Penn Drags?

[SierraBob]

What is the concensis on using grease or no grease on the drag pack in Penn reels?  I have read different comments from anglers and some say to lube them and some say no.  Which way is correct?

[kamuwela]

you are right there alot of non bel iver's out there grease grease grease lol. dont worry we wont steer you wrong here good luck.

[Norcal Pescador]

Carbon fiber drags should be greased with a product made for drags: Shimano's or Cal's drag grease or something similar. Greasing the drags gives you much smoother startup and less jerkiness. Ungreased drags, if set for 10 pounds may not start to turn until you hit 15 pounds for example. Not good unless you like dealing with break-offs or ripped lips.  All I've used is Cal's, some prefer Shimano.  Kamu's right.

[Alto Mare]

What is the concensis on using grease or no grease on the drag pack in Penn reels?  I have read different comments from anglers and some say to lube them and some say no.  Which way is correct?

These guys made me a believer. Go for it SierraBob, don't overdo it though  a light coat is all you need.

[JGB]

For coastal fishing greased is a good way to go. You get better life, smoothness,resistance to salt contamination. One of the few times one might consider dry is with large big game reels intended for very large fish and very high drag settings are needed (high drag is more important than smoothness). Wet drags will lose up to 7% of drag force when they get very hot and return to normal when they cool. Dry drags can increase drag force by a few percent when they get very hot ( sound more like they have the potential to stick more when very hot).
For me I prefer to increase the drag setting if needed rather than having to back down on the drag on a very long hard run. After all as the fish pulls line and the spool empties your effective drag can increase by over 2x and result in breakoffs if you don't pay attention. The small decrease in wet drags makes the reel a bit more forgiving.

Jim N.