Economical Premium Reel Advice

[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 !!!

[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?

[tailingloop]

Redington Rise is a pretty solid reel not mentioned here yet.

Not sure what Hap's issue with Sage reels is but I have used an 1800 series reel for Stripers and Bonito, and a Bonito will peel line off faster than any trout ever will, without issue.

I bought an Allen reel and was disappointed, but I guess I shouldn't have expected more for the price. There were numerous flaws in the machining (obvious machining marks and actual gouges in the surface) and in the finish. Rather than pay postage to send it back I stuck in on one of my bass rods. The one-way roller bearing also appeared to be of a lower quality type. Drag resistance seems to be ok. But really, the quality issues with the frame would leave me wondering about possible issues with the drag mechanism.

We have sold a lot of TFO prism reels and not had anyone complain of any issues. One of my angling buddies has been using Prisms in saltwater for three years now without an issue.

The Okuma Helios is very solid too.

[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.

[bluegill]

I found some Ross Rhythm reels on clearance a few years back...great reels with solid drags. There are other discontinued Ross reels on clearance if you search the web. Buy Ross...made in Colo, USA.

[hap]

Not sure what Hap's issue with Sage reels is but I have used an 1800 series reel for Stripers and Bonito, and a Bonito will peel line off faster than any trout ever will, without issue.

I bought an Allen reel and was disappointed, but I guess I shouldn't have expected more for the price. There were numerous flaws in the machining (obvious machining marks and actual gouges in the surface) and in the finish. Rather than pay postage to send it back I stuck in on one of my bass rods. The one-way roller bearing also appeared to be of a lower quality type. Drag resistance seems to be ok. But really, the quality issues with the frame would leave me wondering about possible issues with the drag mechanism.

The problem I have with the Sage reel is the fact they cost as much as they do for what you get... They are priced roughly with their rods and are not in the same class. They are not bad reels, I have and use several of them. For the same money I can find a large number of reels I think perform better.