Yet another Van Staal Question

[ChiefLinesider]

Mixed responses as usual. If this were a thread on whether or not to purchase reel X, satisfied owners of other reels would suggest not buying reel X based on their experiences. And happy owners of reel X would say, buy their reel. If there is a large following with the reel in question or a widespread desire from people to own that reel it's probably wise to listen.

No reel is flawless. They all break. And no reel is a good investment. Rocks/fish/Saltwater habitually expose any defect a reel manufacturer has overlooked. This is true with most every fishing related product I can think of.........


Everyone has different expectations of what they want from a reel. With price being the deciding factor for most.

[fishpoopoo]

Originally Posted by ChiefLinesider

No reel is flawless. They all break. .

Yes, I suppose that is true. But truth be told, I have had fewer mechanical problems with my Penn 706z's and Fin-Nor Ahab 16's (both packed with grease), both of which have been subjected to the same level of wet/immersed fishing that my Van Staals have.

If you are going to pay $700 for a reel, and then plunk down $35-$50 a year to have it serviced, it SHOULD be flawless.

Van Staal's should be held to a higher standard, and I think the company could do a better job of improving the value proposition.

My pet peeves about the reel:

1) Fix the goddamn drag

2) Fix the line winding problem (belly in the spool)

3) Redesign the drag knob. It's too hard to manipulate in colder weather and the edges contribute to line tangles. A lot of Montauk guys get around this by filing the edges down, but it looks fugly.

4) Put the counterweight back inside ... I can't tell you how many times the line has gotten stuck at the base of the exterior counterweight on the newer models (easy fix with epoxy, but should I futz around with a reel I just paid $700 for).

5) There should be a more durable finish that is scratch resistant. All my VS's look like $hit. Because they are anodized, they can't be refinished. So VS should really think about powder coating or some other heavy duty scratch resistant finish.

[Mike P]

I don't think the lind winding issue is a biggie. It's never caused me any knotting problems, even with a very soft braid like Whiplash.

Fixing it means making the gearing more complex, equalling more failure potential, IMO.

[fishpoopoo]

Originally Posted by Mike P

I don't think the lind winding issue is a biggie. It's never caused me any knotting problems, even with a very soft braid like Whiplash.

Fixing it means making the gearing more complex, equalling more failure potential, IMO.

A $700 reel should be PERFECT.

[RIROCKHOUND]

So Ben, by that logic, an 80K SUV that costs X times more than my Tacoma should be perfect; but landrovers still break down!

[fishpoopoo]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

So Ben, by that logic, an 80K SUV that costs X times more than my Tacoma should be perfect; but landrovers still break down!

A Series I disco list was $35K. The worst POS ever driven, and JD Powers confirms this!

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

So Ben, by that logic, an 80K SUV that costs X times more than my Tacoma should be perfect; but landrovers still break down!

Strange thing is that based on consumer reports and other surveys, the tacoma would be astronomically more reliable. The worst reliability is always mercedes, bmw, landrover, jaguar etc.

Even if this were the case with vs, there must be some performance advantage of the high end cars and high end reels that makes them appealing, right?

It makes sense to tell someone that there may be other reels to look that will do a great job and save money or whatever... but (and I don't own one...) I don't get the business of basically implying someone is foolish for getting one or just doing it for status. Funny thing is I don't hear this as much about Arra rods, which I own and love, but could certainly have spent much less on rods that do a comparable job.