Penn surfmaster 70

Occasional Joined: Jun 29, 2008 Posts: 220

rabbi2 wrote:

Any comments on the weak bale arm spring? Or is that just my imagination?

One thing I have learnt over the years is that I differentiate between quality ang crap and to me the penn 850 is crap.

I was asked for my opinion and I gave it.

I am also of the opinion that the tackle tarts of this world are slightly upset at Shakespear taking over penn as most of them derived Shakespeare due to the fact that they always run shakespeare gear down as working mans rubbish when in fact it is themselves that have paid over the odds for hyped up tackle at inflated prices.

Assuming your bale arm has lubrication then it might just be a duff spring or a one-off dog of a reel. Ask Penn to supply a new spring and strip it to see if the problem is a shim or rough surphace somewhere - penn are very good on the spares side of things so you shouldn't have any problems getting the spring and they'll probably supply it FOC.

Not sure what the shakespeare bit is about - they are one of the few suppliers that can reliably supply fixed spool spares in this country and if you look at their prices they aren't actually all that cheap anymore in comparison to the competition - can't say I'd ever use their multis but have used their FS reels for spinning for years - they don't particularly last that well (most don't anyway, not least cos most owners don't service them) but spares are always available.

Most tackle accused of being "hyped up" pricewise is simply specialised kit and generally british made, rods come to mind in particular. You pays your money and you takes your choice but there is a reason why anglers from all over the world are after the britsh made beach blanks - you can't get any better quality!

Its nice to know the british are actually still good at something other than whinging big grin

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 6:05 pm

ive only heard good things about the surfmaster 70. i went to get one and couldnt so opted for the 60.
the guy in the shop said the only real difference is the size of the spool. he reckoned it was about .5 of an inch bigger than the 60.

did i get a good reel or was i caught???

Occasional Joined: Aug 17, 2008 Posts: 193

" Any comments on the weak bale arm spring? Or is that just my imagination? "

Wondered what constituted one of those so took mine apart for a look see.
Seems springy enough for the job even if it isn't Sturmey Archer pawl spring material.
Then wondered how it could 'come off' ,given that it should be installed behind the actuating lever.
Oooh look, it's not symetrical and it's been put in the wrong way round.
Reinstall with hooked end over actuating lever.

Job done.

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:48 pm

ive just got a penn 750 not used it yet though and from the comments about the 850 im not looking forward to it.

have i shot myself in the foot by buying it?????? crying

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 7:53 pm

The 750 is ok no probs its the 850 thats crap. Cheers keith big grin

Posted: Thu Nov 06, 2008 8:19 pm

lovely jubley its getting its first outing 2moro night along with a sonik sk3.

fingers crossed.

Occasional Joined: Aug 17, 2008 Posts: 193

rabbi2 wrote:

The 750 is ok no probs its the 850 thats crap. Cheers keith big grin

Absolutely, it's not like they've got anything at all in common

Member Joined: Oct 14, 2008 Posts: 25

I love my new Penn 70 SM......really well made. Solid and very smooth. To say i'm pleased with it would be an understatement.

Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 12:54 pm

i was lookin for a penn sm 70 but had to opt for the 60 as i couldnt get the 70. guy in the shop said only main difference was the spool on the 60 is a tiny bit smaller.
is this true?? have i got a good reel?
havent tried it yet due to the weather. got both spools filled and cant wait to get out with it.