Had a Kalex 60 come through my shop this week and wasn't to impressed with the inner workings. Anyone have any first hand knowledge on the performance of this reel. I use a 6500 C4 for King Salmon in the rivers up here in Alaska...Will the Kalex 60 hold up?
i was looking at the abu website http://www.abugarcia.com/products/reels/round-reels/ambassadeur-round-baitcast/kalex and was thinking that it would probably be ok if you went through it first. it's a light duty reel. just don't fish it too heavy and you should be ok. alan
Get away from the Kalex junk... it's a BCX with nicer colors and a few more bearings.
Stick to the tried and true C3 and C4 series, these are MUCH better reels.
Greetings from an ABU collector from Argentina!
I would also stay away from the Kalex, the price advantage is simply not worth the risk. IMO the better alternative to a cheap baitcaster would be the Daiwa classics, they have a backup AR as the only reels in their class. They are a little prone to rust, but well greased they will last a seson or two of heavy use.
I have hands-on only with the BCX. If the kalex is a tricked out BCX, then the wear-parts are not common with the Swedish reels. You need to carry new gears, bearings, worm gears, and line pawls, frames, to name a few.
The BCX went heavily discounted at the famous "auction" site, and I see the (kalex) with the 'buy it now' option at between 65-70.00 on average.
The BCX is a budget reel, and in the hands of interesting fishers, fails They run 80 pound braid on them, and wonder why the spool axle deflects, and galls against the frame, when overfished thusly. They then advised the dealer, saying the reel was not the greatest.... 8)