what's better??

Whats the application... Boat Stella, swim,,, I would go ZB.. My ZB was flawless last year...

shore, rocks, lots of dunking. clumsy fisherman.

ZB or VS... It would be your preference that decides... I have both... gotta say the ZB was flawless last year... spent most of the time underwater and beat up... Drag still smooth... Pretty happy with the ZB... not to mention it does not have the sloppy spool my 1 1/2 year old VS developed....

You send a Stella in they send you a new one in a week or so. A VS may come back the same season. I have 4 VS and 8 shimanos and the down time is a pain during the season. the VS does do submerged a bit better.The Shimano is safer un attended LOL Fewer theives look for shimanos

I have a Stella, spent alot of time underwater this season. I sent it to Shimano, they had it for three weeks. They replaced everything inside, gears, bearings, rollers etc..it was under warranty still that's why I was rough on it. I had to call three times to find out what was taking so long as it comes with the "platinum" two day service plan...when I finally got an answer the guy (at shimano California ) said "There was alot of corrosion in the reel, did you submerge it? My reply was yes, alot as its supposed to be "sealed"...I'm less than impressed with the sealed part of their statement. Now the Stella is an animal for many other things, love it for retrieve speed and casting. Just don't get it wet. My next reel is a ZB.
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I have a Stella, spent alot of time underwater this season. I sent it to Shimano, they had it for three weeks. They replaced everything inside, gears, bearings, rollers etc..it was under warranty still that's why I was rough on it. I had to call three times to find out what was taking so long as it comes with the "platinum" two day service plan...when I finally got an answer the guy (at shimano California ) said "There was alot of corrosion in the reel, did you submerge it? My reply was yes, alot as its supposed to be "sealed"...I'm less than impressed with the sealed part of their statement. Now the Stella is an animal for many other things, love it for retrieve speed and casting. Just don't get it wet. My next reel is a ZB.
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I'll just have to take that Stella off your hands for the appropriate discount price so you can head towards a ZB...

I'll just have to take that Stella off your hands for the appropriate discount price so you can head towards a ZB...

Sorry bud, its a great reel especially for where we fish but I just wont dunk it now that I know it isn't sealed well at all.
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Whats a better vehicle, a ferrari or a jeep?

If you are driving on a pristine highway, the ferrari. (stella)

If you are going off road to beat the piss out of it, the jeep (Van Staal)

I have a Stella, spent alot of time underwater this season. I sent it to Shimano, they had it for three weeks. They replaced everything inside, gears, bearings, rollers etc..it was under warranty still that's why I was rough on it. I had to call three times to find out what was taking so long as it comes with the "platinum" two day service plan...when I finally got an answer the guy (at shimano California ) said "There was alot of corrosion in the reel, did you submerge it? My reply was yes, alot as its supposed to be "sealed"...I'm less than impressed with the sealed part of their statement. Now the Stella is an animal for many other things, love it for retrieve speed and casting. Just don't get it wet. My next reel is a ZB.
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I have seen this googan beat the bag out of this reel its clearly impressive. I finaly upgraded to a saltiga thanks to tony o, but i would have to say if i was to make a large purchase, stella it would be.

If you wanna be in the mid 2's the saragosa 10k is a beast.
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Sorry bud, its a great reel especially for where we fish but I just wont dunk it now that I know it isn't sealed well at all.
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My experience exactly, only mine just got splashed a lot and maybe dunked briefly once. Absolutely a great reel and I'm glad I bought it but now I baby mine.

Just a quick note... Can't beat calling ZB talking to Ron and knowing he will take care of you.

Not to mention they brought all their manufacturing back to the USA....

Service center in CT if you don't want to service it yourself, if you do then you can personally attend a sevice class at ZB.

THATS HUGE IN MY BOOK....
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I have a Stella, spent alot of time underwater this season. I sent it to Shimano, they had it for three weeks. They replaced everything inside, gears, bearings, rollers etc..it was under warranty still that's why I was rough on it. I had to call three times to find out what was taking so long as it comes with the "platinum" two day service plan...when I finally got an answer the guy (at shimano California ) said "There was alot of corrosion in the reel, did you submerge it? My reply was yes, alot as its supposed to be "sealed"...I'm less than impressed with the sealed part of their statement. Now the Stella is an animal for many other things, love it for retrieve speed and casting. Just don't get it wet. My next reel is a ZB.
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Was this the stella SW?

