Chinese Senators.

[redsetta]

Good call Sal - the proof's in the pudding...

[tatch]

All Penn reels selling for under $250 are made in China. The US made (expensive) reels are great. And the Chinese reels are OK too, but not what they used to be. And I suspect if you are to compare the inexpensive Penn reels to comparable reels made by other manufacturers, Penn would be on the losing end much of the time. And Penn isn't quite a US company anymore either. They are owned by the international conglomerate Pure Fishing, the same company that owns Berkley, Abu Garcia, Pflueger, and several other well known names in fishing. It's sad.

It sure is sad you're right there sad with a capital S anything pure fishing i will no longer buy over here in Britain you hear nothing but people complaining about the quality of rods & reels.Shakespeare Penn abu all gone down the Chinese route.End result pure junk a lot of people are moving away from these names now as rods snap & reels fail & corrode i get sick of hearing unhappy people moaning about the quality of their latest purchase if i need a new reel now its gonna have to be avet accurate or daiwa i reckon

[Anjoemara]

All Penn reels selling for under $250 are made in China. The US made (expensive) reels are great. And the Chinese reels are OK too, but not what they used to be. And I suspect if you are to compare the inexpensive Penn reels to comparable reels made by other manufacturers, Penn would be on the losing end much of the time. And Penn isn't quite a US company anymore either. They are owned by the international conglomerate Pure Fishing, the same company that owns Berkley, Abu Garcia, Pflueger, and several other well known names in fishing. It's sad.

It sure is sad you're right there sad with a capital S anything pure fishing i will no longer buy over here in Britain you hear nothing but people complaining about the quality of rods & reels.Shakespeare Penn abu all gone down the Chinese route.End result pure junk a lot of people are moving away from these names now as rods snap & reels fail & corrode i get sick of hearing unhappy people moaning about the quality of their latest purchase if i need a new reel now its gonna have to be avet accurate or daiwa i reckon

I agree with Tatch for 100%. I buyed a new penn 525 mag 2 in the United Kingdom. What a crab reel it was. Sold the reel within two weeks. The original penn 525 mag was much better in my opinion. The change to the avet sx en mxl was a good job for me so far. Time will tell I was right about my choice. Btw the Penn Torque conventional star drag is made in the US or in China? 

[Killerbug]

Part of the problem with sourcing stuff to China is you spec your parts and you spec "xyz" metal.  They build your prototype and everything is good.  You sign the contract and production starts.  Somebody, somewhere replaces the "xyz" metal you speced with with something that's cheaper and pockets the difference in cost. (remember the melamine in the milk thing that's now happened several times, melamine makes low grade milk powder test as high grade milk powder).

Exactly, I worked for the largest Marine Engine company in the world for some years. They have been outsourcing their engines to Japan then Korea, and latest China.  In China I have seen everything from security exits welded on, to various expansion bolts replaced with pirate parts, that later caused the life of Philippine seamen.  It seems as communism and liberalism goes hand in hand these days, at the costs of democracy and the quality of our products. Personally Id rather pay 50% more for a US made reel that lasts a little longer. 

[Irish Jigger]

It sure is sad you're right there sad with a capital S anything pure fishing i will no longer buy over here in Britain you hear nothing but people complaining about the quality of rods & reels.Shakespeare Penn abu all gone down the Chinese route.End result pure junk a lot of people are moving away from these names now as rods snap & reels fail & corrode i get sick of hearing unhappy people moaning about the quality of their latest purchase if i need a new reel now its gonna have to be avet accurate or daiwa i reckon
[/quote]

Agree 100% tatch. Its not only Pure Fishing but Svendsen who distribute Okuma reels in the UK. I recently repaired six Okuma Classic XT Multipliers that FAILED ON THEIR FIRST MACKEREL TRIP. The guy fishing next me was showing off his new Okuma reel when some wit remarked that "Chinese reels are like their boats,junk!" Well,how true. The reel failed on the first mackerel when the anti reverse pawl slipped off the anti reverse sprocket. He returned the reel to the local tackle shop for a replacement which also failed the following week under similar circumstances. The tackle shop owner asked me to have a look at six of these reels which had all failed after little use.I was able to effect a temporary repair on some of these reels but not on the ones where the moulded spigot (supporting the anti reverse pawl) had sheared off the end plate.
I contacted Svendsen re these Okuma reels and to be honest it was a total waste of time as they became silent when I explained the design faults inherent in these reels.
I don't know how good/bad their high end reels are but having examined this low end Okuma product first hand I would advise against ever buying an Okuma reel.
Incidentally two previous owners of these reels are now happily fishing with  20 year old s/h Penn 209's  "Made in the USA"  and not China  where they are now produced.