Please don't jump on my back. I'm going to buy a V.S. reel early next year. I have heard that there is some problems with the drag freezing up. For those of you who own a V.S., is there a problem at times? If so what models. Thank for your imput before hand.

I haven't had any problems with the drags on mine and can't really remember hearing of anyone else I know that uses one having drag issues. I have a 3 year old 200 and a new this year 250.

I experienced this problem this year, my first year owning a VS. didn't get to use it too much, but I did have trouble with the drag at times. I thought it was just a personal adjustment issue, I had been using tricked out 704 and 706s my whole life. guess i'll have to send it in this winter :wall:

oh and I was using a 250....

I havent had any problems with mine but a buddy of mine has had some problems on a couple early model sealed drag 200. He sent them in a couple times to get fixed now does the maintenance himself.

My 200 had drag issues right out of the box.

I contacted customer service and sent back the spool 'intact'. They replaced it (or said they did) and I haven't had any issues since.


Test the :fury: out of it when ya first get it. It was very noticeable on mine.


Good Luck.

I really want to thank all of you, when your about to spend $1,000.00 plus tax in my state that's another $60.00 it would seem that the reel would be with out problems!!

I had a couple of issue with my VS250N non sealed drag this year. I took the drag washers out cleaned them up put it back together and the problem went away. I am pretty sure the newer versions have that problem resolved

I had a couple of issue with my VS250N non sealed drag this year. I took the drag washers out cleaned them up put it back together and the problem went away. I am pretty sure the newer versions have that problem resolved

I like the older drags myself, if for no other reason than I can use Penn washers in them :btu:

Really--they fixed something that wasn't broken when they went to the sealed drags. You replaced the stock Rulon washers with Penn HT-100s (size 6-60, the same washers in the 704/706), applied some Braid or Cal's grease to them, and you had a drag that was every bit as good as the sealed one.

What Mike P :wave: said! An older VS-200 with HT-100's and some Braid Drag Lube is a beautiful thing. Put the washers in wrong and it will lock up. Never had a problem with the sealed drag on my 150 the shaft is another issue. I prefer the non-sealed version but that's me.

Not sure which issue you were wondering about but there's two I hear about, with the first I'll mention being more common. First is an "out of the box" issue which is more of an problem if you like to run a light drag. When they are new the drag stack seems tall and goes from no drag to a lot fairly quickly. Or even doesn't fully turn off.

Best thing you can do for a new Van Staal drag is attach it to something (like a car maybe), crank that drag up, and let it run until it warms up a bit (the drag, not the car).

If you have access to bluefin tuna that will get you results too. VS sealed drags are never better then after some hard use, they are smoother and become more linear as you turn the drag up after a good break in.

The other scenario occurs if the drag gets contaminated by water intrusion and the bearings start to seize, that's generally where the "sticky" drag comes from.

I really want to thank all of you, when your about to spend $1,000.00 plus tax in my state that's another $60.00 it would seem that the reel would be with out problems!!

i would check ebay and some coupons online before dropping 1K. should be able to do new for 700-800 i believe.