Economical Premium Reel Advice

[rawfish]

For the money the Echo is probably the best bet in a new reel.

All current Lamsons have the same guts... and they are very good guts.

They would be my top two choices.

I have smoked a TON of reels on big fish. I have a lot of different brands and have used about every brand out there. I have somewhere around 35 Hardy reels, for example.

Ross is a brand I simply refuse to use again, for anything. Their old models are far better than their new, but only "good".

SA, Hardy-made Orvis, and SA-made Orvis are good for the money. The SA is really heavy for the size, IME.

Sage reels are not up to the level of their rods... I use several of them, but not where big fish are possible.

Echo seems like a similar rod to the Ross Flystart/cast premium type components in a cheaper reel.
I am very intrigued by the Allen.
The mid-line orvis are mid-arbor and I would like a large arbor.
So here are my choices (minus a newcomer):
Allen Trout
Lamson Konic
Lamson Guru (if I can find one on sale still)
Hardy Ultralite CLS (I know its 100 more but the money saved with cassettes v. spools seems to make up for that very very quickly).
Any comments on these or an additional runner. Based on what I am hearing I would like: Bulletproof, big fish fighting drag reliability, sub-200 and large arbor.

[hap]

I have seen Echos used extensively on very big fish... The best Ross IMO&E does not come close. let alone the FlyStart. I have seen the Ross Vexsis fail repeatedly, brand new out of the box...

The Allen is not a brand I have any experience with, so I cannot offer anything there.

The local fly shop I hang out in has been selling a bunch of Echos to salmon and large-trout fishermen for quite a while and they have been virtually issue-free.

These days when I buy a reel for myself it is a Lamson... so I consider them a great choice.

I friend just bought a huge Hardy today for tropical saltwater use and it looks like a tremendous reel for the money...

[farleycat]

No question in my mind.....go for the Lamson. Worth every penny !!!

[dpenrod]

No question in my mind.....go for the Lamson. Worth every penny !!!

what he said. i have both the konic and the guru. the konic is cast, the guru machined i believe. if i were to choose between the two, i'd say get the guru. same drag as the konic, but i think being machined it will be more durable. you can also find some really nice used reels if you scour the classifieds on the various forums. galvans pop up fairly regularly and they are fantastic reels. can't vouch for the seller, but if i had the cash and needed another 5/6 reel i'd snap this one up: http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/...wt-reel.88821/.

[anglerdave]

Most of my fly reels are Orvis made in England. I recently purchased a Trout 2 from Allen Fly Fishing for my 5wt. I am very impressed with the quality. I would definitley check them out.

allenflyfishing.com

Dave

[chewydog]

Get a Lamson and don't look back. And, we need pics of the falling out of the boat episode for rating purposes.

[rawfish]

Get a Lamson and don't look back. And, we need pics of the falling out of the boat episode for rating purposes.

Thankfully the camera wasn't out yet for that!

[whatfly]

Echo Ion is a reasonable reel, but it only comes with a 1 year warranty, which I'm not that crazy about, but the price point is good. Allen is a newcomer and while some like it, I've yet to meet anyone who has really tested one against largish fish. The Orvis Mid Arbor is a relatively affordable disk drag, and for me has been reliable on larger fish (steelhead). Lamsons are nice but they are slow to pick up line (i.e. when in a drift boat) so I tend to avoid them although I still use my 1st gen Velocity for Lahontans in the 28"+ range, steelhead, and stripers.

[rawfish]

Echo Ion is a reasonable reel, but it only comes with a 1 year warranty, which I'm not that crazy about, but the price point is good. Allen is a newcomer and while some like it, I've yet to meet anyone who has really tested one against largish fish. The Orvis Mid Arbor is a relatively affordable disk drag, and for me has been reliable on larger fish (steelhead). Lamsons are nice but they are slow to pick up line (i.e. when in a drift boat) so I tend to avoid them although I still use my 1st gen Velocity for Lahontans in the 28"+ range, steelhead, and stripers.

Wow, thanks, so what would you recommend?

[hap]

Echo Ion is a reasonable reel, but it only comes with a 1 year warranty, which I'm not that crazy about, but the price point is good. Allen is a newcomer and while some like it, I've yet to meet anyone who has really tested one against largish fish. The Orvis Mid Arbor is a relatively affordable disk drag, and for me has been reliable on larger fish (steelhead). Lamsons are nice but they are slow to pick up line (i.e. when in a drift boat) so I tend to avoid them although I still use my 1st gen Velocity for Lahontans in the 28"+ range, steelhead, and stripers.

Echo Ion has just a one year warranty... but no one I know has needed to use it... The Ross FlyStart has a lifetime warranty and they will honor it... But all you will get is another FlyStart. If the Ions are being used for really large trout and salmon on the Kenai River without issue (they are) I guarantee they will work better than any Ross.

I would take an Ion without a warranty after seeing their proven perfomance here if money is the central issue.

I have zero vested interest in Echo and do not stand to benefit in any way from the company.