Are High End Reels Worth Hundreds?

[A-Jay]

6 hours ago, ATA said:

but I can tell you for sure I never need to service them.

You either don't fish much or you do it in a vacuum.

#notreality

?

A-Jay

[redmeansdistortion]

50 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

(blinks) Even the best reels need regular maintenance

 

That's like saying a Bentley or Ferrari never needs an oil change or tune-up.

They make cars now with 'lifetime' transmission fluid.  I wish I was joking.  On my car it's stated as such, but way, way back in the owners manual there's tiny print that says to change it every 36k to 60k depending on driving habits and conditions.  A fluid change on my car runs about $200, and a new trans is $7k to $8k.  

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

They make cars now with 'lifetime' transmission fluid.  I wish I was joking. 

I'd still do regular changes - and a filter check,

 

I 'baby' my truck - 2001 Silverado with 210k - mainly because I can't afford to replace it...so it gets regular service-checks whether something feels 'off' or not.

[bulldog1935]

for me, it's easy.  

This will cast 3/8 oz to 130'

 

this will cast 1/4 oz to 130'

(the range of this outfit lets me fish 1/8 oz to over 1 oz)

 

this will cast 1/8 oz to 130' 

(the range of this outfit lets me fish 1/16 oz to 1/2 oz, but the reel's still good to a full ounce)

 

this will cast 1/16 oz to 130'

(this is pretty much a 2- to 10-g setup)

 

I most often don't need to fish 130', but having the ability to cast that far means less effort and better thumb control to put it where I need it.  

[Tennessee Boy]

12 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

for me, it's easy.  

This will cast 3/8 oz to 130'

 

this will cast 1/4 oz to 130'

(the range of this outfit lets me fish 1/8 oz to over 1 oz)

 

this will cast 1/8 oz to 130' 

(the range of this outfit lets me fish 1/16 oz to about 5/16, but the reel's still good to a full ounce)

 

this will cast 1/16 oz to 130'

(this is pretty much a 2- to 10-g setup)

 

I most often don't need to fish 130', but having the ability to cast that far means less effort and better thumb control to put it where I need it.  

How much would you pay to be able to cast to 132’?

[bulldog1935]

that's the safety notch on my mag brake

 

 

or, go to my CT, which is almost difficult to cast 1/4 oz under 150' - I put this in my neighbor's back acre too often to cast it in mine.  

[redmeansdistortion]

I use this on the creeks, chasing everything from little 8" brookies to 20"+ browns, a Millionaire CT SV with a SLP Works shallow spool and Roro micro bearings mounted on a 4'10" Major Craft Troutino.  Most of the baits I throw are in the 2g to 5g range and it performs great.  I've never tried to swing for the fences with this combo so I'm not sure how far out I can reach, but in the spots I fish I'm typically pitching 10 yards or less into undercut banks, pools, root wads, or beaver dams.    

 

[waymont]

Your question is "are they worth it?" the answer is yes.

They are made better, and work better than cheaper reels.

However reels around $100-$150 are pretty good, and starting around $200 a lot of reels get great. $200 range Daiwa and Shimano reels rock it!

[bulldog1935]

of course, the OP is probably not around here to read our answers this decade.  

The Lazarus thread now has a different life and context.  

 

[ATA]

5 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

(blinks) Even the best reels need regular maintenance

 

That's like saying a Bentley or Ferrari never needs an oil change or tune-up.

I am sure of it, but what I meant for someone not professional like me  that I am not using them a lot, it will not come to the time need to send them to service, see I have abs Garcias in $300 range and penn as well and I sent them all to service every year. But my shimanos not. I have a metanuim DC 15 which is my first high end reel I got it by year 2017 and for 1 year it was my only combo it means about 200 days on water with it all day and the only thing I did oil it and brush it in home. and so on with my other high end reels.

5 hours ago, A-Jay said:

You either don't fish much or you do it in a vacuum.

#notreality

?

A-Jay

yeah  I already explain, I think it was my bad the way I try to say it at first.

[bulldog1935]

@ATA what you may be trying to state is higher-grade reels use higher-grade MOCs, possibly including higher-grade bearings (Steez and Metanium are salt-rated).  Combined with state-of-the-art design and manufacturing technology, they likely perform at their peak longer, and with less maintenance.  

 

[J Francho]

On 7/25/2021 at 9:03 AM, MN Fisher said:

That's like saying a Bentley or Ferrari never needs an oil change or tune-up.

In fact, most Ferrari need maintenance whether or not they're driven, lol.

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

In fact, most Ferrari need maintenance whether or not they're driven, lol.

Sounds like Jaguars...

[Randy Price]

I have some SC Rods that are >$ 400.00 and Shimano Reels in the same price range, however, I have found that the best ROI is a Shimano Stradic reel and a SC Avid rod.  Roughly $ 400.00 for the combo.  Once you get past that the point of diminishing returns starts to occur.

[bulldog1935]

even with Stradic, you have the worm-gear-rider bushing - the higher grade reels have a ball bearing there (so does Tica) - you can improve your own Stradic if you want to go inside.  

No spool ball bearing, but that's a part that only has a job when paying big drag.  

Still impossible to fault Stradic, other than Shimano's short-life line roller that Stradic shares with Stella.  

Rhetorical question, why does Shimano stuff their ball bearing line roller with lithium grease. 

  

 

Will have to admit, no reels come tuned to my likes, and they all get tweaked.  

[CrankFate]

Expensive reels are only nice to have for only one reason, IMO, weight. I have an Aldebaran and an Mgxtreme2. The two lightest reels there are. I like going as light as possible. Aside from the fact that there is no choice in the world to spend less if I wanted reels this light, they are NOT worth the price. Since I have no choice, I’m stuck with the price.

[redmeansdistortion]

34 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

Expensive reels are only nice to have for only one reason, IMO, weight. I have an Aldebaran and an Mgxtreme2. The two lightest reels there are. I like going as light as possible. Aside from the fact that there is no choice in the world to spend less if I wanted reels this light, they are NOT worth the price. Since I have no choice, I’m stuck with the price.

My lightest reel is my Alphas CT which comes in at 6oz.  In contrast, my Millionaire CT tips the scale at 7.5oz and the Conquest BFS at 7.1oz.  For round reels, they are pretty light but there will never be a quality round reel that approaches the weight of a nice low profile.

[ATA]

5 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

@ATA what you may be trying to state is higher-grade reels use higher-grade MOCs, possibly including higher-grade bearings (Steez and Metanium are salt-rated).  Combined with state-of-the-art design and manufacturing technology, they likely perform at their peak longer, and with less maintenance.  

 

thank you ?

[The Maestro]

"Worth it" is completely subjective. I will say that once you've owned some it's hard to go back.  My experience is with the new Shimanos (Bantam and Metanium) and I can honestly say that they're a substantial step up in terms of overall feel and refinement. They can be fine tuned to a greater degree which can make it a bit of a hassle when changing baits but make it feel like you're using a precisely made tool once you have them dialed in.