Update to this thread as after Carefull examination of side by side scrutiny along with pix to back it up the Reel is in my opinion a
To back up my statement I found the One piece Graphite Frame only has 3 screws of the 5 on each side to hold it together where the early version has 7 of its Eight making it weak as comparison to the older Version . At a glance it LOOKS LIKE there are Four into the Frame however it is cleverly cut out to allow a Cross Bar to fit down in a U-Shaped Groove whereas the older has direct contact to Frame on 7 of each side with one Cross Bar at the Top
New Version with only 3 contact points and a optical illusin of more ....lol
Old Version with 7 Contact Points
The Spool while looking like a finely built aluminum one like the Earlier Version seems much lighter although I did NOT weight it I did measure the Width and found it to be nearly 2 MM shorter and the business End of the Shaft only protrudes about Halfway through the Bearing which is just stuck in the plastic end of the newly shaped Sideplate where the older version has the shaft protruding at least a Millimeter or More and then goes in the Steel Cap inserted in the Sidplate.
Here is the Short Shaft on the China Reel and the shaft lacks a lot being even half waf in the Bearing . (Can't be Good after a few Trips and a Few big Fish .)
OLD SPOOL With Bearing
I can only see some major Fubars down the Road with the 2 above mentioned BOO BOO's
Then there are issues in the Newly Shaped Drivers Side Sideplate .It just Feels cheap .....lol all I can say and when looking at it closely I found 2 maybe three Surface Cracks around the gear housing .
It is difficult to get Good pix but you can see one of the Cracks here
Side by side you notice some differences like the handles and their respective retainers ,No end bearing Cap , revamped Gear Housing ,and only 5 Screws . The plates ,Spool ,and guts seem to interchange but with some noted differences as follows
They have removed much of the artsy work usually found on the old Reliable Versions making it in my opinion Look Like a Cheap ass Copy of the other.
OLD VERSION with the Classical Jumping Fish
And the new improved Different looking Fish and Lettering
A few other discrepancies I won't mess with right now but may add later such as the Price I got these for then the Letter from a part Supplier I buy from FROM PENN threatening DEALERS (NOT ME) I am just a parts Buyer and part Time Reel Enthusiast and Tinkerer that DEALERS needed to adhere to a corporate PRICING policy standard not discounting the Reels and parts ( will find that Letter and post it later too. )
So to me China is making these things so CHEAP and in such quantities that a Dealer could sell them even Cheaper than I paid which was nearly Half of the price Marked on the Box is all I can say.
To sum up what I think is these new ones while appealing will just not be around the 60 Plus Years the old ones have been and of course time will tell .
