Questions about Avet HXW 4.2

[Rico Wasabi]

First, I have to say that this is a fantastic site! I am so happy to have found it.

I am a new member. I own a charter business down in Mexico. We are on the "other" coast (the Caribbean). LOL!

I am in the market to purchase some new reels for trolling. Our blue marlin are not very large, up to 350lbs or so is pretty darn big for us.

I am looking at purchasing some Avet HXW 4.2's.  Currently we use Shimano TLD 25's and 30's. The Shimano's work great for us. We fish most days and they get hard use. They've been remarkable. They are totally abused. When they break we fix them and move on.  They usually get serviced once a year.

I am wanting some new reels with a little more bling. Something that helps us stand out from the crowd and my research has taken me to Avet.  Specifically the HXW single speed 4.2.

My questions are pretty basic. Mainly, will they hold up with that kind of use/abuse?

I've never taken a reel apart in my life. I took a watch apart once as a kid and that cured me of such things! LOL!

Truly, I always have someone else fix them.  My mate does the work on my reels currently.  I would like to change that.  Would I be getting in over my head?

What about when I first purchase them.  I am thinking that they probably need to be serviced before use. Grease up the drags and so forth.

Thanks for the help! I'm so glad I found this place.

Oh yeah, one more thing.  I like the blue reels.  Will they fade quickly/badly down here in the tropics?

Cheers,
Richard

I

[alantani]

richard, the avets are nice because they are relatively straight forward to work on.  like all other reels, i always recommended a complete tear down and rebuild before putting them into service.  you are basically greasing everything.  just remember that you need a teflon grease for the drag washers.  most of the avet bearings have seals, not shields, which makes then easier to take apart and pack.  the tutorials are tedious, but hopefully straight forward enough.   because of the work that you do, i would recommend that you become as familiar as possible with these reels.  as far as a recommendation for a reel, i would recommend any reel that you can service yourself. 

[Rico Wasabi]

Thanks for the quick response.  One of the things that concerns me is lack of parts down here. Can you recommend a spare parts "package" for these reels?  Parts that are most likely to need replacement through normal wear. 

I am going to go ahead and pull the trigger. They look great!

[alantani]

bearings would be the main problem.  if you call avet, they should be able to put together a package of all the bearings you would need.  screws, nuts and bolts would be something else.  most everything else should be fine once greased. 

[misokat]

They'll work fine Rich, i use a few of them on my charter boat...been holding up well on fish up to 350 lbs, tuna n shark...very simple to work on and plenty of line capacity when using braid and a mono top shot,  You run outta Puerto Adventruas? think ive seen ur boats , is Tequila still running boats down there too? u guys need a another American Capt ? so ready for some warm weather year round  lol

[Rico Wasabi]

They'll work fine Rich, i use a few of them on my charter boat...been holding up well on fish up to 350 lbs, tuna n shark...very simple to work on and plenty of line capacity when using braid and a mono top shot,  You run outta Puerto Adventruas? think ive seen ur boats , is Tequila still running boats down there too? u guys need a another American Capt ? so ready for some warm weather year round  lol

LOL! Business is sloooww.  Tequila (Glen) went out of business and went back to the U.S. He still runs his website but he's selling trips for someone else.

Glad to get the input on the Avets.  We pretty much stick to mono but the "w's" will hold plenty.

How often do you maintain them? I mean actually open them up and regrease, etc.

[Keta]

How often do you maintain them? I mean actually open them up and regrease, etc.

Depending on use I'd do a quick internal cleaning mid season and a complete R&R annually.  Have several pinion bearings on hand and change them out when you do the R&R (a pre use greasing of the pinion bearing fit will help you remove it later on).  Try to avoid spraying them down with a lot of pressure when rinsing the salt off of them at the end of the day, low pressure or a dunking in a bucket does not force salt into the reel.

If you have the $ consider the HX Raptor, you will be "idling" the reel most of the time but the Raptor is a much better designed reel.

I'm a firm believer in Spectra but I know the draw backs and hazards too.  You should consider filling the reels around 1/2 way with 60lb-80lb Spectra "backing" and put supper long topshots on them.  Make the topshots long enough so your crew will never see the Spectra and teach them to wear gloves before touching loaded Spectra.

[Rico Wasabi]

Thanks for the advice. I've ordered four of the 4.2 HXW's and one of the Raptor HXW's. I am waiting on custom colors but can't wait to try them!