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I have one and just bought my wife one for her birthday , she taught me how to pull in 31 inch grouper by leaving the pole in the rod holder and shifting into low gear and pulled the grouper right in! I love our avet 30 pro ex s, great reel, would recommend to anyone -
i own several avets{from the sx-exw 80} and am pleased with all.i have however,just bought a penn vsx 50 and am very pleased with the workmanship,though i have'nt used it yet,yes,it does have some plastic{shifter knob} in a non critical area.
i own several avets{from the sx-exw 80} and am pleased with all.i have however,just bought a penn vsx 50 and am very pleased with the workmanship,though i have'nt used it yet,yes,it does have some plastic{shifter knob} in a non critical area.
I would keep a close watch on the plastic {shifter knob}.
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I use Avet, Penn and Tiagra reels. I've used Penn reels for 50 yrs with no problems but that seems to be changing. I take meticulous care of my reels and still can't figure out how the plastic button cracked.
Another very big difference between these reels is the handle. The handle on the Avet is 10 times better than the knob on the VSX.
And as I mentioned in the beginning of this thread months ago, the Avet is much easier to work on than the Penn.
Both the penn and the Tiagra do not have ABEC5 Bearings. put all three in freespool and spin them, Neither of the above will come close to the avet. What this signifies is the tolerances used. The drive train is not as large on either of the above as well. This gives the Avet more mechanical leverage through the drive train as well as makes it stronger.
I never quite understood why people focus on the value of 2 minutes of freespool being better than 1 minute. I never spin my spool with my finger while fishing.
I've fished with the Tiagra and Penn 16VSX and both have excellent freespool at specified drags. Perhaps if you drop a 1/4oz. sardine you might notice a difference, but for what I do, the stock freespool is great.
Avet, Shimano, Penn, all make excellent reels. IMO, price being no object, Accurate may top them all.
The BX2-600 has as much drag, 2 speeds and is build like a tank, while also being very light.
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I have one and just bought my wife one for her birthday , she taught me how to pull in 31 inch grouper by leaving the pole in the rod holder and shifting into low gear and pulled the grouper right in! I love our avet 30 pro ex s, great reel, would recommend to anyone -
Your wife has discovered a very productive technique for big grouper.
These fish in my photos below were caught with the prerunner to the EX30/2, the EX4/02 and also a TRX 30 using the technique you describe. You can't mess up the bite when you let the rod catch the fish.
As far as Avet vs Penn goes-
Avet all the way. I've had many of these Pro series Avet reels and never a problem. Honestly, the right side bearings in the smaller Avet JX and HX go out on me every 15-20 trips, but that's a $5 part I can live with after cranking them with max drag hundreds of times while bottom fishing. The Pro EX4/02, EX30/2, EX50/2 and TRX's are bulletproof relatively speaking- IMO. I have 10 of these reels, and I fish with another 10 or so that used to be mine but are owned now by friends. They are outstanding reels and extremely easy to take apart for cleaning and lubing.
I would recommend an EX4/02 over a Penn VSX even. Too many weaknesses in the VSX line and the quality is no where close. Plastic breaking on the Penns and drag lever creeping into free spool and clickers magically getting shut off isn't what Penn used to be known for building.
If you have issues with the 4/02's having automatic clickers, contact me for an easy 20 cent fix that makes the reel nearly as capable as the newer Pro EX30/2- meanwhile, you save 200 dollars by picking up a cheap 4/02 instead of a 30/2.
Penn 116VSX - 41 oz - max strike drag 28#. Avet EX 30/2 - 47 oz - max strike drag 35#.
The question??; ... Is it worth going up 6 oz in wt and 7 more lbs of drag to eliminate cracking plastic?
Not sure if I understand this. These reels arent in the same class. The Avet will fish 100lb line the vsx 80lb at most. I have 2 30's that will get above 35 at strike and above 45 at full. The vsx won't even come close to that. Smaller handle and crank arm also. No one buys a 16vsx for 500lb thresher sharks or 250lb tuna. I think the 16vsx better compares to an HX or HX raptor, but the 16 is pretty heavy for jigging.
Anyone else notice that Penn didn't even acknowledge that spectra exisited or make reels for spectra until Avet started taking thier customers? They didn't come out with a topless 30n or 50n until Avet already estabished them as the standard for spectra.
Honestly, the right side bearings in the smaller Avet JX and HX go out on me every 15-20 trips,
I find this completely unacceptable. Im suprised nobody else does. I have replaced more bearings, drag washers, internal parts on Avets than i can count. Enough that i dont clean/lube my friends Avets anymore and i dread opening mine up every winter. The last time i met my buddy Rob for dinner he slipped one of his ex30s in my bag becuase it lost its freespool. He slipped it in there becuase if he asked me to fix it he knows i would have said no.
I never had a problem with my plastic shifter knob on my VSXs. And my drag lever stays where i keep it. Im suprised how many people will bash penn and praise avet. Avet makes a good reel for the price but it wont cure world hunger. Both are made in the USA.
BTW, the right comparison would be the Penn 30vsx vs the Avet ex30.
I have 2 16VSX's and 2 30VSX's I have the 30's on deep drop bent butt rods for grouper fishing with 130 spectra on them and I can tell you the bent butts are they way to go!! They make fighting the fish in the rod holders a ton easier!! Hook up next to the rig, and yank their a$$ out with the boat....no holding on to the rod....use all that fiberglass underneath you as leverage and just wear them out all day!!! I have had no problems with my VSX's what so ever they are some sweet reels!!!
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