Is an Abel Super 8 reel worth it?

Ok, is an Abel Super 8 reel worth the $620 price tag???

to me, no. I can get an fantastic outfit for that price. However, some things become a target of desire for folks. So, if I really wanted something like that I would save, eventually purchase it, and be awfully pleased with myself and my reel.

Absolutely. Especially if you are considering traveling to exotic places to fish. While other reels fail the Abel just keeps on preforming with no worries. Considering it is easy to spend $4,000 on a trip the expenditure of $590 is cheap insurance when you will be meeting up with a fish that can do almost 30 miles an hour and almost melt other reels.

never...

I with Dick on this one. Absolutely. When I'm out for Marlin and big game, and have flown 1/2 around the globe hoping to catch the fish of a lifetime, the last thing I want to happen is to have a reel fail because I got cheap and wanted to save a few bucks on a reel. When I went shopping to buy a big game reel every shop I went to said the reel they were showing me "was just as good as an Abel" that was 6 years ago, the other reels I looked at are no longer being made(Orvis Vortex). Abels are the best reel on the market with the best drag system, period. You get what you pay for, when I'm fishing for 200lb fish you can bet there will be an Abel on my rod!

i sold a bunch, but wouldn't buy one. I'd rather have a Ross Canyon, a Waterworks ULA Force, or a Litespeed. (in that order)

They're all about $200 cheaper. Cork has worked well for decades, but so did carburetors. I welcome the new technology.

Great reels, I own several super series. You will not be dissapointed with the workmanship, finish or performance. Fine reels are like fine shotguns, it's a personal choice. They are meant to be enjoyed.

Fish while you can,
FFMachine

look at the old photos of joe brooks and lefty kreh fishing in the salt for tarpon and bonefish and everything else. they are using pfluger medalists. i think this talk about frying the drag is just that. that's not to say i would fish with a $20 no name reel, but it does mean i don't feel the need to spend $620 so the drag doesn't 'fry.'

The Super 8 is a high quality product that will last a lifetime.

For $385 you can buy an Abel X-Stream 10-11-12 and for $455 a #3 that have the same mechanical components and drag and dimensions as the Super 8. Both are slightly heavier and not large arbor.


If I'm laying a lot of coin out for a trip to somewhere remote I want at least 1 reel with a proven track record such as the Abel, Tibor, Pate, Hayden, etc.

I have witnessed low to mid range reels blow drag components on big fast running fish like tuna and big dorado. But your probably not going to use a Super 8 for these fish, unless you put #3 spool on it.


In the last few years some excellent mid range reels have come available such as the Redington Brakewater and Old Florida reels two name two that you can get for less than $300. You can buy two of these for less than an Abel Super.

Only the purchaser can determine the worth of an item to him.

Micus...
The only reason you didn?t see Joe Brooks, Ted Williams and Lefty Kreh?s pictures with Abel Reels was that they weren?t being made then. They would have especially been using them if they had the chance because they would get them for nothing. Take a look or ask Lefty what he uses today for big game fish and I am sure he tell you either an Abel or a Tibor. The Super 8?s are not $620 but $590 (that?s a difference of $30) and if you take the trouble to look you will find them way cheaper on eBay.

Yes. Those reels rock.

-John

Dick, my point was they were catching pretty big fish on those pflugers, which throws that 'frying the drag' argument right out the window.

Lee Wulff would use a "ten dollar rod and a click-drag reel" to catch the big ones.
Not because that's all he had, it was because he could.

D Micus wrote..." they were catching pretty big fish on those pflugers, which throws that 'frying the drag' argument right out the window.'

They were also losing alot more fish than we do with today's gear. They also beefed up those Pfluegers by adding counterweights on the spools, doing some internal modifications, etc. You can see some of those tricked up Medalists at WorldWide Sportsman in Islamorada and I think there are pictures of them in Kreh's book "Flyfishing the Flats". (Or is it "Fishing the Flats"?)

Bob

Bob,
I think you mean "Fly fishing in salt water"

I have a couple of medalists "tricked out" like that, you would be amazed how well they work

Thanks for the correct title, Dudley. I leant out my copy a few years ago and you know the rest of that story. I'm sure those old reels did work pretty well, especially given the talent level of those pioneers who were using them. Remember those big old fiberglass rods from back then? Heavy and slow but they could really fight a fish.

Bob

Remember?
My Orvis Golden Eagle 8wt casts like a cannon, weighs a ton.

the photos i saw was they modified the frame and added a piece of leather to make it easier to palm the reel. i don't mean to keep beating this drum, but those aren't $625 worth of modifications.

And the Old Man and the Sea only needed a hook, a handline, and a dinghy, but don't ask me to put away my Abels before I hit the coast. They have never failed me in fresh or salt water and I wouldn't be without them for trout, bass, steelhead, redfish, or dorado.

Actually, there is one Abel worth $625. It is made out of solid gold and was owned by Elvis... http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif

I like my Super 8 and wouldn't trade it for anything else. I also have a Super 10 and like it too. For anything bigger that requires an 8 weight I don't think you can go wrong, but I don't know if I'd buy a Super 5 or smaller because the drag setting will change if the reel gets wet. Not a big deal when you're using heavy tippets, but for light stuff like 5X you might find that those changes in drag setting bother you. Is it worth the price tag? To me it is, you could always buy one and if you don't like it you could sell it on Ebay where they sell for near retail all the time.

I've seen Ross, Lamson and lots of Bauers crap out when they were needed most and far from home I wouldn't be able to rely on them like an Abel or Tibor.

>>I've seen Ross, Lamson and lots of Bauers crap out when they were needed most and far from home I wouldn't be able to rely on them like an Abel or Tibor.<<

Really? When, where and how? I'm not exactly calling you a liar but I find this hard to believe. I have all three and, except for the cheap plastic clicker on a Cimarron falling in the sand, not a one of them failed in any way, shape or form. These are a Big Game 4, Litespeed 3.5 and Bauer LOHR. They tagged everything from steel and salmon in 10 degree weather to false albacore in the salt.

Just the other day I was steelheading with a new friend out here on the coast. His Ross siezed up putting him out of commission until he could get a loaner. Saw a lamson clicker fall out while in Belize which made the reel not work, and I've seen at least three Bauers break while guiding. I guess I should have taken pictures to prove this to you. Never seen a Galvan break.

Saw only one Gunnison ever freeze up. It got smoked at Christmas Island by a trevally.

I have seen several bauers get smoked by king salmon and chum salmon. That was a while ago (1999) maybe they are better now??

The old lamson LPs broke down all the time. I've easily seen in excess of 25 complete drag meltdowns. The problem was with the old clutches, which they eventually fixed. The newer lamsons work a lot better.

I have an able big game 0.5 that has had problems with the spool siezing up (first Abel problem I've ever seen or experienced). Haven't sent it back yet but I need too. The failure rate on Abel reels is tiny but make enough of them and sooner or later one will fail. Same thing w/ the Gunnison. However, I don't think you get $300 more worth of reliability for your money with the Abel over other brands. You just get one of the nicest reels you can get for any price. For me I like my equipment so it's well worth it.

[This message has been edited by ktokj (edited 10 February 2005).]