Saltiga and Saltiga Blast

[Mr. Sandman]

There are guys that have a lot more hours on their saltiga then I do ( just got mine this season) but I fished it pretty hard. (z4500)

My overall comments were the stock handle felt odd to me but I was able to upgrade that to a powerknob and it seems better.
The drag is very good but not as good as the stella IMO. They are both outstanding compared to penns or any other lower end reel but the stella is incredibly smooth and adjusts better.
The real body is probably more water-proof then anything else.
I have had zero problems with it this season, fishing nearly every night for a couple hours.
I will send it in for service this winter (as I do all my good reels)
I will get another one next year for a smaller rod.
Overall, they are up there with the best spinners made and hold up well to lots of use.
Love the heavy manual bail
handles braid great!

Never tried the blast or surf model but the surf model seems to ride very high on the shaft and it is exposed at the top of the cycle.

[luds]

If I was in the market for a new high end reel I would shell out a little more for the z-baas. That reel makes more sense to me for the surf. I'll probably never own one but I'll be jealous of those who do.

[Vogt]

Originally Posted by luds48

If I was in the market for a new high end reel I would shell out a little more for the z-baas. That reel makes more sense to me for the surf. I'll probably never own one but I'll be jealous of those who do.

What I'm worried about with Z Baas is the fact that these reels are so new. There may be long term problems that havent surfaced?? You never Know. Also theres always the chance of a new company going out of buissiness. If I were to ever get one, it would be after they have been around for a while...

[nibleme]

i just got my zeebaas ........WOW...enough said

[Pete_G]

I don't own a Saltiga, but I know 3 guys that do REALLY fish hard, REALLY catch fish, and have owned them for at least several years instead of having just purchased them a few days ago. Their experience and track record of how much they fish and what they catch is all I need to know and I'd buy one myself, but I'm a little prone to submersion so it's Van Staal for me. Time (at least several seasons) and actual use is the real test of all reels and the Saltiga has proven it's worth. I think tlapinski killed one of these, but it required skishing which resulted in corroded internals. Otherwise it's proving to be bulletproof. There's a thread on it somewhere in this forum.

There's almost 16,000 Van Staals out there now as it's been around since the early 90's. Surfcasters break everything eventually so not surprisingly problems do occur. What you don't hear is a guy like DZ whose several reels date way back and have only been serviced once or twice or Steve McKenna whose never had a problem at all with reels dating all the way back to the same time period. To say those guys fish hard and catch is and understatement. I think VS problems are greatly exaggerated by the Internet. There's more guys like DZ and Steve out there then there are guys with problems. You just don't hear about them. Probably because they're out fishing.

The ZeeBaas, the only real negative at this point is the lack of seasons under it's belt. Time (years, not a season) will tell. It's a big negative, but, it might be worth giving it a try because it could be a great reel. The gear junkie side of me wants one of these things. The sensible side of me says my VS reels have never betrayed me in 7 years of service so spending the $$ on one is pointless for me.

[JoeP]

Pete:

Not sure just what you mean but FYI I've occasionally "REALLY fished hard" and "REALLY caught fish" over the past 4 Seasons with my Saltigas and have had zero problems as well.

Originally Posted by Pete_G

I don't own a Saltiga, but I know 3 guys that do REALLY fish hard, REALLY catch fish, and have owned them for at least several years instead of having just purchased them a few days ago. Their experience and track record of how much they fish and what they catch is all I need to know and I'd buy one myself, but I'm a little prone to submersion so it's Van Staal for me. Time (at least several seasons) and actual use is the real test of all reels and the Saltiga has proven it's worth. I think tlapinski killed one of these, but it required skishing which resulted in corroded internals. Otherwise it's proving to be bulletproof. There's a thread on it somewhere in this forum.

There's almost 16,000 Van Staals out there now as it's been around since the early 90's. Surfcasters break everything eventually so not surprisingly problems do occur. What you don't hear is a guy like DZ whose several reels date way back and have only been serviced once or twice or Steve McKenna whose never had a problem at all with reels dating all the way back to the same time period. To say those guys fish hard and catch is and understatement. I think VS problems are greatly exaggerated by the Internet. There's more guys like DZ and Steve out there then there are guys with problems. You just don't hear about them. Probably because they're out fishing.

The ZeeBaas, the only real negative at this point is the lack of seasons under it's belt. Time (years, not a season) will tell. It's a big negative, but, it might be worth giving it a try because it could be a great reel. The gear junkie side of me wants one of these things. The sensible side of me says my VS reels have never betrayed me in 7 years of service so spending the $$ on one is pointless for me.

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Pete:

Not sure just what you mean but FYI I've occasionally "REALLY fished hard" and "REALLY caught fish" over the past 4 Seasons with my Saltigas and have had zero problems as well.

You're one of those guys that's given the reel a REAL testing.

[hyefisherman2]

Originally Posted by Pete_G

The ZeeBaas, the only real negative at this point is the lack of seasons under it's belt. Time (years, not a season) will tell. It's a big negative, but, it might be worth giving it a try because it could be a great reel. The gear junkie side of me wants one of these things. The sensible side of me says my VS reels have never betrayed me in 7 years of service so spending the $$ on one is pointless for me.

pete im in the same boat.