Gents, I have to confess, I am a reel snob. I have to own and use certain brands of reels. All other brands I will "look down my nose at". I do tolerate certain other brands that are used by other fishermen, but for me, it has to be Fin-Nor, Penn, Mitchell, Pflueger, and a couple others. I collect reels from any of the greats such as VomHofe, Kov's (which I've yet to score), Penn, Fin-Nor, Pflueger, Mitchell and any other god of manufacturing I can find. Any reel I determine to be outside of my circle, is not worthy. That all being said, I just finished cleaning a "lowly" spinning reel for resale. The reel was an Olympic VS 5000. It was quite used. I expected it to be a usual junker that someone could use to throw some bait around until it died. $10 cleaned up. I opened the reel up to be sure that all was good inside,(don't want to sell a broken reel), and discovered an all metal tank! Teeth like a shark and meshing perfectly. O.K. Pulled the spool off and removed the drags... Holy cow! A stack of drags that would make a Penn jealous! This reel was made in Japan, it can't be this good. But it is. I guess we all need to take a second look sometimes. If you ever get a chance to check one out, do it.
can't always judge a book by it's cover..... ;D
I'm a reel snob too....Penn for me, basically because I can't afford to start collecting any other brands 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Bill
I only use Abu, Accurate, Avet, Daiwa, Lews, Okuma, Newell, Penn, ProGear, Shimano so I guess I'm a snob too.
Use wise, I truly am a snob. ABU made and AM Classic IV fulcrum drags only, but there were a few quality Japanese made spinners with worm gear drives made in the '60 & 70s. When they copied, that they did. ;)
No, I don't consider myself a reel snob. They all serve a purpose. Anyone with common sense doesn't intentionally use a Zebco 101 to catch sturgeon, or a Penn International to catch golden shiners.
Olympic was trying to go head-to-head with Penn and made some Penn look-alike reels that were every bit as good. My first tarpon reel was a NIB Olympic that our neighbor gave me. About the size of a large jigmaster. Her son bought it back from Japan but she didn't use anything that heavy. I used it to catch several six-foot tarpon from a pier. Never had a problem with it but I hated it and was ashamed of it because it was not a Penn.
-steve
I guess I'm more of a reel whore...I like them all. ;D
Quote from: mo65 on April 09, 2020, 09:05:54 PM
I guess I'm more of a reel ho...I like them all. ;D
Mo ho ho and a bottle of rum !!
How many is too many ?? Only Mo ho knows the answer
How many licks to center of a tootsie pop ?? I'm sure Mo knows that one too, he is a wise owl :D
I appreciate any decent well made reel, regardless of brand. I have brands & models of various types of reels I'm particularly fond of and settled on for various reasons, but it doesn't mean I'm closing my mind and shutting out any other possible options. Even my favorite brands have model lines of reels I don't care for or want, but then I'm not trying to be a "collector" (I just happen to have way more reels than I need ::)). I think the word "aficionado" is far more meaningful and appealing than "snob."
I like the one with a fish on it best!!
Quote from: mo65 on April 09, 2020, 09:05:54 PM
I guess I'm more of a reel whore...I like them all. ;D
Bahahaha,
That's a classic Mo, That made me chuckle ;D
Col