Saltiga SALD35-2SPD

[texkan]

Stopped at a Bass Pro Shop today and turned the crank on a Saltiga Lever Drag 35 2-speed. That's a really fine piece of machinery. Does any other brand have an equally fine reel, or is it in a class all by itself? Actually, wondering about its performance under actual conditions. Any $480 reel should feel impressive inside the store. 

[alantani]

i sure hope daiwa worked all the bugs out of these.  some of the star drag saltigas had cracked spools and frames, and the lever drag saltists had lots of bearing issues.  i would be very hesitant..... 

[texkan]

Thanks for alerting me to the problems with the SALD35-2SPD. Perhaps in this case the beauty resides only on the surface. Too darn expensive for my budget anyway.

[Dr. Jekyll - AKA MeL B]

bought this particular model but is on backorder. hopefully will arrive before next June's AT Ohana Trip so that it can be tested. also there's a guy on 360tuna.com whose screen name is "ReelME". if my memory serves me right this SALD35 is his work horse but he recently bought some Maks. maybe just maybe he'll fall in love with the Maks.