Reel Casualty

[goldrod]

In my recent heartbreak I wanted to canvas you all why this question. What reel has let you down the most and the least given its age? I never thought my D7 would breakdown on me but it did.

[rockchalk06]

Revo S Gen 3.

I had several of the Gen 1 and Gen 2 Revo S and STX models. All in like new condition. Sold them all and bought the Gen 3's. I had issues (some major) with every single one. 12 total over the 6 month fiasco #RevoSgate This was from 4 different major retailers.

The least? My lone Curado 50E. I think I have had it the longest and used it the most. No issues with it at all. Granted I don't fish every day nor fish tournaments.

As much as that D7 is a tank, with anything man made, it will eventually fail.

[Slazmo]

Chronarch e5...

Maybe used it 3 times since new, and the clutch return snapped inside...

$30 worth of 3 small monkey metal parts and plastic gearing... Adios...

Sold the reel.

[LgMouthGambler]

Out of curiosity, what broke on the D series?

[DirtyD64]

Gen 3 Revo Winch I had; didn't break and was a tough reel, but the thumb bar would stick and I couldn't get the reel to re-engage after casting... Lost about 2 minutes fishing a school once with mid/deep divers... Just bummed me out because it was such good fishing and the thumb bar issue returned multiple times... Never really happened too much after that though.

[KlingerNOK]

Gen.1 & 2 Revos. I have/had an SX and Premier from each of those generations and clutch return issues popped up within a couple months. Pawl replacement was also a given. Clutches have been repaired and were bad again within months.
The most bulletproof reels I have are old B series Curados/Scorpions. They are no longer in my daily fishing arsenal, but they still provide backup duty in a pinch.

[Tavery5]

Original Lews Tournament Pro. Initially they were a great bunch of reels, but after fishing them hard for about a year they become very geary and the casting distance faded as the bearings did not hold up (yes they were clean) two of the five I had the clicking drag star mech. broke in them, and when I contacted Lews they wanted me to send them the reels because the repair parts were not listed in the schematic. When they did agree to send the parts to repair them they were the wrong ones.

I just moved on from there and have not owned any since.

[cortman]

Lews Team Lite. Brakes were terrible, could never get much distance out of it, and it backlashed a lot. Looked and felt kind of plasticky.
Note that I have used a number of Lews reels and for the most part they were fantastic. The Tournament MB is hard to beat in its price range, period.

[rockchalk06]

Lews Team Lite. Brakes were terrible, could never get much distance out of it, and it backlashed a lot. Looked and felt kind of plasticky.
Note that I have used a number of Lews reels and for the most part they were fantastic. The Tournament MB is hard to beat in its price range, period.

No kidding man? My Team Lite was a gem. I only used it for jerkbaits, so it wasn't under a ton of load all the time. It would outcast any of my Shimano's all stock. That's a shame it was a lemon. I really liked mine.

[cortman]

Lews Team Lite. Brakes were terrible, could never get much distance out of it, and it backlashed a lot. Looked and felt kind of plasticky.
Note that I have used a number of Lews reels and for the most part they were fantastic. The Tournament MB is hard to beat in its price range, period.

No kidding man? My Team Lite was a gem. I only used it for jerkbaits, so it wasn't under a ton of load all the time. It would outcast any of my Shimano's all stock. That's a shame it was a lemon. I really liked mine.

That's the weird thing, mine was for weightless senkos and stuff.
Figured it was probably a lemon based on all my good Lews experience up to that point.

[BRONZEBACK32]

Daiwa Sol 2500 spinning reel, I loved it at first, smooth and I also loved the color but after just
a few times using the reel it felt like a grinder.....returned and never got another Daiwa since.

[LowRange]

Steez LTD. Works fine but has a bad gear set that makes it geary feeling. Time to order a new set of gears.

Haibo Smart 50. Performs great but those damn centrifugal brakes won't stay on the spools. Spool bearings died out of the box and had to be replaced.

Flyfisher 150. Plastic POS. Very geary out of the box. Casts far I guess.

[Slazmo]

Daiwa Sol 2500 spinning reel, I loved it at first, smooth and I also loved the color but after just
a few times using the reel it felt like a grinder.....returned and never got another Daiwa since.

Type 1 or Type 2?

Type 2's have been absolutely horrendous here in Aus. The Type 1's can almost fetch more in resale than the newer models.

[Strewth]

This discussion brings to mind the wonderful German word "Verschlimmbesserung" - a supposed improvement that makes things worse. See it a lot in reels.

[goldrod]

This discussion brings to mind the wonderful German word "Verschlimmbesserung" - a supposed improvement that makes things worse. See it a lot in reels.

That's why I don't jump ponies as much. New isn't always better. Back to the D7.... I have 3 of them one D5 and 3 MG7 100 and this was the first failure in all my time with this beloved platform. Soon as I know what happened I'll certainly let your know.

It does seem that certain platforms have a high reliability rate like the OG zillions at least IMO