Penn leveline 350?

[Krabby Patties]

What does anyone know about this reel? I saw one at a local pawnshop for the first time and never heard of it before? It has a crossbar at the top that rotates leveling the line. Is it a good reel and what is it worth? It appeared to be in good shape.

[Ron Jones]

It is a solid reel and the twisted bar actually works. It has a jigmaster gear sleeve and the drags can be upgraded to HT-100. They aren't worth a whole lot of money but can be built like any other little Penn. It is the same size as a full width Surfmaster so it would work well with 20 pound mono and the drag can support that easy. The only issue with the reel is the fact that the side plate and rings are model specific and so they can be hard to find.

Ron

[CaptDavDavis01]

My dad still uses his 350's...  Going on 40 years of service now. They never had any pm until a few years ago- it's what started my reel tinkering.

Drags do wear out, on occasion the line leveler gets out of sync and the stock handle is tiny...  Nothing that can't be made right though.


Anything that runs that long and survives is ok with me.

[handi2]

I have been thru a few of these reels and they are nice. I still have a brand new one in the box. They do work well too..!

[erikpowell]

Reminds me I have one of those, given to me by a friend here.
I've never even opened it up 
Feels smooth though, but I think the level wind must have some broken teeth on the gear.
I've always wondered how effective that style leveler is. Guess it deserves a look!
Thanks for the reminder!

[akfish]

They have the same tiny drag washers as a 155 and 209, so you're not going to get much drag out of them no matter what you do. If you do get one, my recommendation is that you put some Dacron backing on the spool before filling it with mono because the old steel spools don't handle mono very well. And you'll get a lot of line on it: It is the same width as a Jigmaster.

[Alto Mare]

There is a reel for every occasions, this one sure makes a nice 10/12 lb reel. I'm starting to like these smaller reels, I'm narrowing down the 160, 180, 25... whatever I could get for a couple of dollars. I believe if you spend $20 for the reel, it would be worth it to invest $50  into it, you'll have a reel that will last for a long time. I'm still waiting for a 5+1 kit from Brie-Brie, not for additional drag, just for smoothness.

[Ron Jones]

Bryans 5+1 kit for a 155 would be great. I have tried milling a 155 main gear to the same size as Lees 500 insert and it gets really skinny in the corners. I don't want another size of hex to deal with so a 155 5+1 would be nice. It would make the little Monofill/Baymaster fantastic.
Ron

[Aiala]

My latest eBay acquisition! (No, of course I didn't "need" it, I wanted it... just like Mr. Shark with his 14/0s, only on a smaller ladylike scale.   )
Now, I need to add a 29L-200 aluminum spool, better drags, delrin, etcetera etcetera ad infinitum...!   

~A~

[handi2]

My latest eBay acquisition! (No, of course I didn't "need" it, I wanted it... just like Mr. Shark with his 14/0s, only on a smaller ladylike scale.   )
Now, I need to add a 29L-200 aluminum spool, better drags, delrin, etcetera etcetera ad infinitum...!   

~A~

Beautiful reel with all the goodies. That's what I have in the box. It's to pretty to fish with..!!