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Penn 9500SS(the older one made in USA) Versus the newer 950SSm (made in China)
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Penn 9500SS(the older one made in USA) Versus the newer 950SSm (made in China)
They both hold 300yd of 30#mono
They both have the same HT-100 drag that maxes at 20#
but don't the older ones have all brass SOLID gears? so I should be able to thumb the spool on the 9500SS and not worry about the gear breaking to get a littel more than 20# drag out of it, right? I mean i had a SSG and broke the gear just overtightening the handle on. The "main gear" on the new ones are two pieces connected together under some littel lip -welded? i dunno how they connected them, maybe superglue? discouraged by the gears on the newer 950SS series i'd haev the same or more confidence with a $30 Daiwa DF100A (waiting to hear back from daiwa on the gear construction of that reel though, but I'd imagine it could put out 25# of its rated 33# without the gears busting. I'm a little warry about the Fin-nor OFS95 since reading a thread on a tuna forum where the guy had a 3 foot fish(forgot what fish but not even as tough as a tuna) broke the main gear totally(there's pics if you wanna believe me I can link it).
Isn't this such a shame. Penn reels have had great success due to the past performance of their reels. Some of those older squidders, 309's, 67's were cheap and damn near indestructible. I have fished the older steel 750's an 950's forever, needing occasional tune ups and maybe a bail spring or two. Nowadays, all my newer reels are Shimanos. They probably don't realize that their name is being held in vain as they try and squeeze a few more dollars of profit on their Chinese manufactured reels.
no comparison the new penns suck. the old ones are bringing more than they cost new on ebay and other sites. i've got one and it's a great reel, old tech but solid reel.
When they changed from the metal body to graphite in the 80's I lost all interest. The housing couldnt hold the gears in place, and that was with stripers and bluefish ! I have a bunch of the old metal frame Penns, 950, 750, 550's that I keep for memories only. Its all Shimano or Daiwa now. Granted with the cost of the new reels approaching $1000 each, they better hold up for more than a season ~ Not sure what your fishing for? If its tuna, stay clear of any Penn spinning reel. You'll end up with a cooked reel, or the handle in 1 hand the rest of the reel with rod in the other ! Seen it 2 times last season ! 1 time the season before. Thye cant take that kind of load!
My original USA made 9500SS blew out the anti-reverse after a hand full of blackfin and cost me a nice Yellowfin before I figured out what was going on. I won't own another one, I'll stick with Shimano for spinning reels.
the new ones are alright if you baby them,but you shouldn't have to do that,,,check out the new spools,,,I have literally thumped a new one with my finger and bent it,,,the thickness of the spools are a piece of S//t,,I have a lot of old penns and love em use them and abuse,,and they are still ready to go,,,my 2cents worth kg
FWIW, the SSm series is the FOURTH level in quality in the Penn spinning reel hierarchy, hardly fair to compare them to the various "Super Spinners" approaching or exceeding $1000 in price, or even the mid-level models running $200-$300.
Top of the line are the TRQ's, which should be on retailers shelves by early June, but may be above some angler's price range [$650-$700].
Next in line are the Conquers, which are getting rave reviews from users, and will have a larger 8000 size by late summer. In that $200-$250 price range, Conquers may be the best spinner on the market.
Third in line comes the Slammers, all sizes of which have the "double drag", and also have the beefed-up drive shaft specifically intended for use with Superbraid-type lines.
Fourth in line are the SSm series [SSg fifth]; which are still fine with mono lines, but many reported problems can easily be linked to use of braided lines and cranking down the drag.
Using braid just for the non-stretch aspect is fine, but some anglers just can't resist cranking down when a fish or snag causes a problem. You can't go strictly by size in determining which Penn spinners [or any other brand] are the most suitable for heavy fishing.
Disclaimer- affiliated
Penn Pro Staffer
__________________ Penn Pro Staffer
The best kind of fish in the world is the one on the end of your line.
I had Penn 9500 (original), it was a POS. Sent it back to repair twice before I gave up. It spent more time in shipping than it did fishing. It broke every time I hooked an 80lb YF. I am big believer in Shimano Spheros reels ever since.
Going back to the late 70's, early 80's when the 950 first appeared, it was never intended for 80-pound and larger yellowfin.
Sailfish and striped marlin [with mono] certainly, but not tuna over 50 pounds, it would have been unthinkable at the time.
In fact, it could be argued that the genesis of the Stellas came from hardcore Japanese-market customization of the 950 to make it capable of catching big tuna, trevallys, dogtooth, etc.
With the advent of Superbraids in 1992, The customizers realized that to get everything in there, at the performance level needed for such radical fishing, the price would have to be off the charts [relatively speaking].
Fast-forward to a world where $1000 reels are fairly commonplace, and reels under $200 are considered "inexpensive".
The ONLY saltwater spinning reels made in the USA are the Penn Torques and the Accurates.
For those models under Penn's $250 "made in USA" Threshold, it was a tough choice; move them offshore, or simply stop making them.
For the Japanese makers, the "Made in Japan" threshold is around $300, otherwise they are made in Maylasia, Hong Kong, Viet Nam, etc.
__________________ Penn Pro Staffer
The best kind of fish in the world is the one on the end of your line.
The Penn guy I spoke with said once they were bought out by Shakespeare things changed. Shakespeare was already having their reels made over seas and they added some of Penn's reels to that list as well. He claimed they are made to the same specs as when they were produced in the US, it's just cheaper to produce them over seas....same reels(so he claimed). I haven't had a Penn failure of any kind yet, including spinning reels and my heavier reels. But, all my reels are the older "made in USA" reels.
And some of my friends have had their Shimano reels in the shop too. Shimano makes good stuff, but they can break just like Penn or anybody else.
Last edited by clunan1; 04-15-2010 at 06:58 AM.
Reason: more info
What breaks and how are you using the reels? How much drag are you setting them at. I see a few posts where some are trying to get 20 or more lbs of drag out of these reels. It doesn't suprise me these people are having problems. I have a 8 year old 9500 that I use for offshore fishing and I have 300 yards of 50lb power pro topshoted with around 200 yards of 40lb mono. I set the drag at 10 lbs and have never had a problem. I can add drag by palming the spool. I feel this is what the reel is made for. Typical tuna gear for my TLD30s, 30 Internationals, and Tiagra is no different. They get around 10-12 lbs of strike drag. Why would you need 40lbs of drag on a spinning reel? I can't see the need for even 20lbs. If you need that kind of drag you should be using Big Game reels, not spinners. 20 lbs of strike drag is in the 80 International class type reel. I occasionally use my 9500 for Grouper and have cranked the drag to around 20lbs, but grouper only pull short amounts of drag and I have had zero problems doing that.
Do the newer China reels strip the gears, since they are not brass? It seems I am reading the anti reverse goes out in a couple threads. Is this the main problem and is it a China reel only thing? Is this a problem for guys trying to get 20lbs of drag or more? I would just like to know what I'm to look out for. All I hear is the China reels are cheap, and that some have sent them in for repair and a few talking about 20-40lbs of strike drag.
Please let us know what broke and what drag you had when it broke, and what the situation was that caused it to break, and if you think it's a China reel issue. EX. Was it a Tuna making a screaming run with what kind of drag setting?
Thanks for any info that might be of use in advance!
__________________ AKA, The SKIMMER! No way am I reading all that crap!
Penn 9500SS(the older one made in USA) Versus the newer 950SSm (made in China) 
