525 mag2 built quality.

Having two penn 525 mag extras for the past 8 years or so i was anxious to have a look at the new mag2s. So off i went to purchase one for a new rod and on opening up the box i was surprise to see no1 its a chinese made reel and no2 the poor quality compared to the older 525.
First off the plastic body is light and cheap to the touch, the handle and shaft have excessive play both up and down and in and out. The clutch lever is cheap with some sort of free play when you release the spool and lock it in again the gearing inside isnt matched and it needs to click backwards to stop the handle being stiff. Upon careful opening of the reel handle side it all looks pretty similar to the older generation but thata where i find the similarities ended for me. The main shaft holding the main gear and drag setup is of a very poor manufacture and tooling marks evident. Main gear removed and shaft stripped out, the horror story got worse, the bearing on the shaft is cheap and huge play allowing the shaft to wobble and unmesh the main gear and pinion Which is not a good sign.
Onto the spool shaft and its a similar story poor bearings and a poorly machined shaft and no sign of grease or oil.
Same story mag side, apart from the new mag setup its again poor bearings and bad machining.

All in all a total disappointment as i am a huge fan of the first generation 525 mag. Has anyone here had similar issues with this reel.

I 100% agree with your findings total rubbish. I'm gland I still have 4 mint originals two of which are 15 years old now

Im guessing you have one shaneH.?Why they ever stopped making the originals is beyond me. All the reel need was the new mag setup and job was a good one. If i could source another mag extra id be happier. They are bulletproof.

Yup bought one when they first came out. **** was I disappointed when I saw that sticker and even more so when I striped it down

Same as myself. I heard mixed reviews but youd have that with reels of all makes but ****ing hell its bad inside. That main shaft bearing is pure scrap and the main gear/drag shaft is seriously poorly made. I wonder are the american made mag2s any better.

As far as I'm aware they are all made in China.

Thats that so then. Now for an alternative as i wont be using it as antying but a spare at best.

I have both, the usa slidey and the cheaply made new chinese version. Penn just done what Abu have done. They knew they had a place in the market with there name then shipped it out to China for the parts to be made at less than half the price. Which made them atleast double there profit on each reel sold. I ain't had any trouble with my new ones, but I'm sure in 5 years time it wont be running, and my USA made one will be.

The weak link in it is the bearings really as i can see but surely there is replacements for these in a better quality possibly ceramics. Ive solved the clinking between free spool and lock thanks to a slightly stronger pair of springs . Anyone know of bearings for these reels other than stock items.

The weak link in it is the bearings really as i can see but surely there is replacements for these in a better quality possibly ceramics. Ive solved the clinking between free spool and lock thanks to a slightly stronger pair of springs . Anyone know of bearings for these reels other than stock items.

What, a Penn reel - a brand new Penn reel! - and the first thing you have to do to it is to start replacing and upgrading bits off it, just to make a durable reel out of it?

Sad days indeed.

Tanglerat Penn reels are gone cheap. Only reason i purchased penn again was due to the 525s i have for over 8 years with no trouble. Kept oiled and cleaned regular and have never once let me down. Mag2 is nice to look at but cheaply assembled. What reel isnt these days or am i missing something here.

The weak link in it is the bearings really as i can see but surely there is replacements for these in a better quality possibly ceramics. Ive solved the clinking between free spool and lock thanks to a slightly stronger pair of springs . Anyone know of bearings for these reels other than stock items.

What, a Penn reel - a brand new Penn reel! - and the first thing you have to do to it is to start replacing and upgrading bits off it, just to make a durable reel out of it?

Sad days indeed.

Its a case of profit out ways quality.
Unfortunately most manufacturers have taken that route

The weak link in it is the bearings really as i can see but surely there is replacements for these in a better quality possibly ceramics. Ive solved the clinking between free spool and lock thanks to a slightly stronger pair of springs . Anyone know of bearings for these reels other than stock items.

What, a Penn reel - a brand new Penn reel! - and the first thing you have to do to it is to start replacing and upgrading bits off it, just to make a durable reel out of it?

Sad days indeed.

Its a case of profit out ways quality.
Unfortunately most manufacturers have taken that route

It annoyed me so much that I wrote off to Penn:

Email: tanglerat@hotmail.com
Phone: n/a
Order Number: n/a
What is your question about?: Other

Comment: Dear Penn, I am prompted to write to you because of the latest "Tackle Reviews" thread on Sea-Angling-Ireland.org re the Penn 525 mag2 build quality. Here's a link to it: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=47254&p=365203#p365203 In short - outsourcing build to Far East = A Bad Thing. I never thought i's see the day when Penn's workmanship & product quality would be called into question. Shame on you Penn, Shame on you.

and I got this reply:

Thank you for your inquiry.

Most of our high end reels are made here in the United States such as our International Series and Torque Series. Our Z-series spinning reels are made within the United States as well. However, our lower end series reels are made overseas, such as our spinning reel series, that including the Battle series.

However, to satisfy the needs of our anglers and provide excellent quality and value, all of our products must meet the same strict requirements and are subject to thorough quality inspections regardless of where the product is manufactured.

We hope this information can be of some assistance to you. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact PENN Customer Services at 1-800-892-5444 Monday-Friday 8:00am-6:00am (EST).

Best Regards,

PENN Customer Service

So there you go lads. It's all your own fault for buying low end goods.

Tanglerat that is some going. Nice penn man obviously did not read any of your email or link or there own advertising "the best just got better"..http://www.penn-fishing.co.uk/mobile/fi ... 6&ids=6925.

I was just about to buy a 515, not any more after reading this. Did somebody say Abu is just as bad? So what do we buy now?

Im not sure on the abu side of it but have heard some similar reports. As far as the penn mag2 i have its a similar design to the old mags wit two or 3 changes ie new mag dial new knurled spool tension knob a click in drag etc. All welcome additions yes but the build quality has gone as a result. I live in a little hope its a one off with mine but im highly doubtful and hugely disappointed with Penn USA (china).

I was just about to buy a 515, not any more after reading this. Did somebody say Abu is just as bad? So what do we buy now?

Try a shimano fixed spool

[ShaneH]

I was just about to buy a 515, not any more after reading this. Did somebody say Abu is just as bad? So what do we buy now?

Abu went to China years ago since the red high speed and maged 7000 came out.
Daiwa are the best of the bunch. I think they are made in Korea but built really well.

Last edited by ShaneH on Wed Jan 21, 2015 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

Is fix spool the option red . Or is to difficult for big corporations like jarden corporation who are Penn Abu Shakespear berkley to name but a few, to keep the quality of the product the same as it was and had always been.http://www.jarden.com/brands

I was just about to buy a 515, not any more after reading this. Did somebody say Abu is just as bad? So what do we buy now?

I had 2 515's in the recent past but they just felt wobbly,very noisey and rickety[im very fussy ] eventhough they had brilliant castability and retrieve ratio .Decided to take a look at the fathom 12 when they came out and haven't looked back since,proper little tanks and well worth looking at if you have niggly doubts about the penn 515.
Just bear in mind that the fathoms are non magged and some people have had issues with brake blocks re-engaging,with a little diy this can be avoided and there are mag kits available if you want to mag it up.Basically the new penn series are not everyones cuppa but they are generally reliable all things considered.They just lack that "quality" feeling of previous generation penn reels.