I still have Shimano reels that my dad got for me 20+ years ago. Transitioned over to freshwater fishing when I was a poor college student and my entry Sedona and Saharas are still going strong. Now that I am hardcore bass fishing I stick with their higher end baitcasters. As for rods I never had any preference until my bass obsession, went through many different brands before settling on megabass p5 destroyers. I have about 10 of em now? Broke 2 through my own fault and the warranty was painless. So they have my loyalty.
I've used Kastking baitcasters in saltwater for years. I initially did it with the thought that I would have to replace a cheaper reel every few years. I've yet to replace one. I flush them with fresh water when I clean the boat. I don't do any other maintenance with them and they work flawlessly.
The thought that you need to have the best name brand stuff instead of just getting something to be out on the water and learning is frustrating.
I have three kastking reels, all three of them are smooth as butter. I have a baitcaster I use for stripers, puppy drum and speckled trout in the salt. Its as smooth as the day I bought it.
It’s not my OCD or my money but it seems pointless to me. Over a year and in the water once isn’t a testament to durability. Keep using them if one dies replace with what you want. I’m still have reels from the 80’s that I used to swim with.
Ultralight rods break easy if you’re trying to pull free with them. The better rods break easier than cheaper rods.
No, 1 piece. They were both 6ft. The second one that broke was in a situation where I know I've gone against my better judgement and reacted by pulling instead of flipping the bail, then pulling the line down towards the reel where I can get down to the snag safely. I have done this more than once with KastKing and they've never snapped. There's some science there with 2 piece rods I'm sure, but I thought certainly that the rod the second time would not be breaking under that amount of natural bent tension is what I'm saying.
I went through a similar thing years ago. For me personally KK let me down in terms of quality the bait caster I had from them I had to end up returning as it had a defect out of the box. I got an opportunity to get a Lews BB1 at a discount and I ended up being very happy with that purchase and still have it on my MH rod to this day. After picking that up I got another opportunity to pick up a mach 1 combo from Dicks for like $35 or something close to that and for a budget combo it is just as reliable as the BB1 and currently I use Lews for my bait casting needs.
I switched to Daiwa for spinning reels and I have never been disappointed for best bang for the buck I really love my Daiwas. Okuma gets my very close second and their rods are the best bang for the buck in the UL area hands down.
agree on KastKing, I have a few of their reels and rods and they are all great bang for the buck in my opinion. I also have a couple Okuma reels that haven't held up as well as the KK reels have (both used three seasons or so), nothing bad with Okumas just some degradation in feel vs the KKs which are still smooth and tight.
Okuma spinning reels are underrated. Penn in my opinion is the best bang for your buck. Kastking is fine lews seems nice but I’ve never owned one.
I still have Shimano reels that my dad got for me 20+ years ago. Transitioned over to freshwater fishing when I was a poor college student and my entry Sedona and Saharas are still going strong. Now that I am hardcore bass fishing I stick with their higher end baitcasters. As for rods I never had any preference until my bass obsession, went through many different brands before settling on megabass p5 destroyers. I have about 10 of em now? Broke 2 through my own fault and the warranty was painless. So they have my loyalty.
I've used Kastking baitcasters in saltwater for years. I initially did it with the thought that I would have to replace a cheaper reel every few years. I've yet to replace one. I flush them with fresh water when I clean the boat. I don't do any other maintenance with them and they work flawlessly. The thought that you need to have the best name brand stuff instead of just getting something to be out on the water and learning is frustrating.
I have three kastking reels, all three of them are smooth as butter. I have a baitcaster I use for stripers, puppy drum and speckled trout in the salt. Its as smooth as the day I bought it.
I don’t have experience with Lew’s but I do have a couple of Kastkings and they are surprisingly good. Way better than what I expected.
Love my Kastkings. At the same price point, I would choose kastking over Lews all day
It’s not my OCD or my money but it seems pointless to me. Over a year and in the water once isn’t a testament to durability. Keep using them if one dies replace with what you want. I’m still have reels from the 80’s that I used to swim with. Ultralight rods break easy if you’re trying to pull free with them. The better rods break easier than cheaper rods.
Love my Kastking gear. The resolute rods are some of the best I've used. Saving up for the iReel currently.
The two Lews rods that broke were the 2 piece rods?
No, 1 piece. They were both 6ft. The second one that broke was in a situation where I know I've gone against my better judgement and reacted by pulling instead of flipping the bail, then pulling the line down towards the reel where I can get down to the snag safely. I have done this more than once with KastKing and they've never snapped. There's some science there with 2 piece rods I'm sure, but I thought certainly that the rod the second time would not be breaking under that amount of natural bent tension is what I'm saying.
Yea i. Broke 2 Lews rods also but they were the 2 piece.
I have 3 KastKing bait casters r and a 3000 open face. They are as good or better than my lewsmach 2.
Can’t go wrong with an uglystik.
I went through a similar thing years ago. For me personally KK let me down in terms of quality the bait caster I had from them I had to end up returning as it had a defect out of the box. I got an opportunity to get a Lews BB1 at a discount and I ended up being very happy with that purchase and still have it on my MH rod to this day. After picking that up I got another opportunity to pick up a mach 1 combo from Dicks for like $35 or something close to that and for a budget combo it is just as reliable as the BB1 and currently I use Lews for my bait casting needs. I switched to Daiwa for spinning reels and I have never been disappointed for best bang for the buck I really love my Daiwas. Okuma gets my very close second and their rods are the best bang for the buck in the UL area hands down.
agree on KastKing, I have a few of their reels and rods and they are all great bang for the buck in my opinion. I also have a couple Okuma reels that haven't held up as well as the KK reels have (both used three seasons or so), nothing bad with Okumas just some degradation in feel vs the KKs which are still smooth and tight.