Looking for a round baitcasting reel w/o plastic

[Steelynorm]

I currently have some old Calcuttas, one 200 silver and one Calcutta 250.
They have held up very well.
I was looking at trying to upgrade them.
Are there any newerish reels that do not have internal plastic parts?

[akfish]

Pretty much all newer baitcasters have a plastic idler gear. That way if you get your finger stuck in the level wind when a fish is running, the plastic gear will shred and you'll keep your finger.

[Brewcrafter]

AKfish is spot on.  While it may be intuitive to think that plastic is "cheap"; as he points out they do it for a reason.  And I would ask if you are actually seeing failures, or just trying to eliminate failure points?  Because if you are currently seeing failures it may very well NOT be the gears themselves, but another issue where they become the point of failure. - john

[Steelynorm]

First who sticks their finger in the level wind while a fish is running? lol.

While they may use plastic in some areas for safety. they use plastic in many areas because its cost effective, cheap.
My reels have held up very well.. for twenty years...
I dont trust their plastic parts to last another 20 years...of hard usage.
And parts for those reels are no longer supported by manufacturer as we all know.

I have not had the privilege of tearing apart the newer Calcutta TE and Conquests does one seem to be more robust? 
which one would you buy if you want to abuse it for the next twenty years?

[oc1]

Anything "newerish" will have a lot of plastic.  At least the Calcutta have metal side plates and frame instead of resin.  Many of the vintage reels up to about mid-century are all metal except, perhaps, for the plastic handle knobs.

[Steelynorm]

i am going to repost another question.

[Benni3]

i am going to repost another question.

There are reels that don't have plastic,,,,im not up on the new bait casting reels,,,but the older abu's and penn 920,,,, right now nothing is selling on ebay good time to buy something,,,

[Gfish]

Bennie's Abu recommendation is the 1st thing I thought of. Still have the plastic idler gear though.

[Swami805]

I use a couple gold calcuttas and the newer silver ones. They've held up well. A couple months ago I bought a used conquest 250DC, so far so good and the DC is a nice feature. If you're patient there's some clean ones come up on eBay reasonably priced
The silver calcuttas are due for an update in the next few years I think, might be worth waiting for

[Benni3]

Bennie's Abu recommendation is the 1st thing I thought of. Still have the plastic idler gear though.

Ya you would be looking at a mint 60's or 70's for all steel
$50 to $100 on ebay,,,i don't know what he is fishing for really the penn squll   is fantastic for casting and can handle anything,,,,

[foakes]

Penn 910-940, DAM Quick 600-800 Champions, DAM Quick 670-770 Panthers, and the ABU's before Wal-Mart got involved in their engineering department to offer lower quality reels with plastics.

All solid baitcaster choices.

Best, Fred

[Keta]

First who sticks their finger in the level wind while a fish is running?

Kids and new fishermen.

[Steelynorm]

thanks for responses.
We all agree for a newer reel with better drags and ergonomics, you can not get around the plastic parts.

How would you guys rate the following reels in terms of build quality, long term serviceability and durability.

Daiwa Ryoga, Shimano Calcutta TE and Shimano Calcutta Conquest.
i have been looking at these reels on Ebay and they fall in my price range.$200-$350.

I use my reels for inshore and offshore applications, throwing jigs and live bait with them.

[Benni3]

On the piers watching guys casting unbelievable distances not that you need that daiwa lexa,shimano tranx,penn 525,squll,fathoms,,,, big black drums pulled in by little baitcasters no problem,,,

[quang tran]

All reel have some plastic parts .If you talk about plastic gear so the older Pro- Qualifier from bass pro shop have no plastic gear .Just open out to make sure and of course it can't compare to Shimano Calcutta .I think DQ Champion 700B and 800 B have no plastic gear neither