Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:11 pm
Looking for opinions on these reels, I'm in the States t the moment and am undecided which to go for.
Daiwa Saltist 20 high speed.
or
Shimano Torium 20
Both about $169
Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:43 pm
as for the saltist, i havent seen any in action, as for the torium , well i have seen them used and they look a tidy piece of kit when used on a suitable rod for downtiding, i have noticed some using them for casting uptide on the boat too.
as you are in the states it might be worth your while having a look at some of the smaller avet reels too.
Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:40 pm
Scara,
Like Phil said....try to find an Avet dealer...look at either the SX or MX for the price you will not get a better reel in the world (I am serious) for the sake of 2 little magnets a washer and 15 minutes of your time, you will end up with a fantastic magged shore/light boat reel.
One tip I will give you....go for the natural (silver) finish....the coloured ones can gety scratched and look a little worn.
Tom.
Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:16 pm
It might sound stupid Scara, but try and get into a dealers, and compare like with like. As I see them :
Saltish great engineering, ultra high speed, but star drag and no level wind
Torium, star drag, no levelwind.
Avet, lever drag ,no level wind, expensive.
To my mind best bet Penn 975 lever drag, levelwind, not too expensive.
Best advise buy over there and bring it with you in your baggage [ you can import up to £147 worth free of import charges]. Even you do get stung for vat and duty it will still work out cheaper than buying it here.
Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:14 pm
Thanks for the info.I had completly forgot about the AVET's, remember looking into them a couple of years ago after Rockhopper mentioned them. I've found an AVET dealer I'm going down on saturday. Looking at the MXL6.3:1 , Thinking this will make a good redgilling reel. some thing I can mag up for rough ground shore work too. not sure until I check the size but sounds right.
Boyd A, thanks for the advice what kind of Penn 975 where you talking about the only one I know is the international which is about $50 dollars more than the AVET and $100 more than the Torium and Saltist is there another ?
Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:20 pm
Been using the Saltist 20 high speed now for 6 months. Brilliant reel, smooth clutch and gearing. Perfect for shadding and gilling, bait fishing on the drift, updrift pirking and had conger to 45lb on it at Weymouth.
Narrow spool means you don't miss the level wind.
About to order anothe rone now for this year.
Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:27 pm
It was the International 975 LD. Try and get your hands on one to see what you think. List price is similar to Avets but a lot more discount offers available.
Have a look for other after-market models from Tiburon or Newell; you wont see them advertised much but there's a good chance of comming accross one in the specialised tackle shops. It all depends where you are, and what the locals fish for.
Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:47 am
Scara,
Chalkbait have the SX at $175.00 and the MXJ at $199.00 either will suit what your after I am sure.
The best price on the Penn Int 975LD was $249.99...Boyd I'm don't know what makes you think the Avet reels are expensive...like for like they are a way better deal than the Penn Int....far more user friendly too....I have had a few Penn Int....20...30...50W compared to the way the Avets are engineered the Penn Ints are way behind IMHO.
Tom.
Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:35 pm
They're all good reels. Just buy the first one you find! :D
Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:20 am
well I checked out the options in a couple of tackle shops and bought the Avet MXL. I did abit of research on them all. quite intersting.
The Quality of the AVET is outstanding. This is a solid piece of kit. it just feels far more solid than the rest.
Thanks for the help lads.
Wed Feb 07, 2007 6:49 pm
nice buy scara!
Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:19 am
I take it you got the MXL 2 speed; serious kit and serious money [ £170 odd last time I looked] but the ability to "change gear" in mid fight is well worth it. Hope you got a good price.
As was said earlier, they're all good reels, so it comes down to price and personal preferance. The only problem is, at my age superbraid and fingers dont mix, hence the lean toward levelwinds.
Boyd
Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:56 am
Boyd,
I'm amazed you keep going on about the Avets being serious money, like for like they must be the best priced reel on the market.
$170 or there abouts for a reel of that calibre cant be bad IMO.
Your the only person in the last 5 years since these reels started hitting the world market that I have heard knock the Avet price.
Have you ever used one or held one even??
Tom.
Fri Feb 09, 2007 10:29 am
The Avets are outstanding reels, no question, and seriously under priced in comparison to their market equivalents from Shimano and Daiwa.
Sat Feb 10, 2007 5:06 pm
Tom,
It's probably my fault for not making my point properly. I have nothing against these reels if you consider what you are paying for, though I do have reservations about the retail price of Avets here compared to the US.
All the examples I have seen are beautifully engineered, the Saltist in particular being designed to withstand the "abuse" of superbraids; but do we need such expensive equipment for everyday fishing, when there are many equally viable reels [ including some with lever drag and level wind] available at lower cost ?
When I started in the 50's standard gear was a solid glass 50/80lb rod, and a 6/0 reel loaded with 50lb dacron which as they say would "hold a boat" nowadays we will happily use 12/20 lb class gear for most species, so we have no great need for heavy duty engineering.
After all a Rolls Royce is a superb example of [ German] engineering, but an ordinary Volkswagen will do the same job for a lot less expense!
