I'm confused, Smoothies / Carbon-Tex / HT 100

[johnachak]

I thought that Smooth Drag made and sold both Smoooothies and Carbon Tex Drag washers at the same time as 2 options. I finally bought a set of gray / white Smoooothies for my 310GTi. I thought they are still being made. It appears to me through some posts I have read (Misread?) that Carbon-Tex replaced the Smoooothies Gray / white washers. If Carbon-Tex is woven carbon fiber, why not just use the HT-100 washers from Penn that are cheaper and work great? Should I use the Smoothies I bought or just keep them as a spare set? I do some work gratis for some friends of mine who are less fortunate, should I use the Smoooothies for them or are they that bad that I should toss em? They seem like they'd be pretty durable. I have pulled some Smoooothies 3 washer drags from some 113 & 114H's and they were either completely fused to the washers or sticking. These gray / white ones I bought seem to be a completely different material.

[Bucktail]

I generally use HT-100s in my Penn reels and Carbontex in other reels that don't come with CF washers.  I don't like the smoothies.

[Bryan Young]

Smoothies are good in some applications and not so good in others where greased carbon carbon fiber may be a little sticky, such as extremely cold climates.

Other than that, HT 100 and Carbontex are essentially the same...carbon fiber surfaces.  I use a combination if reels that I service based on the size and thickness of the washers needed.

For example, I use Carbontex washers in my 7+1 drag kits for Penn's 113H reels because the HT-100s are too thick.  But, if I'm going to use stock 5+1 set-up, I will use HT-100s.

[johnachak]

Thanks for the clarification folks.

[johnachak]

For example, I use Carbontex washers in my 7+1 drag kits for Penn's 113H reels because the HT-100s are too thick.  But, if I'm going to use stock 5+1 set-up, I will use HT-100s.

Now that you mention it, I see the benefit of removing the old 3 washer smoothie type setup in some older 113 & 114H's and replacing them with the modern 5 + 1 drag setups. I just never knew anyone with any experience with a 7+1 setup. Is it a worth while improvement over the 5+1 for the average bottom fisherman? How about for trolling? (I hope this is the right forum for this).

[Keta]

The 7+1 is far smoother.

[Bryan Young]

For example, I use Carbontex washers in my 7+1 drag kits for Penn's 113H reels because the HT-100s are too thick.  But, if I'm going to use stock 5+1 set-up, I will use HT-100s.

Now that you mention it, I see the benefit of removing the old 3 washer smoothie type setup in some older 113 & 114H's and replacing them with the modern 5 + 1 drag setups. I just never knew anyone with any experience with a 7+1 setup. Is it a worth while improvement over the 5+1 for the average bottom fisherman? How about for trolling? (I hope this is the right forum for this).

For most bottom fishing, I'd probably stick with the 5+1 set-up unless you need more drag.  For trolling, I would use the 7+1 setup because trolling fish tend to run more than bottom fishing fish...generally speaking.

The 7 stack is smoother at equivalent drag settings then the 5 stack, but at higher drag settings.  At lower drag settings, it's usually the same.

[johnachak]

Thanks, that is what I wanted to know. I appreciate the comeback.

[johnachak]

Actually, that came out wrong. That is not all I want to know by any means. I meant that is a big help. If anyone has anythi.g else to add, please do so. I am sorry about the way that came out.