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Penn Battle reels are real value

10K views 36 replies 24 participants last post by  lakes and wakes 
#1 ·
In the last ten years I havent seen a $99 reel as durable smooth and maintenance free as theese new Penns. My reels that cost two and thre times as much are not holding up to the stress of Florida reef fishing but the battles go out everday and seem like new with just a rinse.
 
#3 ·
Bought 2 Battles 6000s early into the Fall Run, abused them every day, and they held up great. Smooth drags, smooth reeling, best reel for the money I've come across. :thumbsup:
 
#25 ·
Bought 2 Battles 6000s early into the Fall Run, abused them every day, and they held up great. Smooth drags, smooth reeling, best reel for the money I've come across. :thumbsup:
Joey Z you still in NJ, I thought you'd be hitting the ski trails by now, I have 2 older Peen reels from the early 1990, love'em, and have new one came from China they do not seem to hold up as well as the older ones.
 
#9 ·
Yeah, they're made in China somewhere. Get used to it: there are only a handful of spinning reels made in the U.S., and they're all expensive (Accurate TwinSpin, Penn Torque spinner, ZeeBaas) except for Ardent reels, which are made in Missouri, but which are freshwater reels, and not suitable for saltwater use. It's a sad fact, but if you want a saltwater spinning reel, you either have to spend $700 or more, or buy something manufactured overseas.

The price point for Penn these days is roughly $250. Anything under that will be made in Asia, and anything more than that will be manufactured in Philly. Penn still makes a ton of reels in the U.S., but itr's just not economically feasible to make budge models like the Battle in the U.S. anymore.
 
#7 ·
Jersey they are manufactured overseas. I am glad to see such good reviews though as I am thinking of the Battle 7000 for Tuna Jigging with The Penn Blue Water Carnage jigging Rod for my kid as I do not want to spend a ton of money on the combo for him to not enjoy it....If it works out though I may just get one as a back up for Myself cause the price point is dead on
 
#19 ·
After having several Penns fail badly on me in the past, I was reluctant to give these new ones a try, and I am really happy I did. Love the fact that the anti reverse was removed, that pawl was the first thing to break on my other ones.This past fall I beat the hell out of a 4000 in the surf and it never skipped a beat.
I have to outfit many outfits on my guide boat so I can't afford to spend a ton per reel, especially since an inexperienced client could drop it over the gunwhale. Has anybody else noticed that the reels in the $60-$100 range that used to be good now barely make it thru one season? I have been thru the less expensive Daiwas, quantums and shimanos and they all bit the bullet. Ten years ago these reels would last a few seasons before dying.
Looking forward to replacing my other light duty reels on board with some Battles in 2012!
 
#21 · (Edited)
Had my butt handed to me yesterday by a Goliath of masive proportions. I didnt get him on the Battle but on a heavier Shimano conventional but after an hour of me taking three feet and giving up three feet I held the spool and tried to force him up out of the 50 foot water using the gunnel as a lever, finaly breaking the 65 pound braid.
It was a good thing as we slammed the Cobia 4 miles further out. Fishing down here everday will realy humble you and your tackle.
 
#27 ·
my battles wore out in 1 month, or less, and I couldn't fish them because the bails closed on the cast everytime-costing me 100$ or more in wood in approx 3 minutes-if penn was smart theyd make them manual bail-maybe they work for trout, weakies, flounder but for stripers they are just as bad as every shimano-try throwing a pencil-with a fully loaded rod-with a battle (or shimano for that matter)-the bail will close, 1 out of three times- just like any other reel with an autmatic bail-once I had to dunk a 6000battle landing a 25lber on a dangerous jetty-ruined after one dunking-started making this clicker sound-eventually I had to clip the bails on the battles to evan put a pencil out there-and the finishes came off within a month-honestly, there is only two reels I'd recommend people to get-and theyre definetly not the stella or the battle-
 
#28 ·
its okay

i bought a 5000 in november and used and abused it in one fall, i heard great things and people said they were bomb proof. i should be an equipment tester. one fall and the things burnt up, the start up on the retrieve is very resistant and gritty when it gets going, not to mention rough to keep going. i maintained it regularly, rinsed with freshwater after every use and cleaned and lubed it up as needed. the reel is a good value if your not hard on your equipment. im gonna have to get something thats more durable. any suggestions for a knew rel for me to ruin?
 
#33 · (Edited)
i bought a 5000 in november and used and abused it in one fall, i heard great things and people said they were bomb proof. i should be an equipment tester. one fall and the things burnt up, the start up on the retrieve is very resistant and gritty when it gets going, not to mention rough to keep going. i maintained it regularly, rinsed with freshwater after every use and cleaned and lubed it up as needed. the reel is a good value if your not hard on your equipment. im gonna have to get something thats more durable. any suggestions for a knew rel for me to ruin?

Yes A diawa saltist 4000, 4500 or fin nor offshore, both have manual bails, and will last a little longer-but will still wear out quick-and are both pushing 2lbs or over-basically they both are a waste of 200$-Vs or Z-bass is all I'm gonna waste my money on from now on..mainly because they have a simple line-roller-that you can turn easy by hand and lube-all the other line rollers out there totally suck-stella included-why the hell would you put ball bearings there?? simple is best for the salt-I checkd out the daiwa saltiga surf-and laughed my *** off-what balogna! wheighing in at 12 oz the VS150 is by far #1 for me-33lbs of drag-325 yds of #50 spectra-I dont know why I wasted approx 2000$$ over the last ten years on reels I knew wouldnt last long...Last season I was cranking in 30lbers in 45 seconds with it...and $750, really isn that much compared to the other high-end reels that VS totally blows away-at least in my opinion...
 
#37 ·
not much the battle is a full metal body and has a braid ready spool, other than that its the same except the battle has a couple extra rubber bushings for sealing it up better. i had mine completely submerged no less than 100 times last season and every time i cleaned the main gears no water or salt ever made it in there soo its sealed up pretty good
 
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