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Advice Penn v Shimano

M

meirion658

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In the past I've always tended to use Shimano FS reels I don't tend to spend more than £200 on a reel for beach casting.

In that price bracket who are now producing the better products Penn or Shimano?
 
A very good question to which I don't know the answer.
When I restarted recently I bought an Aerlex, then a speedcast 1400 xsb, then another for a matching pair. For some reason I then bought a apir of okuma 8k surfs and just recently bought a couple of Penn spinfisher LC's, not fished with them yet though.
 
Not a mangle user myself, but I would think Shimano would make the better quality reels IMO..

Ian.
 
I think it all comes down to money and the amount of use you want out of either rods or reels. If you're out fishing twice a week, then it's worth spending a decent amount of money on gear.
Shimano are good, and I like Penn reels for surfcasting.
I've got a Shimano 3000 & 2x 4000 reels for my lure rods, but prefer Penn for beach work.

I wouldn't spend over about £80 on a reel - I couldn't justify it for the amount of fishing I do.
My Mitchell Blue water RZ 9000 is a good reel (all part of Pure fishing, like Penn) which was just over £30 new, my Surfblaster 2 came from Gumtree, used once only for £30, and I've got a spare Surfblaster 1 kindly donated to me by @Tatunka joe.
Just can't justify spending £100's on gear.

If a rod & reel will reliably get a bait out to where I want it, that will do me. The Fish don't know what you chucked it out there with!
 
meirion658 said:
Mangle??? AM I missing something here 😕 don't take much these days !!
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Some of the Multiplier users among us like to refer to F/S reels as 'Mangles' or 'Coffee grinders'!
A sign of misunderstanding! 😂😂
 
Trampster said:
I think it all comes down to money and the amount of use you want out of either rods or reels. If you're out fishing twice a week, then it's worth spending a decent amount of money on gear.
Shimano are good, and I like Penn reels for surfcasting.
I've got a Shimano 3000 & 2x 4000 reels for my lure rods, but prefer Penn for beach work.

I wouldn't spend over about £80 on a reel - I couldn't justify it for the amount of fishing I do.
My Mitchell Blue water RZ 9000 is a good reel (all part of Pure fishing, like Penn) which was just over £30 new, my Surfblaster 2 came from Gumtree, used once only for £30, and I've got a spare Surfblaster 1 kindly donated to me by @Tatunka joe.
Just can't justify spending £100's on gear.

If a rod & reel will reliably get a bait out to where I want it, that will do me. The Fish don't know what you chucked it out there with!
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Like you all my lure fishing reels are all Shimano. I was just wondering has the gap closed between the market leaders such as Shimano and are you now mainly paying for the brand name as such🤔🤔
 
meirion658 said:
Like you all my lure fishing reels are all Shimano. I was just wondering has the gap closed between the market leaders such as Shimano and are you now mainly paying for the brand name as such🤔🤔
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Similar story with a lots of things, like phones for example. I don't like Apple stuff, and prefer Android. I think Samsung have pretty much got the Android market sewn up, but their pricing suggests you're paying for the name, not the quality or value for money.
 
Trampster said:
Similar story with a lots of things, like phones for example. I don't like Apple stuff, and prefer Android. I think Samsung have pretty much got the Android market sewn up, but their pricing suggests you're paying for the name, not the quality or value for money.
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Apple stuff as you call it is like the old Nokia mobiles but better imo. Samsung stuff can stay in the stores.
 
I always used to say Shimano were best for features, smoothness and quality, but the last five or six years have seen some of the components they use reduce in quality so I tried a couple of Penn reels. Can't say I was impressed. Had endless problems with the line getting caught under the spool and the drag adjustment was not the smoothest, with the smallest of turns causing snatch. I was surprised as the Penn multiplier reels are such good quality. Might be just my experiences as others speak highly of Penn FS reels.
 
Kine262 said:
I always used to say Shimano were best for features, smoothness and quality, but the last five or six years have seen some of the components they use reduce in quality so I tried a couple of Penn reels. Can't say I was impressed. Had endless problems with the line getting caught under the spool and the drag adjustment was not the smoothest, with the smallest of turns causing snatch. I was surprised as the Penn multiplier reels are such good quality. Might be just my experiences as others speak highly of Penn FS reels.
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Got to be honest I’ve never had any issues like that with the higher end penn reels. I don’t have much experience with the cheaper models though.
 
Tomthewelshie said:
Got to be honest I’ve never had any issues like that with the higher end penn reels. I don’t have much experience with the cheaper models though.
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I think that just about sums this issue up with many brands. I understand that all brands will produce a range of reels but surely they can only be judged on the cheapest in their range rather than the most expensive. If the cheapest reels are rubbish, why produce them? If a company produces a reel for 50 quid then anyone that buys it should be able to expect it to work perfectly well but perhaps not last as long or has as many features as a more expensive one.

Personally I have always gone for mid to upper level in tackle I buy, but can neither afford nor justify top end models when companies charge several hundred or even thousands for a reel that won't do much more than one I buy for £200 to £300.
 
Kine262 said:
I think that just about sums this issue up with many brands. I understand that all brands will produce a range of reels but surely they can only be judged on the cheapest in their range rather than the most expensive. If the cheapest reels are rubbish, why produce them? If a company produces a reel for 50 quid then anyone that buys it should be able to expect it to work perfectly well but perhaps not last as long or has as many features as a more expensive one.

Personally I have always gone for mid to upper level in tackle I buy, but can neither afford nor justify top end models when companies charge several hundred or even thousands for a reel that won't do much more than one I buy for £200 to £300.
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I agree with you on this one do those £1000 reels give you £800 more value than a £200 reel. If so what does that £800 offer ??
 
I use mono (nylon) on all my reels, even for coffee grinders for river/fresh water. Multies on the beach again with mono line and a shock leader.
 
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