Shimano is back!!

[GRIZZ]

A few days ago I stopped by a tackle shop that had a complete full line supply of fresh from the factory Shimano spinning reels. Some of you might remember that I have been pounding Shimano for it's horrendous bail trip on otherwise great reels for a few years now, and have been recommending other reels. Every one of these new reels have the newly designed bail trip they introduced in the Ci4 Stradic, and it is one of the best bail trips I have used. In fact, every reel I handled from as low as $30 felt better than any Shimano I have ever held. In short - Shimano is BACK!! The years of technological advancements and mature designs have finally really come together. I was amazed at the perfection of every reel I handled. I haven't used and abused any of them yet, but my first impression really have me interested in them again. Woohoo!

[crappiemax]

That's good to hear.
I used to use Shimano exclusively for about 10 years but have been very dissappointed by the bail performance. I felt I sure wasn't getting ay better performance from a $60 - $70 Shimano reel than I was getting fron a $20 - $30 Diawa or Mitchell.
Do you have any model names or numbers for the new and improved reels?

[Blackhawk19]

Great news, I like the reels.

[crappieseeker]

I knew you hounded about that for a long time, glad to hear about the improvement.

[Wannabe...]

I missed the hounding. What was your complaint and how have they improved? Really don't use a spinning reel that much, but interested to hear what the problem was and how it has been corrected.

Wannabe...

[zwalls]

I missed the hounding. What was your complaint and how have they improved? Really don't use a spinning reel that much, but interested to hear what the problem was and how it has been corrected.

Wannabe...

+1

[skillett007]

They are back and quality is great, I've purchased 4 reels this year -2 ci4's, 2 symytres. Don't think I'll buy any other brand at this point

[skiptomylu]

Hey there buddy I see your doing good huh? I bought a couple of Shimano's that were redesigned a couple of years back and these are the best, smoothest reels I have had the pleasure of using. they are high end, not as high as Shimano can be like with the Stella, but mine are the Sustain 1000 FE Spinning Reel SA-1000FE. I would buy more if my wife wouldn't kill me. I found them on ebay for a considerable discount over some of the popular places they sell them so make sure to check out one your looking for on ebay before you buy. If you want the finest reels for the bucks IMHO try this one and you will never go back. If my memory serves me right I saved near $100 on each. I know they are still a lot of money, but one cast and crank back in tells you all you need know. I have a lot of hight end reels, most Shimano, but these 2 just stomp all the others I have.

Skip

[GRIZZ]

Here is what the problem was. This has been going on for about 6-7 years I think, maybe even longer. Take the whole reel into account during that time. Smooth, good bearings, good spool, good bail and line management, quality build, pretty much an excellent reel with one glaring, deal breaking fault. The bail trip, when opened, locked up the reel when slowly forwarded up to the trip point. It was so difficult to release the bail it felt as though you were wrenching the internals to the point where damage was certain to occur over time. Add to that it's just the principle that they have the reputation as the industry leader and are the best selling reel, so they rest on that reputation and put out a substandard component on all their reels for the better part of a decade all the way up to the Stella. Add to that also that it was simply irritating that such a good reel had this unacceptable issue that they simply refused to acknowledge and fix. In my view it was corporate pretentiousness which simply made me dislike the brand.

The models? From the under $30 Sienna and up all the reels felt really great. I was pretty surprised at the build quality, smoothness, and design of even that reel. It can be had for under $30 at walmart.com and other places. The tackle shop I saw it at had it at $30. The reel models go up about $10 per model or so from there, and every one I handled felt pretty much perfect and to be honest almost identical. I know that every reel as it goes up the line has better components and features, but honestly they all felt good enough that I feel confident recommending them. Every bail trip was perfect, all were smooth and tight. I would be interested to know where they start adding oscillating spools. That is the point that I would suggest starting to look. That one feature on top of an otherwise good reel is what makes the difference with line management and trouble free casting.

WARNING!! Be sure and get newly manufactured reels. I have no idea when they changed all the bail trips, but it was recently. If you get a reel that has been in stock for a while you risk getting one of the older designs. Look at the model numbers at the Shimano website and make sure your buying the most current design. The letters at the end of the name are different.

Skip! I'm doing good. Good to see you.

I just found that reels as cheap as the sienna have oscillation. Amazing!

One problem Shimano has though is that other reel companies weren't sleeping while they were. Pflueger and Daiwa in particular have some magnificent reels, particularly in the higher end reels. Don't ignore them. In the low end though, I don't see anyone coming close to these new Shimanos.

[PIGINTHEPIGPEN]

I own several Shimano's. From the $60 to $220 range. Never had an issue with any of them.