Shimano. VS Penn

[spaniard]

Well the weather hasn't been that great for a while, which makes ya sit around and think to much.
So what I was thinking about is the differences between shimano overheads and penn overheads..
Now I've only used shimano, wether overhead or eggbeeter, and my opinion is that they are excellent quality reels and have never let me down in various types of fishing.
Now I have some mates that use penn and say the same thing about there quality.
So I obviously cannot comment on the penn(having never used one) and would like to hear from all those fisherman out there what they believe to be the differences between the two and not necessarily which is the best??? ??? ??? ???

Look forward to hearing from you ........Paul 8) 8)

[jeffo]

haha... is there a comparison!? ::) shimano all the way IMO. i own 6 shimano reels (over head and threadline) and have never had a problem, nor been unhappy with any of them!! i own 2 penns ( one 320gti and a small threadline) and both of them have kicked the bucket and needed repair!! i have also used the internationals and dont think they even come close to a tiagra!! i wouldnt buy penn again.

[davo]

Penn spares are extremely expensive compared to the othres.

[basserman]

well i like both but as they say you get what you pay for
and in both cases when useing both of thire top of the line stuff you should very rarly have a problem when paying that type of cash for
(now thats for their big game stuff)
as for spin gear well i have owned shimano and daiwa and a few other brands but i always come back to the shimano
i just don't think they can be beat with thire relability and smoothness ;D

[wessel]

Spaniard

you do not get bad reels anymore. They are all capable of doing the job, it is just that some are a bit better at taking the punishment that comes with the job.

Me, I am a Penn International dreamer. One day I will own one. Xmas is coming up soon and I can already read the card under the old plastic pine tree:

From myself to myself
Go get the big ones:)


W

[dfox]

Im shimano all the way! But i believe some of the penns are just as good or better! The larger spin fishers 8500-9500 are tough and can probably outlast the btr6500 in sheer ruggeredness (is that a word?) As for the big internationals there legendary 50sw 80sw 130. Built heavy and last! Not a Fin-Nor but they dont have the price tag of one.
Jeff- have you got a tiagra? I used a tiagra 50w and didnt like it as much as the penn 50sw, just my apinion! Pulled them down and thought the penn was better built to, (all this from me a shimano adict!!)...foxy

[mackmauler]

the main difference i think is shimano reels have lead the way in keeping saltwater out of the reels, there are some models in the penns that look to be closing the gap but so many have had the shits with constant water intrusion they wont go back to penns.

i mainly use a penn senator for bottom bashing, they have plenty of winching power and the star drag means you can go from freespool to full drag far faster than a lever drag such as a tld, being a rather open design compared to a tld thumbing the spool is easier.

as for trolling gear im shimano all the way, tlds...after getting splashed all day you can be confident the drag will be absolutely perfect.

[Lucky_Phill]

I have both, and swear by my Penn 8500. the BTR 4500 & 6500 are top stuff and never a problem ( except for that damn antireverse spring ), also TLD's are my fav.

Penn, Shimano and Alvey, is there any other reels ?

Phill

[spinner]

I have an older Penn 45gls (graphite lever senator) and I like the way Penn use all metal inserts in the graphite body for the screws to go into, compared to my tld which uses self tapping screws straight into the body in some places. After saying this, I prefer my tld.

[polydriverjr]

Hey does anyone know how much a shimano tiagra 20 or 30 costs?

Thanks

[banshee]

G'day Polydriver,the following prices came from campbles pro tackle,
Tiagra 20 - $810
Tiagra 30 - $835
Tiagra 30 W LRS on special - $795, nomaly $889.

The 50's and the 80's have a Hydrothermal piston(sealed oil ram that expands and contracts to keep drag consistant through long runs),I have heard of troubles with this system in earlier models.

[polydriverjr]

well there goes my idea of buying a shimano reel:(

$810!!! i was hoping for something like 150-200

anyway thanks banshee.

[scatter1]

you can still get a shimano but it will have to be a tld or charter spec

[spaniard]

Wessel;
Not to concerned whether good or bad Like you said.
Just wondering if it is purely preference by the fisherman, or are there better components which make a reel take more punishment.
If it is preference then so far you have jeffo who is shimano all the way and has used penn's which have let him down, and then you have foxy who is also shimano and has used penn's that have stood the test.
A little experience I had with a TLD25 while working up north was that this reel had caught over 2T of fish in roughly 2mnths. These fish being spanish, reds, trickies, the odd 60 to 80 pld cod and a lot of trout, so it gets a solid workout each time. Now I took it to my usual reel servicing man and when I picked it up he told me it didn't need servicing it was like new. :o
That is probably why I havn't tried anything else and maybe had the blinkers on to other quality gear out there.

[jeffo]

yeah dave i have used tiagras, and IMO bloody beautifull!! ;D

[NQCairns]

I own 6 nice overhead penns and 3 of those cheapy penn overheads (sold as combo's) and as yet have had no problems. For me the decider was the price and it has paid off so far, now that the TLD has came down enough to justify the purchase I will be adding a couple of those soon hopefully, looking forward to it ;D.nq

[notts_so]

Ihave a penn8500 on a ugly 6.3 named excalibur its my most luciest rod and reel and has not let me down in the hole time ive owned it but saying that my shimano set up for big spaniards ha salso done the job ive asked of it .
So all in all ithink there much the same

[spaniard]

Nott so

Mate I am devastated :'( :'( :'( :'(

Thought I was the only one with a weapon named "Excalibur".
[smiley=hanged.gif]
Suppose just didn't want to admit it.
Here's a pic.

[dfox]

The weapon- paul...You'd sleep with the mighty EXALIBUR if ya could..lol...foxy

[magicpudding]

We've had no trouble what so ever with our shimanos (when using them as they were designed). We own Tiagras, TLDs and a few others, and the only one i've screwed up is a corsair 400? by putting 30lb braid on it and using it offshore. dumb! As already mentioned, some penns have water intrusion problems, and on the bigger reels these problems still aren't fixed.

CJ

[polydriverjr]

Hey everyone,

Does anyone know how much a TLD15 one speed is?

[HamzaLH]

$199

[kevy]

hi all. i,ve always used penn internationals, 30, 50, 50wide, never had any problems, & landed some damm good fish with them all. only have the the 50 now as no need for them up here. used a 50 tiagra & found them to be to heavy on stand up gear.(small boats) i have a 2 speed 20 shimano & had it in for repair just out of warranty.(i look after my gear) all the best, kevy. :) :)