Boyd
Sat Feb 10, 2007 6:31 pm
Boyd,
The Avets contradict what your saying...design wise they are old style made with quality in mind. Produced on up to-date machinery with first class materials...perhaps what does stand out about them is that the 2 brothers who own the company and have designed and built the Avet range are both ardent offshore anglers in their own right.
As to Rolls Royce and VW there are still people in this world who can afford and do buy RR, they pay for that bit of extra...as does an angler who buys a better upmarket reel, rod etc....we all know that a hand-line dropped over the side will catch a fish, but angling is about more than catching fish....some..like me, get as much pleasure out of messing about with my fishing tackle as I do out of using it on the beach/boat.
What your saying about RR & VW could be said about glass rods-v-carbon and many other materials and products anglers use...I for one don't want to live in the past and use gear that some so called "Purist" (not saying you are one) wants to see used as in days gone by...this happens a lot in fly-fishing and I'm glad its rare in surf fishing.
Some companies innovate other copy, some even bring back ideas from the past that are more than welcome by the anglers, we have more choice now than we have ever had. Not only on product but on price also, some of the basic tackle back in the 50's was well beyond the reach of the working man.
As to the price of the Avets and the difference between the US (where they're made) and the UK...someone has got to pay the freight company! to bring them over and that person is always the end user (customer)
I hear loads of moans about the extra cost of imported items from guys here, in the UK and the USA and it seems they blame the tackle companies for that...believe me, in all of this import and export world we live in the freight companies do alright....you wouldn't believe some of the charges put on certain items of fishing tackle....with the Avets and the US cost, don't forget there is no Vat in the states and shipping from state to state is a lot cheaper than county to county here and in the UK.
Don't forget Scara was asking what reel he should buy as he was in America....I think he made the best choice possible..good one Scara 8)
Boyd, most of my rant here is not aimed at you personally. 8)
Tom.
Sat Feb 10, 2007 11:24 pm
As Rockhopper was saying I wanted the best reel for the money while in the states.
I went for the AVET MXL 6.3:1 for the following reasons.
It was in my price range $210 dollars. at todays rate thats £100 sterling.
Thats a bargan.
I compared Daiwa, Shimano, Penn.
The only one in the same league was the penn but the leverdrag one 975ld is $300. I could not find $10 dollars of diffrence never mind $100.
The AVET was leagues ahead of the Torium and Saltist. at $170 dollars each.
If you look into the manufacture of all the reels if for no other reason than it's really interesting. you'll see that the AVET and the Saltiga are a closer comparson which is a $400 reel. This is based on materials used and the way there manufactured.
Thanks lads for the advice. I'll post some links about the manufacture of the diffent reels. Just have to find them again.
Sun Feb 11, 2007 8:54 pm
Bottom line Scara, as long as you're happy with it; who (mod edit) cares what other people think. Tight lines with it.
Boyd
Mon Feb 12, 2007 4:06 am
I think you made the right choice going with the Avet MXL 6.3, it's a great high speed reel and a step up from the Saltist and Torium.
I've used the Torium and thought it was a pretty good reel. It casted well and I liked the feel of the oversized soft plastic handle. However Charkbait did a comparison of the Torium and Saltist and the Saltist came out on top. I rebuild my own reels and tend to agree with most of their analysis.
Quote
Here's a comparison with Shimano's Torium: The Diawa uses fewer parts demonstrating better design simplicity and less to go wrong. The Daiwa has large gears like the Torium for improved power. But, Daiwa's pinion gear is much larger than the Shimano, for power and longer service life. Diawa's sideplates are cast aluminum, not a plastic sideplate covered by stamped aluminum for the cosmetic appearance of strength. Shimano hides that weakness behind a thin shiny stamped and painted aluminum plate. The drag is better, the component parts are better on the Daiwa. Diawa makes use of better functioning shielded bearings while the Shimano's are open allowing for more maintenance issues down the road. The Shimano has a softer knob on the crank, Daiwa uses a harder material. In the areas that count the Daiwa is a better reel. Overall, it is my personal opinion that the Daiwa is a better reel and a better buy. Feel free to make your own comparisons.
Unquote
Here's a side by side comparison
[img]http://www.bloodydecks.com/gallery/files/7/0/7/2/Daiwa_Shimano_compare.jpg[/img]
To be fair, this dealer is in the process of dropping Shimano in favor of Avet and Daiwa, so they could be a little biased. They go into more details on their website why they believe the Saltist to be superior to the Torium & most make sense to me...especially the Daiwa's solid aluminum sideplates being superior to Toriums stamped metal over plastic.
Here's a link to the comparison:
[url]http://charkbait.com/cs/csrd.htm[/url]
That being said, everytime I've gone into their shop to check out reels, they recommend the Avets hands down.
TL
Rex
Mon Feb 12, 2007 11:16 am
Exelent post Rex,
I think Avet make it easy for Charkbait to be bias...Avet build a first class product at a good price right on their doorstep. Makes parts and everything else so easy for them...got to be a God send for a retailer like Charkbait IMHO.
I only wish Harry (one of the Avet owners) would make a shore casting reel as good as the offshore reels....he could clean up in no time.
Tom.
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