Kyle46N Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 Just looking for anyone's opinion that has used the reel. It has a lot of appealing higher end specs, but was hoping for some feedback. There's not much in the way of reviews online in regard to this specific reel. Thanks! Quote
EmersonFish Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 Like you, I was very curious about this reel. Wanted the 100 size. Couldn't believe it would have 14 lb max drag, weigh less than 6 oz., and be so cheap. I would stop by the only Academy around me hoping to see one in person, but they never have them. Finally they had a 300 size for me to look at. It seemed awfully nice. Way too big for my purposes; but super smooth and seemed well built. Only thing I didn't like was the handle knob. I should have just ordered the 100 right then, but I hate buying something I've never seen in person. Ended up buying a Pflueger. I do have the cheaper H2O Maxim that I bought on sale for $30 (regular $60) to temporarily put on a spinning rod. I ended up putting it on a rod in place of a Shimano Sedona because I like the Maxim a lot better than the Sedona. Not sure any of that helps, other than to say that although I have never owned the reel, the one I handled seemed very nice for the money, and my cheaper H2O spinning reel has performed much better than I would have expected it to. Unfortunately, I found the same thing you have; that there is not a lot of info out there from real fishermen about this reel. Maybe you'll have to be the guinea pig and report back. Quote
Kyle46N Posted February 24, 2015 Author Posted February 24, 2015 That's great info! Seriously, just reporting on your experience with the Maxim helps me. It's probably a safe bet that the quality of the Maxim indicates the Motive is probably just as good if not better....especially with the carbon frame. I have a Lews High Speed tournament and a Pflueger Supreme both on the way, which I haven't used either yet. So I will probable get a feel for those before I buy another spinning reel. I don't need too many spinning rigs. Quote
Patrick Morrow Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 Just a question, is this H2o actually a trusted and well-known brand? Maybe it is just me, but I have never hear about it in my entire life. My motto is usually to stick with trusted stuff Shimano, Penn, Abu Garcia or Okuma is the best in lower-end spinning reels. Trying out something new and exotic most of the times don´t work out well. Quote
Kyle46N Posted February 24, 2015 Author Posted February 24, 2015 Patrick are you from up north? I only ask that because Academy is a southern chain sporting goods store for the most part. With that said, for those who shop at Academy, know about H20 Express fishing tackle. It's Academy's line of tackle. They are known for putting out quality equipment, in many cases similar to name brand tackle, at much lower cost. I have not had a bad experience with any of their tackle......I've owned several of their rods, own their all weather gear/bib, have quite a few of their lures (cranks, topwater, etc). And if you google H20 fishing reels, you will get hundreds of reviews (mostly positive) on their baitcasting reels. But very little on their spinning reels. Their spinning reels are a little newer. If I'm not mistaken they came out with baitcast reels first. Quote
Patrick Morrow Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 I am from Minneapolis, but I travel around often so I should know something about this Academy, still nothing seems to come to mind. I searched for them a bit, saw only cheap models. This motive carbon seems has 10 bearings and version 400 weight 8.oz, not much reels can beat it by judging from these stats. Great for freshwater. I should probably buy it for that price and run another review on my site, to add a bit more variety aside the bigger brands. Quote
Kyle46N Posted February 24, 2015 Author Posted February 24, 2015 Yes! They are very light. I was actually going to go with the 200 or 300 series. The other bonus of buying from Academy is that this is their brand, and no one else sells it. Other than the ocassional Ebay seller. So Academy will replace the reel with a new reel if you had anything go wrong. Same with their rods. Quote
The Fisher Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Keep receipts from Academy and if anything goes wrong they replace it if it is their brand. I had a 2 year old Ethos Rod, which was really nice. I broke the tip, brought it in and they gave me a new one. Their Mettle casting reels are really smooth.... Not as great as Shimano or a Tatula but if you are on a budget you can't beat them, especially on sale. Quote
eirwin Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Keep receipts from Academy and if anything goes wrong they replace it if it is their brand. I had a 2 year old Ethos Rod, which was really nice. I broke the tip, brought it in and they gave me a new one. Their Mettle casting reels are really smooth.... Not as great as Shimano or a Tatula but if you are on a budget you can't beat them, especially on sale. I can't speak from personal experience on their reels, but i had an ethos rod and it was a champ. I had read the reviews and was referred to them by a co-worker and bought one. It is a great rod for the money. I had it for about a year and it broke after a buddy accidentally stepped on it while we were night fishing. I took it back without a receipt and they replaced it no questions asked. I've got them on a couple set-ups and love them. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted February 25, 2015 Global Moderator Posted February 25, 2015 Just a question, is this H2o actually a trusted and well-known brand? Maybe it is just me, but I have never hear about it in my entire life. My motto is usually to stick with trusted stuff Shimano, Penn, Abu Garcia or Okuma is the best in lower-end spinning reels. Trying out something new and exotic most of the times don´t work out well. I have a lot of the trusted brand names in my rod locker, mixed in there is 8 H2O rods and 1 H2O reel. I have zero complaints about any of them or the dozens of their baits that I own. They're the best overall house brand name that I've experienced. Quote
lectricbassman Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Reviving an old thread here, just picked (stole it for 27 bucks) up a motive mv100. Seems like a great reel, ill post later this week about how it performs Quote
The Fisher Posted July 18, 2015 Posted July 18, 2015 Their Mettle reels are great. I would buy them for 29.99 a couple of years ago when they were on sale and they cast a mile. Really smooth, not as good as some $100 reels but what the heck, on a budget they work great. 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted July 18, 2015 Global Moderator Posted July 18, 2015 Their Mettle reels are great. I would buy them for 29.99 a couple of years ago when they were on sale and they cast a mile. Really smooth, not as good as some $100 reels but what the heck, on a budget they work great. Agreed, I now own 3 of them and they all perform above and beyond what I would ever have asked a $40 baitcaster to do. Quote
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