Penn Battle II spinning reels

[OkobojiEagle]

I'm looking for experienced opinions about the Penn Battle II spinning reel.  I'll be using it primarily for casting light plastics to smallmouth.  Thanks

 

oe

[1simplemann]

I've used the the Battle I, Decent reel. Some had line lay issues and wind knot issues. The new version is supposedly better. Good reel for the money. Lot's good reels out there in that price range.

[OkobojiEagle]

Plenty of choices of reels in the ~100.00 price point until you start to require an all metal reel.

 

oe

[0119]

Its basically a Pfueluger.  Tackle direct had a huge sale on Penn's this last week. I dont know if its still going on but if it is its a way to get a Conflict at Battle prices.  The Conflict is a very good reel as is the Clash.  My fishin' partner use Battles and Pfuelugers and catches reds and snook bycatch while bass fishing. They have held up very well to tough fishing and rough handling.

[atcoha]

From what I understand, the Battle II reels have a better bearing seal than the original battle. The originals were/are garbage so called "sealed bearings".

Battle II or conflict? Dunno, I prefer my conflict over the battle. And I have a several battle reels. 

[Florida Cracker2]

I have a spinfisher V 4500 and love it. Line lay is perfect and so is the casting distance. They provide you with extra washers to adjust any line lay problems you may have. Very simple to fix if you need to. Little heavy being an all-metal reel...but that's what I wanted. I use mine for snook and reds, not so much for bass. 

[dam0007]

I was using the larger size battle 1 for salt applications and had issue with bail closing while casting. This in a few instances caused the line to snap and lost several lures. From everything I've heard they did not address this issue in the 2nd gen. The other issue I had was the clicker falling off under the spool. I went through like 6 of these and gave up. Sucked because they are built like tanks for the money. I would personally steer as far away as I can from all 3 of those penns, think it goes fierce battle and conflict... May be wrong on names but it's like $79 $99 $129 prices. Way too many better reels in those price points to even bother. 

[0119]

You went through 6.......  Did you just throw them away or did you contact Penn? They are exceptional in customer service

[OkobojiEagle]

9 hours ago, dam0007 said:

 issue with bail closing while casting.

Here's a cheap work-around for that: Cut a small washer from craft felt and install it under the screw that holds the bail arm on opposite the line roller.  You will have to close the bail by hand but it won't fly shut on a cast.

 

oe

[dam0007]

51 minutes ago, 0119 said:

You went through 6.......  Did you just throw them away or did you contact Penn? They are exceptional in customer service

No just returned them. In pairs. Went back to the Shimano Baitrunners 

23 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Here's a cheap work-around for that: Cut a small washer from craft felt and install it under the screw that holds the bail arm on opposite the line roller.  You will have to close the bail by hand but it won't fly shut on a cast.

 

oe

Shouldn't be a work around on a brand new reel. I don't care if I paid $14.99 for a reel it should do what it's supposed to day one. No excuses for poor design. 

[OkobojiEagle]

My quoted response above was nothing more than a cheap fix for a common problem of spinning reels, not an excuse for the problem.  Maybe others will find it useful in-spite of me offending you.

 

oe

[WPCfishing]

23 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

My quoted response above was nothing more than a cheap fix for a common problem of spinning reels, not an excuse for the problem.  Maybe others will find it useful in-spite of me offending you.

 

oe

Well said

[0119]

Good luck with that good Shimano design septon handles that melt at the sight of oil.  Oh and thanks for returning used and or defective reels into the marketplace for some unsuspecting fellow angler to suffer with. Good job self entitled!

[dam0007]

57 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

My quoted response above was nothing more than a cheap fix for a common problem of spinning reels, not an excuse for the problem.  Maybe others will find it useful in-spite of me offending you.

 

oe

No offense at all! I've never experience that problem with any other brand reel ever. That's a cool solution for a reel that develops the problem after extensive use but not for a brand new reel out of the package. Sorry if my post came off the wrong way. Wasn't the intention at all. 

25 minutes ago, 0119 said:

Good luck with that good Shimano design septon handles that melt at the sight of oil.  Oh and thanks for returning used and or defective reels into the marketplace for some unsuspecting fellow angler to suffer with. Good job self entitled!

Self entitled? Throwing cheap shots for what?? 

Never had a issue with Shimano handles, but I don't cover my hands in oil before I go fishing either.  So you may be right there lol

All my salt water tackle is bought from my buddies local shop. He has sent dozens of these back to Penn. this is what 3-4 years ago? Tons of people experiencing the same problem and Penn didn't fix it. End of story. Op wanted people to post what they experienced with this reel so I did. 

