I have a Shimano Bantam 10Xsg combo I got at a BX in Connecticut on my 1st TDY trip with my wife in 86'.It came with bushings,it was my 1st bait caster (many a backlash). I swapped the bushings for bearings, and never fish with it much anymore. I paid $40 for the combo in 86' .I just looked on ebay and just the reels have bids $100+, but I will be keeping mine for sentimental reasons.
I really like the Bantams but stick with the original 100. They are historic, rugged and perform as well as modern low profiles. They are backlash-free when you get the centrifugal brake blocks in tune with the lure weight. The price of 100's has tripled over the last five years.
Now I have a Basspro qualifier with dual brakes, pretty hard to backlash with those and many more years of practice now. I remember the bantam had those little magnets for brakes and the spool is about the width of my thumb. I need to service it and take it bass fishing soon.
I love these Bantams but stick to the 15sxg, 250 and 350. I probably have 10 or more, some brand new in the box for back up in retirement.
I would love to see pics of them! If I knew what I did now I would have bought more myself.
I love my '80s Bantams, too. Have about a dozen of them, upgraded w/ cf drags.
Bantam 10sg, Mag 10sg, Mag 10xsg, 1000sg, Mag 1000sg, Mag Plus 250sg, (4) Mag Plus 250sg xhs, (2) Mag Plus 350sg xhs.
My first was a new Bantam 1000sg around 1984. Mostly use the Bantam Mag Plus 250sg xhs -- my go-to freshwater baitcaster for bass species and schooling lake stripers, but also occasionally use the Mag 1000sg and a little 10sg. Well made reels with metal internal organs, easy to service. They started working way better once I started servicing and lubing them myself.
My first bait caster was a Bantam 100, with teak knobs. Love the reel, and still have it. Amazed at the prices...people are figuring out you just don't need to spend 300 bucks on a reel to go catch green fish that are 99.9 % under 8 lbs or less. I just picked up a jiggy 500S for 30 bucks shipped, looked cruddy but was just dusty. It's a 9.5. I'll put it against any new reel under $75, including a new jiggy. I have steel gears :) .
love those bantam
I have a bantam 200gt with new drags, two drag washers of the size of the penn 113h, nice!
9# of working drag and lots of SS parts as guts, seems like plenty of power for shore fishing for some reason seems like it will last longer than my abu garcia revo3 Sx
https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=27063.0
I think you may be speaking of a different family of reels. These never had anything but brass gears. ( I just went to your link and see what you were referring to). These are strictly freshwater. A group of 3- 15Xsg, 2- 250Xsg and 3-350sg including a NIB.
Nice collection of Bantams Randy!
Thank you for saying so. Thanks to Mr. Tani I learned how to fearlessly jump in and service them. They all have modern drags and have bearings lubed with TS301.
I haven't figured out why exactly, but a few spin way better than the others. I drove myself crazy trying to get more freespool. Then I realized that when I throw lures I typically adjust the magnets up a bit to slow them down anyway, lol.
Quote from: Rancanfish on May 04, 2021, 11:58:30 PM
I think you may be speaking of a different family of reels. These never had anything but brass gears.
sorry, I must have been more clear, yes, mine have brass gears but the plate where all the mechanism is attaches is thick SS and plus the metal frame the reel feels pretty sturdy a lot more than any other modern reel of that size.
the main gear and pinion geare are Brass but their teeth are massive and I doubt they will suffer any damage with 9# of drag
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/Bantam100(f).jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/Bantam100(f).jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/Bantam100(m).jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/Bantam100(m).jpg)