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[losos]

Recently I bought center pin setup. Couldn't afford any of high end ones I bought Okuma Raw II . Initially it could spin for about 2-3 minutes.However after removing factory grease and applying certain oil to ball bearings it was running for 6 minutes with a good flick ,no kidding. It also has really easy startup moment since its spool is very light. When running float down the river have to always keep its spool in check or there will be  a ton of bird nest.
I went fishing one day with my colleague who has all top end gear including Islander and Millner reels. Being beginner in center pinning with no experience  with those reels I asked him for an honest opinion about my Okuma . He was very surprised with characteristics it displayed and praised it.
Now I know it is no Islander or Kingpin by any measures. There are some things that irk me about it i.e. quality of fit of some parts ,but I'd recommend it to any one who is on tight budget or is not sure if this type of gear suites their fishing preferences.
By the way the reel if hanged on 11'6 10-17 lb stick a nice setup imo for coho ,smaller spring or steelhead.

[DanL]

Congrats on entering the CP world and finding a reel you are enjoying right away.

Entry level centrepins have come a long way and some are actually quite nice. Standard response for centrepins on FWR is usually Milner, which are undoubtedly great reels, but there are alternatives that fish just as well and cost less. As you note, fit and finish may not quite be on the level of a high end reel, but it will serve you well for many years.

Plus, it wont be nearly as painful if it gets lost or damaged (knock wood) 

BTW no need to be too concerned about spin time (though 6 mins is impressive). Spin time is not important compared to the ease with which it starts up, and how easy spins at low (ie drifting) speeds.

[leapin' tyee]

Spin time is not important compared to the ease with which it starts up, and how easy spins at low (ie drifting) speeds.

x2 

[bunnta]

what really matter is how much abuse it can take. how many seasons will it last, i abused my aventa for over 5 years now. rarely clean it, once every year and it catches tons of fish. It doesn't spin fast and smooth like it did when it was brand new but its enough to do the job.

[losos]

Congrats on entering the CP world and finding a reel you are enjoying right away.

Entry level centrepins have come a long way and some are actually quite nice. Standard response for centrepins on FWR is usually Milner, which are undoubtedly great reels, but there are alternatives that fish just as well and cost less. As you note, fit and finish may not quite be on the level of a high end reel, but it will serve you well for many years.

Plus, it wont be nearly as painful if it gets lost or damaged (knock wood) 

BTW no need to be too concerned about spin time (though 6 mins is impressive). Spin time is not important compared to the ease with which it starts up, and how easy spins at low (ie drifting) speeds.

Thanks ,as I said it has really easy start up and spins like crazy during drifting , so easy that I have to feder spool all the time to avoid bird nests.
Reason of this post was to make aware new adepts of centerpinning that there are ,as you mentioned , less expensive alternatives that will yield the same or very similar results . Of course I'd like to have Kingpin Zeppelin eventually in my arsenal however it won't be for performance reason and more for enjoyment of craftsmanship. Sort of as wearing Philip Patek watch.

[gmachine19]

I love my okuma raw II. Just love to color combo of it. 1 thing I did though is change the bearings to a better quality one.

[dobrolub]

Not to be an smart my friend, but just for comparison... MacBook Air.. machined aluminum body, Logic board with thousands of components on it, CPU, GPU, Memory, Power supply, Screen Software... All for 1000 bucks.



Reel... Machined body, a pair of bearings, few other parts... 400 bucks...?

[Knnn]

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Our addiction to shiny new stuff

[Spoonman]

....will the laptop still work after dunking it in the river??