Allen & Co XL Reel

[FishnDave]

Here's my review of the Allen & Co "XL" Fly Reel:

On the Allen & Co Tackle website (http://www.allenflyfishing.com/), they have an "XL" large arbor fly reel that they sell for $75. When I first saw them, I thought they looked similar to the Cabela's SLA fly reels.
Recently, they ran an "email special" for folks who had signed up for their email updates. I'd been looking at the reel anyway, and at the special price, I couldn't pass it up. So, I ordered 2 of of 5/6 wt reels. The arrived last night.
The packaging wasn't fancy (but who needs another reel box?). Each reel came in its own reel pouch.


I didn't specify RT or LT hand retrieve when I ordered. Turns out I was sent one of each. I use RT hand retrieve. Even without instructions, it was a very simple matter to change the LT reel to a RT reel. Took me all of maybe 2 minutes.

You can check their website for a description of the reels features, so I won't duplicate that here. Granted, I won't be able to field test these until we get some open water around here, but here's my initial impressions.

I spooled one of them up with some backing (FYI, I've been told that Allen & Co is/will be selling orange backing line. This is a good thing, as it seems to be getting hard to find lately.) The line below I had purchased elsewhere, however.

The reel feels very solid and sturdy. It has a silent retrieve, and and a very pleasing sound when line is pulled out.
With the drag loosened completely, the spool will give line with fairly minimal pressure, but also isn't going to spin backwards on its own. I played with the drag tension knob a bit, to vary the pull required to release line. It seemed to work just fine. I didn't try to crank it all the way down. I'm sure there's a reason some people might fish with their drag cranked down, but I don't do that, so it did't occur to me to try it until today. Anyway, it seems like there is plenty of drag range to seriously slow even big fish if you want/need to.

In short, it is a good-looking reel that feels very solid. For the price it was hard to pass up, and I'm very glad I picked up a couple.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them, with the caveat that I haven't gotten to time/field test them yet.

Here's a couple more pics I took:








Also, I found the info below about Allen & Co, which lends them some credibility with making rods and reels:

Started several years ago making custom bamboo rods for friends. Later started making fly rods in 4pcs, 5pcs, and 7pcs (our travel rod). We also have others make our products in larger volume. After the fly rods got off the ground we started in fly reels. My background is in Tooling and CNC machining. I know and understand what it takes to make a quality product on a CNC machine. It's not just the cutting of the product. It's the design, material selection, tools used to cut the product, how fast the product is cut, and much more.

[ducksterman]

David,
There doesn't seem to be much difference between the two models except arbor size and looks. Why do you suppose the difference in price?

[henderson]

are you implying these reels are made in the USA? sure look like the Asia models.

[garb72]

how much backing do you have on it in the pic?

[FishnDave]

I didn't ask where they are made. I'm fairly sure some of the reels I already own are manufactured ex-US, so whether these are US-made reels or not wasn't a consideration for me. Affordability was important to me. Still, nobody wants to buy "junk". So, the good news is, these don't feel like "junk".

I might be giving one of these to someone who is fairly new to fly-fishing that needs their own equipment, but can't really afford to buy their own right now. I'm still looking for the right "good-but-inexpensive" 5wt fly rod to go with it...

The other one I wanted as a back-up, but I may switch it out with one of my other reels that doesn't feel as solid as this one.

As for why the difference in cost between this vs a Cabela's SLA? I will say that I picked up a NEW SLA from Cabela's about a year ago for $55. However, I suspect this price might have been a mis-print on their website.

This is just my own conjecture, so take it with a grain of salt because I could be TOTALLY WRONG:
I think most fly-fishing companies mark their products up quit a bit above actual cost. I'm sure "dealer cost" still gives the manufacturer a fair profit...and I've seen the difference between "dealer cost" and MSRP on some fly rods & reels. I've seen mark-up over "dealer cost" of 330%.

I was looking at some of the hubless fly reels that have been posted for sale on this site. Those are some cool-looking reels! I also saw one small company's proposal for cost of manufacture of such reels, including labor, purchasing all the equipment, materials, a building, utilities, and employees needed to manufacture the reels. Of course cost/reel was dependent on number of units produced, but from their planned production, they had figured the cost of producing the reels to be around $25 each. And yet those reels typically retail for $350-$400+.

[FishnDave]

how much backing do you have on it in the pic?

125 yds of 20lb backing.

[garb72]

i have been looking at these for a while and i cant wait to get my hands on one.

[FishnDave]

David,
There doesn't seem to be much difference between the two models except arbor size and looks. Why do you suppose the difference in price?

Sorry, I may have misinterpreted your question. If you mean the difference between Allen's XL and Alpha fly rees, then the difference between those two reels is the components and the machining process.

The Alpha is a Die Cast + CNC machined reel. It gives the reel a very smooth finish. The XL is a CNC machined reel.

Also, my understanding is that the Alpha currently has a more enclosed drag.