Was this the stella SW?

Yes 10K SW was new at the start of last season. I know sealed doesn't mean waterproof, but I had that thing under water alot this past season. I also heard quite a few other ones grinding and binding over the year. Honestly I was rough on it because it was under warranty and I wanted to know how it would hold up over time. IMO the reel is poorly sealed, I did oil it infrequently . But to me the Saragosa 10K is a great reel you shouldn't get wet..for a ton less. I also have a Saltiga Z4500 and that was under water and in sand/surf a ton this year too , I sent that out for service and it needed no parts..none. Just a clean and reassemble, thats impressive to me. That little reel is on my eel rod and saw alot of underwater, sandy waves etc..has me wishing I got a 6500GT instead of the Stella.

Just a quick note... Can't beat calling ZB talking to Ron and knowing he will take care of you.

Not to mention they brought all their manufacturing back to the USA....

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well... there are still parts manufactured in china that they ASSEMBLE here in the US. Nothing, unfortunately, NOTHING is 100% manufactured in the US anymore.

Having said that, ZeeBaas is probably the closest thing you're going to get to totally made in the USA

Yes 10K SW was new at the start of last season. I know sealed doesn't mean waterproof, but I had that thing under water alot this past season.

Good to know. I love my saltiga 4500 and it gets wet pretty regularly without any problems. At some point I would like to kick down for a bigger reel and the sw was on my list. I probably wouldn't pay the extra dough for it over a saragosa after your experience.

scott,

i was really considering a stella sw and put a lot of time into trying to decide if it was for me before deciding to get the previous version of the saltiga 4500 instead. give me a call and i'll let you know what i found and why i decided not to go with it. if i were you, i'd go with a VS 200 or ZB 25, leaning toward the ZB if the extra $ isn't a concern. people seam to be having some issues with the newer VS, but mike's ZB isn't exactly looking awsome right now either.

has me wishing I got a 6500GT instead of the Stella.


I was thinking the same thing. I sent mine in a few weeks ago and haven't got it back yet. Probably going through the same deal as yours, Corrosion.

I was thinking the same thing. I sent mine in a few weeks ago and haven't got it back yet. Probably going through the same deal as yours, Corrosion.


Yup, your is one I heard from three miles away...sounded like marbles in a blender! I should add, the customer service rep was somewhat attitudinal when he asked if it was under water...didn't sit well with me considering it is their flagship reel.

Heres the repair parts list from Shimano for my reel. A major overhaul, strange part is I dont see a new seal kit on there anywhere, I can assume one of these major internal components comes with the seal kit..or at least I hope so.

shore, rocks, lots of dunking. clumsy fisherman.

in this case a VS or ZB will be your best choice. I have a VS 200 and I love it so far.

VS 200 or 250 for the surf. Ive fished a previously owned, Chinese made 250 for 2 seasons wetsuiting nearly every other night in the surf. No problems at all. I also own a Stella FA 8000 and have had corrosion issues....

I have a Stella, spent alot of time underwater this season. I sent it to Shimano, they had it for three weeks. They replaced everything inside, gears, bearings, rollers etc..it was under warranty still that's why I was rough on it. I had to call three times to find out what was taking so long as it comes with the "platinum" two day service plan...when I finally got an answer the guy (at shimano California ) said "There was alot of corrosion in the reel, did you submerge it? My reply was yes, alot as its supposed to be "sealed"...I'm less than impressed with the sealed part of their statement. Now the Stella is an animal for many other things, love it for retrieve speed and casting. Just don't get it wet. My next reel is a ZB.
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I don't think I've seen Shimano advertise the SW as "sealed".

They claim a waterproof Drag and a water resistant body.

It has no gasket or seal of any type on the body cover. The cover fits very well and I think water resistant is a fair claim, I think the sealed claim was from others not them.

Hard to hold it against them if they never claimed it.

I might have missed it.