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I don't even know what they are trying to do at Van Staal. Prices were already quite steep as they were. Then the 400 came out and I lost all respect for them. Two fixed bails on an offshore reel? What's with that?
The reason I wanted one was for vanity. I admit it. The reel has such a presence to it that when you see a guy using one, you know he isn't just some guy that comes out once a year.(Am I agreeing with Ron Kuby?) I have given a VS a crank or two and it was impressive. I also have given stradics and sustains a reel as well and they felt just as good. I am in the market for a sustain now. All the shimano reels that I have used had great feeling drags.
VS will buckle under at some point. Their best feature is a life long warrantee but at 50 bucks a year? If you crack that case open yourself, you could save money and buy a new reel in a few years. I have had my Penn 6500 for 4 years I think and in that total time, I have put maybe 20 bucks into it and it still feels like new. One time it was the anti-reverse and yoke, the next time it was just the felt seal washer in the handle plus grease. 50 bucks a year? I don't think so.
Someone will pay those prices but it's not going to be me.
And I wonder if McReynolds really does that. Name dropping in one thing that really annoys me, but dropping your own is the most pathetic thing I ever heard. Even from those stories that D'Amico wrote, I didn't like the sound of that guy. I promise when I catch my world record bass, I will keep myself humbled.
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