An alternative to the Penn 850

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:46 pm

I finally wrote off my Penn 850 reel while on holiday recently. For the second time the drag nut just went round and round as its just plastic; no wonder.

Bought an Avusurf 7000 which appears ok

dickyp

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:07 pm

Gentlemen,
Thankyou for all your comments which are all appreciated. Please do not get into any spats over differing views - we are all entitled to our opinions and will all form our own views. I am grateful for all information and it never hurts to have more options offered.
As for my search for a replacement reel, I have decided that at the moment funds are too tight to splash out on a top end reel (but its added to the Christmas list). I think I am going to go for the Shakespear Salt.
After all - my fishing tackle box is constantly evolving and I'm only in my second year of fishing after 20 odd years away from it. So not only is my kit evolving but so is my knowledge and somewhat more slowly, my ability.
Your experience and help is always appreciated. If ever any of you are down on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, then come say "Hi".

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:45 pm

i had the shakespeare salt reel last year. i liked it till it broke on me. the reel seat snapped in 3 while hauling in a double of doggies. brought it back and got something different. the guy in the tackle shop said i was probably just unlucky as he sold a lot of them and didnt have any other problems with them.

i now have a penn surfmaster 60 and if you can get one grab it and dont let go. probably easier to find the slightly bigger 70 and thats equally as good.

i also have a shakespeare k2 powerplay 70 and cant fault it. that should cost about £50 ish, maybe less

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:31 pm

The only fault I'm aware of with the Salt is the anti-reverse .... it has a weakness in the assembly that allows the switch (at the rear of the reel) to jam (i've had 7 or 8 brought to me for the same fault) and the thing will backwind. The fix if it occurs (it only seems to occur when you are using the switch - once anti reverse is on it stays on) is to pull the switch back slightly as you turn it to switch anti-reverse on ... get yourself through the fishing session and then straight back to the retailer for a replacement.

Despite the problem I also hear from a good few owners how pleased they are with them so I assume it is just a problem with a percentage of reels.

Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:45 pm

I may be mad, and may incur the Wrath of some but at the last moment I changed my mind and bought a Mitchell Avocast 7000.

Shortly after which I received a PM that pointed me in the direction of a Diawa at a great price. Now I'm wondering if I can get away with buying both. (Thank you for the PM).

Many thanks for all your advise and comments - if one thing is clear, its that your preference of reels is a very personal choice with one person rating a reel whilst others do not. Its clear my initial choice - The Penn 850 is not the best out there and although part of the same family, I hope my Mitchell stands the test of time.

I will write a report on it after it is used in anger.

Thanks again for all your comments.

Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:22 pm

colinthefish wrote:

I may be mad, and may incur the Wrath of some but at the last moment I changed my mind and bought a Mitchell Avocast 7000.

Shortly after which I received a PM that pointed me in the direction of a Diawa at a great price. Now I'm wondering if I can get away with buying both. (Thank you for the PM).

Many thanks for all your advise and comments - if one thing is clear, its that your preference of reels is a very personal choice with one person rating a reel whilst others do not. Its clear my initial choice - The Penn 850 is not the best out there and although part of the same family, I hope my Mitchell stands the test of time.

I will write a report on it after it is used in anger.

Thanks again for all your comments.

Although I'm not neccesarily a fan of some of Pure's products (including the Mitchell) one thing that has to be said is that they generally have a good record for returns ... if you bought the Mitchell from a dealer you should have no problems with a refund or replacement if it does bite the dust. Hope you get much enjoyment and good service out of your choice.

Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:32 pm

I totally agree with reewizard. I bought 2 Penn 850,s on ebay a couple of years ago and have had nothing but trouble with them.

I have got to say though that when I contacted Purefishing aboiut the problems they always came up trumps with spare parts at the only cost of the postage.

I will only have half the trouble now that I have written one off.

dickyp

Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 12:46 pm

SeaTurtle wrote:

Anything by Daiwa !

End of !

Dave

Would agree with ST-always had good service from Daiwa reels for my saltwater work,Mick happy