[Maxximus Redneckus]

6 battles ..must be diff battles..... around here penn battles are 90% of what charters and kayakers use .cheseapeke bay area.btw i dont own any battles but i  have 9 penn feirce which is 2 grades down and never have a problem with any.btw just. silly question why did you move from shimano to penn then back to shimano. the first 2 times losing about $200 i would not have went to $600

[0119]

Must be a member of the SOL forum, the biggest bunch of Penn bashing shimano addicts in the world.  Always go around comparing $99 dollar Penns to $200 shimano's and complaining about the difference.  The sad thing about the internet today is you cannot trust anything anyone says.  Companies have so many sponsored, bloggers, guides and "pro's" on the payroll spending bandwidth bashing competition under the disguise of being regular folk, that internet talk is just fake useless rubbish.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

6 minutes ago, 0119 said:

Must be a member of the SOL forum, the biggest bunch of Penn bashing shimano addicts in the world.  Always go around comparing $99 dollar Penns to $200 shimano's and complaining about the difference.  The sad thing about the internet today is you cannot trust anything anyone says.  Companies have so many sponsored, bloggers, guides and "pro's" on the payroll spending bandwidth bashing competition under the disguise of being regular folk, that internet talk is just fake useless rubbish.

Truth ...i been all over the net and it seems everytime i see  a negative post about .abu, quantum,daiwia etc etc.most seem the same probs and none  i have ever encountered.im still trying to figure out how all are so generic and lack substance .maybe this is why Shimano has such bad costumer  service.the employees spend 24/7 on the net using names like shimano#1. or stelladontbreak bashing a brand with 500 5 star reveiws!!!!

[Maxximus Redneckus]

FWIW  this has nothing to do with the OP post .i had a BPS round reel a pro qualifier which is made by phflueger my freind has  calcutta same size .me bein  frankenreel kinda guy i had to  try something.the main gear and pinion can be swapped out and it meshed perfect calcutta is made in japan BPS made in korea..both reels over 8 yrs old 

[S. Sass]

5 hours ago, Maxximus Redneckus said:

6 battles ..must be diff battles..... around here penn battles are 90% of what charters and kayakers use .cheseapeke bay area.btw i dont own any battles but i  have 9 penn feirce which is 2 grades down and never have a problem with any.btw just. silly question why did you move from shimano to penn then back to shimano. the first 2 times losing about $200 i would not have went to $600

I didn't comment on the Battle reel because I never had one but I do have the Penn Fierce 4000 and I can say it has been a phenomenal reel for the money. Never had a issue with it and I have used it 3-4 years and it has never let me down. I use braid only though and that may change the experience to some. I know when I was looking it was one of very very few in the more affordable reels that was all metal frame as well. Made me a excellent catfish reel. 

[0119]

What gets me is the Fierce and the Battle are Pfelugers. They look identical. The parts interchange. They come out of the same factory. Made by the same men. Essentially the same reel give or take cosmetic attachments and a couple tweaked options to make them seem as if they are different reels. This forum is full of praise about how good the Supreme and President are for the money. Then you click to another forum and their are 50 guys bashing the Penn saying it didn't work right out of the box.  

[dam0007]

Charters use Battles because they're vertically fishing. They're not surf casting. Penn pre China was my go to saltwater reel for years if I had the luxury of getting a Vaan Staal pre China I would have. The bail closing issue is a known problem. I own Shimanos, Quantums, Daiwas, Fin-Nor, and have owned several other brands. This has nothing to do with Shimano vs penn. OP wanted honest Battle experience so I provided it. 

Claiming I'm sponsored by anyone then doing nothing but defending your brand of choice and bashing said brands is just as funny as a dozen posts complaining on a forum about people complaining on forums, it's absolutely hilarious BTW.

Just Man up and admit the brand Penn dropped the ball on faulty products and had a chance to address the issue with the re-release and didn't. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

13 hours ago, 0119 said:

Must be a member of the SOL forum, the biggest bunch of Penn bashing shimano addicts in the world.  Always go around comparing $99 dollar Penns to $200 shimano's and complaining about the difference.  The sad thing about the internet today is you cannot trust anything anyone says.  Companies have so many sponsored, bloggers, guides and "pro's" on the payroll spending bandwidth bashing competition under the disguise of being regular folk, that internet talk is just fake useless rubbish.

Unfortunately it's true that the Internet and forums in particular are full of hawkers often incognito. That's not the case here though. dam0007 is a good guy. Just a blue collar straight talker, not a PC bone in his body. Lol. I commented in a post earlier about the helpfulness of this forum. I hope that and the fellowship continue to flourish. 

[J Francho]

You guys need to debate respectfully without resorting to acronyms that reference foul language and insults - thinly veiled or outright.

Time to grow up and act like adults.

[Glenn]

Or better yet, contribute and answer the OP's question. Otherwise stay out of this thread.

[Nick S]

Not sure about the battle 2 but I was satisfied with my battle reels for the price. 

 

You're going to get good and bad reviews about every reel. If there really was a truly bulletproof reel everyone one would be using it. The only spinning reels I've never had any mechanical problems with are my daiwa tournament 1300's. But they too have thier faults, and after using newer reels they can feel unrefined.