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is anyone familiar with these older orvis battenkill reels the mark II &III? how do they compare the the battenkill and cfo reels? how much do they weigh and what weight line do they hold? thanks!
[This message has been edited by Boo (edited 01 May 2005).]
The old Battenkill reels were made of die cast aluminum. They were good reels. I used them for years and had no problems. The new Battenkill BS (bar stock)are a nicer looking, smoother, better finished, and a bit lighter reel. It has become my primary reel and I've been very satisfied with it. I feel it was worth the additional cost over the die cast model.
Looking at an old catalog, the die cast Battenkill reels weren't referred to as II and III. That's the designation used on the new bar stock models. The old reels started with a 3/4 designation and the next larger was a 5/6. These numbers implied rod wt sizes. The disk drag 3/4 weighed 4 oz. and the disk drag 5/6 weighed 4 1/4 oz. The click and pawl 3/4 weighed 3 1/2 oz. and the 5/6 4 1/8 oz.
The Battenkill BS II weighs 3.6 oz and is recommended for rod wts 2 to 5. The Battenkill BS III weighs 3.95 oz. and is rated for rod wts 4 to 7.
The CFO is an old favorite which has endured for many years. The current model has brass gears with more teeth than the B BS reel. But the B BS reel has stainless steel gears. I can't comment on the relative merits of brass over stainless. The CFO also has a what appears to be a rosewood handle. Its a bit fancier than the B BS but frankly they feel very similar in your hand. The CFO and Battenkill Bar Stock weights are similar. The CFO II is 3 1/4 oz. and the CFO III is 4 oz. They recommend the CFO II for 2 - 4 wt rods and the CFO III for 4 - 6 wt rods.
I hope this answers your questions.
[This message has been edited by sjh (edited 01 May 2005).]
Boo,I have an old Battenkill Mark III with me now and its compareable in line capacity to the Hardy LRH.It is designated as a Mark III,not a 3/4.I got this reel in the late 70`s,early 80`s.Its a nice reel but it is of lesser quality than a CFO.At the time I bought the reel,I believe I was told it was made of magnesium,not aluminum.It is very light in hand and fishes well.I bought it to go on my Orvis 7/11 rod but it looks good on my bamboo rod also.Mine has held up well.