Van Staal Reel Servicing Turnaround = 6 Weeks!
 

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............... :sick:

Is that good or bad?

-spence

Thats nothing
I talked with 1 guy that has already distroyed 2 "new style reels"

Did he run over them with his truck :confused:

-spence

he has a nice puddle of oil around him in the water..looks like a chum slick

I can hear Toby already, :lossinit:, but who would really want to own one of those hunks of chit? A shop in Falmouth now stocks them and for the life of me I don't get it. Get a Daiwa Saltiga if you want to pay big dough. I have played with both and at least those reels seem like they "might" be worth it.

VS= :rocketem:

OK Toby, you may fire at will. :eek5:

Steve,

Try fishing Squibby or Gay Head from the beach (up to your neck in water) with anything else, and you'll appreciate what a Van Staal can do. Heck, you don't even have to go that far. Go snorkeling in Falmouth with one. :cool:

For me service is everything and everything needs service.

(Remember shimano platinum service = 48 hours...and if you have a real problem you have a new reel in your hands)

Ben, I guess your right in one respect. Maybe Squibby or Gayhead you might need one but I still would be fine and my reel would be out of the water, me being so tall and you being a tad shorter. Here on the cape, even in Falmouth, the bass have this habit of swimming right up close to shore. Maybe if you guys weren't walking around in the water with them and scaring them half to death all the time they would do that where you fish. :humpty: :laughs: True surfcasters out where I surf fish on the outer cape never set foot in the suds (cept bassmaster and that drives me nutz when I fish with him). In %%%%%%% we have this spot called *&****&^*$#. It's pretty good in the spring and fall. Reminds me alot of RI. All rocks but the best fishing is right in them and around them. ( if Bassmaster sees this he will go nutz but everyone knows the place anyway) I fish that whole shoreline in November almost every night including all the jetties to the point and if you put one toe in the water they spook, a good 3/4 of a mile of rocky shoreline mixed with sand flats and boulders. Awesome needle spot ( they luv stubbys with feathers there bigtime). My old 704's would get dunked in water and sand all the time and they still work and my Spheros' and Stradics do too and all you do is hose em down and a touch of WD-40 and your off. I still don't buy it, at least not for the cape and try not steppin' on em it might work to your advantage! :laughs: :wave: :spin: :usd: :bo: Salters soon! (Saltiga) :angel:

Geeze, learn to cast and you won't have to stand up to yer neck in water. OK, that was my funny for the day. I've read countless VS threads, and they've convinced me NOT to buy one. What I've learned is: 1;They are pricey as all hell. 2; You gotta send 'em back for service every year and add another half a c-note. 3; Their lightning service will get it back in a couple of months, maybe, if they don't change hands again. I honestly don't get it. You coulda had 6 or 7 704z's which you can service yourself. Really wish I had that kind of ching. Not putting anyone down, mind you. It's just that my checkbook won't let me rationalize that way.

I have too, especially on SOL. What I find amusing is that one out of ten guys who post to those actually owns one. The rest "heard from a friend whose buddy" had one crap the bed on him.

The two I own have never been to any of the various owners for service. I could give a crap about the warranty at this point, since they clip you for "wear and tear" items anyway. They're even simpler inside than a 704 or 706. The hardest part is getting the plate off, after that, anyone can clean and grease them. Oil leaks and you can't find the O-rings and seals? No prob, just grease them like you'd do any other reel.

When I look at the schematic of a Stella or a Saltiga, I :shocked: :eek5: :conf:

I'm on the fence about VS. I used an older 250 last season that I picked up at a good price on several rods. I need another reel so I've got a backup and so I don't have to swap out so much.

Mulling through the options, nothing seems as good. I like the VS but don't want to spend the dough for another, nor do I want multiple reels that I can't service.

So instead of a VS250/200, what reel should I get for my 1204? Probably braid, and won't be dunked as much as I do the VS.

-spence

dangerous spot

:hihi: :hidin: :faga: :call: :call: :eek5: :hang: :uhoh: :spam:



Saltiga is looking good to me too.

