great looking reel and I might have to find a few $ to verify. 

[Nuvole]

Its one of those PRC made reel...

[maxpowers]

and...?  PRC can manufactured some high end stuffs too. (Ahem Apple products)  This is the case of maybe the company is committed to higher quality reel at a cost to profitability.  Just maybe we should applaud the company for doing something right instead of broad brushing it..?

[philaroman]

sure, there's good stuff made in China, you just have to wade through some deep poo-poo to find it.  if you have to do the wading yourself, it can be very aggravating & expensive, but if a knowledgeable independent reviewer does the close scrutiny & points you to the right stuff, FANTASTIC!!!