Trying the Zenon spinners.....

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karirick
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Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by karirick » Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:50 pm

Ordered a 20 and 30 size from TW. Had to at least handle them and see if they are legit or just another ABU.

I'll post my thoughts and the weight etc Friday if anyone is curious.

Rick

mkc
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by mkc » Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:11 pm

Please do, I am very curious to hear more about the Zenon. I had a low opinion of Abu, but decided to try the Revo MGX Theta and liked it a lot.

karirick
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by karirick » Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:12 pm

They should be here tomorrow, I'm hopeful they are really nice, but not counting on them being a Stella.....

Firstoutfisher
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Firstoutfisher » Thu Oct 21, 2021 5:23 pm

I think they're ugly as sin but I am still interested in them. Want to get one and a super light rod to make the lightest spinning combo ever.

karirick
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by karirick » Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:07 pm

Well I'm not impressed. 20 weighs 5.4oz not sure where the 4.9 came from. 30 weighs 5.667 with the non hookeeper handle cap.

Fairly smooth but have some play in the anti-reverse and handle slop worse than Shimano.

They're going back to TW via UPS tomorrow. Good try by ABU; but nowhere near Shimano/Daiwa quality/design IMHO.

Sorry if anyone else got their hopes up.

Curious if others will feel differently.

Have a good weekend.

Rick

Firstoutfisher
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Firstoutfisher » Fri Oct 22, 2021 5:54 am

karirick wrote:
Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:07 pm
Well I'm not impressed. 20 weighs 5.4oz not sure where the 4.9 came from. 30 weighs 5.667 with the non hookeeper handle cap.

Fairly smooth but have some play in the anti-reverse and handle slop worse than Shimano.

They're going back to TW via UPS tomorrow. Good try by ABU; but nowhere near Shimano/Daiwa quality/design IMHO.

Sorry if anyone else got their hopes up.

Curious if others will feel differently.

Have a good weekend.

Rick
Boo,thats disappointing

Bbrotz
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Bbrotz » Sun Nov 28, 2021 5:18 pm

Has anyone else tried the Zenon spinners and have an opinion? I was able to snatch one up for $250 with all the sales going on and I figured it was worth a try at that price. If not I will probably just resell it and make a few bucks

Firstoutfisher
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Firstoutfisher » Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:43 pm

Bbrotz wrote:
Sun Nov 28, 2021 5:18 pm
Has anyone else tried the Zenon spinners and have an opinion? I was able to snatch one up for $250 with all the sales going on and I figured it was worth a try at that price. If not I will probably just resell it and make a few bucks
I saw that sale at thehookup and contemplated picking one up. However my biggest draw to this reel was the weight and it didn't meet the advertised specs in that department. Decided at that price I would rather spend a little more pick up a certate LT. Let us know how it is though!

Bbrotz
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Bbrotz » Thu Dec 02, 2021 7:08 am

Well I got the reel in the mail yesterday and put it on my Phenix K2 ml. And man does this combo look and feel amazing. Total weight came out to 8.4oz. These are just my initial impression without fishing it yet, but it feels pretty solid for such a lightweight reel. All the tolerances are tight except for the handle knob. Nothing a shim or two can’t fix. The bail opens with a very solid thud/ click, and the drag knob has a nice sounding click when you turn it. One thing I did notice is that they changed the drag clicker on this reel to one like Daiwas. I don’t know if this is a new feature as I’ve only owned one other Abu spinner, but on the other one the drag clicker was built into the drag stack. The Zenon has the same drag clicker as my Daiwa Certate Lt. Now as for the smoothness, I would put it on the same level as a Shimano Vanford/ Stradic Ci4+. It isn’t as smooth as my Certate Lt or Shimano Exsence, but for $250 I have no regrets.

karirick
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by karirick » Thu Dec 02, 2021 4:05 pm

Thanks for the update. I'm pretty much a Shimano/Daiwa guy and didnt think the Zenon line lay was great and it felt a little off to me; but I love the weight of the 30 size and extra shallow spool. I had paid 500, so 250 would be a great deal.

I'm open to trying one if more people fish them and like them alot and I can get a deal.

Thanks again.

Rick

Bbrotz
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Bbrotz » Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:43 pm

Yeah I haven’t spooled it up yet so I can’t comment on the line lay. But I don’t think any manufacturers come close to Shimano in that aspect. My initial impressions were based on how much I bought it for, if I had paid retail I probably would have sent it back too. It just isn’t in the same league as Daiwa and Shimano in the same price range

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Thunderblack1984
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Thunderblack1984 » Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:34 am

I tried high end spinning reels from Abu and lets just say I was back at Shimano/Daiwa quick. Even the CS guys at Abu told me not to buy the spinners. Said baitcasters were good but stay away from the MGX and such. They are noisy, bind, and have issues right out of the box on two that I owned. I have had zero issues with Kage, Ci4, Tatula, Theory, Luvius ect...
Philippians 4:6

Drakestar
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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by Drakestar » Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:00 am

I might be the outlier here. I have 4 last-gen MGX spinning reels 30, 2x20 and 2000s) and they’ve worked well for me and held up well. I got the 2000 (finesse 20 from Japan) on my NRX 822 DSR and not only is it a very light and attractive combo, it’s also handled those light line DS fish well.

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Re: Trying the Zenon spinners.....

Post by DirtyD64 » Sat Dec 04, 2021 12:53 pm

I sold my STX20 and my wife's Premier 30. Too many issues. Cold weather fishing the anti reverse would spin backwards too. The main issue was they just got rough after a good season of fishing. I have caught thousands of fish on an old Stradic Ci4+ FA that feels brand new, same reel caught my PB 6-7lber. I say all this because I am about 90% sure the MGX, MGXtreme, and probably the new Abu spinners use the same aluminum gearing and internals. I would be terrified to spend high dollar on one and I buy mid priced Abu rods...

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