Penn spinner expert help needed

paal · December 23, 2011, 09:46:46 AM

Hi folks, I guess this one is for the Penn experts, thus the title....

I'm in the market for a US made Penn Slammer. There's a local dealer who says he has one, but I want to be sure. How can I tell for sure if it's US made? The obvious answer is of course if it says "Made in USA" on the box/reel. But if there's no mention of country anywhere on the box or reel (I've come across this earlier).... Could it still be made in US if there is no mention of it?

Still, even if it says Made in USA on the box, the reel inside might not be the real deal. So I googled for pictures, and found two different designs, see below. Is there a bulletproof way of looking at the exterior design and tell whether it's US or Chinese?

paal · December 25, 2011, 09:02:35 PM

No answer is also an answer I guess

I'll be working from the theory that anything that does not explicitly state "Made in USA", is not made in USA. I'm going to pass this one by (the seller couldn't find any info about origin on box or reel), and save up for a Torque "Power Gear" spinner when it becomes available

Bryan Young · December 25, 2011, 09:53:19 PM

I will usually be on the reel foot, commonly on the oval sticker as you see in the in the photo. If it's made overseas, it is required by law to indicate where it was made. If in the US, no requirement.

Irish Jigger · December 25, 2011, 11:07:04 PM

You made the right decision paal. Penn prefer their Chinese reels to have an easy peel off "China" sticker on the reel foot to a permanent marking there.

paal · December 26, 2011, 08:32:01 AM

Thanks for the help!

Nessie Hunter · December 26, 2011, 06:07:48 PM

Penn has a price breaking point for US made reels..
I think it is in the $300 range..
Anything priced less is Off Shore Made!!! Malaysia, China etc...

There is a guy at Bloody Decks who is a Penn Rep, he is always talking about that...

Mad Snooker · December 27, 2011, 11:19:15 AM

All 4 of my US made Slammers ( 260, 2 x 360, 560L) have Made in USA permanently cast into the top of the reel foot, my chinkapenn 760L is not embossed there but did come with the easily removed Made in China sticker.

paal · December 28, 2011, 09:13:56 AM

That's good info, thanks!

Thinking more about the far east reels, don't think I ever heard anyone say anything positive about Chinese reel brands. They must be making millions of reels, but mainly as subcontractors/OEMs I guess.
However, I've heard good things about Taiwanese reel manufacturers, e.g. JM, Okuma and Omoto. The Taiwanese seems to be much more self-driven than the Chinese...?
Of course, this could be ignorance on my part. Maybe there are well respected Chinese reel brands out there that I haven't hear of yet.....