I like what Mr. Sandman says about the service on the Shimano also

Oh great another VS thread :yak:

I'll be honest with you guys...

I do enjoy fishing with VS reels, whether conditions require them or not.

I haven't had one problem with any that I have owned personally.

(I did have a beef with a set of VS pliers a while back, I got so pissed off that I destroyed them with a rifle on the 100 yard firing line, but I digress).

Let's forget about the merits and disadvantages of how others think the VS reels perform.

Just from an ownership perspective, what I've found is that it's a pain in the arse to have to send in multiple reels for servicing every year... so... I am down to just one VS. It's an old style (factory retrofitted) black 250. It's the perfect size for most of the immersive fishing I do in Rhody, Long Island, and Mass (and yes, there are certain places in the OBX I would fish it). There really is no substitute (I haven't checked out the Saltigas yet, they don't make a size that exactly corresponds to a VS 250).

I can justify owning one and sending ONE in every year. Not 2,3, or 4.

My backups are modified manual Penn 704z and a 706.

Am I every going to plunk down $800 for a Saltiga?

I doubt it. I'm getting really picky about what I'm spending my money on nowadays.

Ben, buy a boat. If I lived where you lived I would. Can you say Fisher's Island, The Race, Valiant Rock etc., etc., etc. :buds: You can come up here and surfish with me anytime anyway. :hihi:

I might just do that Steve, when I turn into a crusty old fart. :rotf3:

p.s. Owning a couple of VS's is definitely cheaper than owning a boat. :whackin:

Already made the switch. At the start of last season, I owned 5. This season is about to start and I own 1. I did buy a pretty Saltiga not too long ago. I dumped the VS's for the reason stated by Ben, paying for the yearly service. That is my major gripe with them. This damn Saltiga better work out. As I told Ben when we were talking this past weekend, I spend all this $$ on spinning reels and still throw conventionals 75% of the time. My problem lies in the times I do throw spinning, I need something that is capable of being under water, handling braid, and is "fail safe". It would be so much easier if I didn't fish so damn much.

I don't get the expensive service and no decent warrenty on a costly reel. I could probably use a saltiga for those exteme nights but I would like to hear how diawa handles the service first. So I am waiting for Toby to test drive it first. :bl: Next year. For now I will stick with what is working for me.

Am very interested to hear your feedback on that very pretty reel. I might re-assess if the reviews come back positive. :tooth:

Fishweewee-

From talking to Toby a little over the past few months I don't think I put my reels through the same abuse as him (I don't skish or reel underwater but I do get my reels splashed & dunked alot), but to give you a quick review I fished 2 Saltigas all last year and they are as good as new still. Also, I did not pay $800 for them, you can find them around the same price as a VS.

This is after I fished 2 VS's for the 2 years before that and had albeit "small" problems with them (leaking oil & a tempermental drag knob), but still problems. I liked the VS's, but not nearly as much as the Saltiga's.

Joe

good thing your not an australian or a southern baptist !

I dunno Spence, isn't 6 weeks an awful long time just to clean, lube and put new drag washers in a reel?

Guess it depends on the expectation. I've never sent mine in yet...

Dare I ask how much the upgrade costs? I don't think I want to know.

-spence

Uh oh.

Upgrade could be $200 or more. Not including the $35 annual service fee.

Why would ya need the upgrade? If it isn't broke don't fix it.

I heard it was a small fortune as you need a new spool as well. It would be nice to have the sealed drag, but I don't plan to do it until I feel I need to. The regular drag seems to work just fine...

-spence

Don't do it. There's nothing wrong with the stainless steel shaft on the old reels. WTF would you want to spend 200 beans for titanium and a drag you can't service or replace yourself, plus a new spool? Bad enough to have gears you can't get to easily.

I paid around 400 clams for each of mine. I should spend half again that much on each for a very dubious "upgrade"? No thanks :D

Yea, I got a great deal on the older model and the thought of spending 1/2 to 3/4 of the original cost again is pretty silly :whackin:

-spence