New Stealth casette reels (Switch??)

[BenzoV]

Anyone know how these compare to the original cassettes? I have a few 6wt lines that are looking for reels to go on. I know they are too new to rate ito durability, but on a specs level how do they compare?

Cas1 is too small, at least for the floating line, so I'm thinking either new Switch reel or perhaps even preferably Cassette2 (cheaper) if they are similar in performance and weight.

The rod is "old technology" 6wt 10ft, so I need a decent reel to sort of balance the outfit.

I need at least 4 spools to start off with, and will possibly need another 1 or 2 sometime in the future.

Any other options out there to consider besides the Greys GX500, which I'm also seriously considering. The Greys extra spools are just a little hefty in price to my liking (11GBP per spool) but it's an option if I can get a nice price on the reel. I see a few on the Bay for less than 45GBP and I can have them shipped for free to my sister in the UK, but they will still need to post it to me which I think is minimum 15GBP.

SKB?

Leeda Profil? Lot of guys on UK forums seem to prefer the Leeda over the Greys


*Buying standard type reels with standard spare spools is beyond my budget, so don't even go there unless you know of a reel with 3 extra spools for about a R1200.

*P.S. Banax doesn't count.

[GGY]

Anyone know how these compare to the original cassettes? I have a few 6wt lines that are looking for reels to go on. I know they are too new to rate ito durability, but on a specs level how do they compare?

Cas1 is too small, at least for the floating line, so I'm thinking either new Switch reel or perhaps even preferably Cassette2 (cheaper) if they are similar in performance and weight.
The rod is "old technology" 6wt 10ft, so I need a decent reel to sort of balance the outfit.
I need at least 4 spools to start off with, and will possibly need another 1 or 2 sometime in the future.
Any other options out there to consider besides the Greys GX500, which I'm also seriously considering. The Greys extra spools are just a little hefty in price to my liking (11GBP per spool) but it's an option if I can get a nice price on the reel. I see a few on the Bay for less than 45GBP and I can have them shipped for free to my sister in the UK, but they will still need to post it to me which I think is minimum 15GBP.

SKB?

Leeda Profil? Lot of guys on UK forums seem to prefer the Leeda over the Greys

*Buying standard type reels with standard spare spools is beyond my budget, so don't even go there unless you know of a reel with 3 extra spools for about a R1200.

*P.S. Banax doesn't count.

In the Stealth range, rather get the Switch than the Cas 2 - large arbour, newer design reel. These do have a track record, since they are a re-branded Airflo reel (Stealth being Airflo's local agent.)

NOTE - to balance a 10ft 6wt, you are going to need a reel with a mass of roughly 6 oz/170g (before line & backing).

I personally have Greys GX500's and GX700's are really like the reel - the SA agent does supply these to the local fly shops. The pin identification system is great.

I would stay away from reels not available locally (SKB, Leeda etc), since you do want some local backup.

A Vison Koma Kassette is another option, but may be a little too heavy...

[ArcherFish]

Leeda Profil? Lot of guys on UK forums seem to prefer the Leeda over the Greys
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The Leeda is a good solid reel, but a bit on the heavy side. Last time we brought them in they sold for R435, so its probably R700 now.

[KB280DT]

Also look on www.harrissportsmail.com.

They stock Greys Fly reels and ship to South Africa. I bought my Greys GRXi #5/6 cassette reel from them and paid R553 for it (landed cost - in my hands). At that time that same reel went for over R1,000 at a stockist. And they give you the price in ZAR (ignore the $ in front of the amount )

[BenzoV]

Also look on www.harrissportsmail.com.

They stock Greys Fly reels and ship to South Africa. I bought my Greys GRXi #5/6 cassette reel from them and paid R553 for it (landed cost - in my hands). At that time that same reel went for over R1,000 at a stockist. And they give you the price in ZAR (ignore the $ in front of the amount )

Nice, thanks a lot for this.

[KB280DT]

Pleasure. Sadly they dont have the grxi anymore but they do have the GX500 and GX700

[Andre]

Dont buy the Greys, the quality is terrible. I bought a set of the ones with the interchangeable spools, and the spools are plastic and really badly moulded. After a while they warped and wobbled. The cage has a one way bearing drag, and my son cooked it on a yellowfish in the Richtersveld. The bering simply gave up, and never worked again, so we had an awesome looking Greys reel, with three plastic spools, that was useless. We decided to remove all the lines, and give it to one of the Nama heardsmen, who was really gratefull. I wont ever buyanother Greys reel ever again... I think that they are rubbish.

Also look on www.harrissportsmail.com.

They stock Greys Fly reels and ship to South Africa. I bought my Greys GRXi #5/6 cassette reel from them and paid R553 for it (landed cost - in my hands). At that time that same reel went for over R1,000 at a stockist. And they give you the price in ZAR (ignore the $ in front of the amount )

[KB280DT]

Be as it may Andre. For the amount of fly fishing I do it suits my needs perfectly the one I got has no issues with badly moulded spools, they fit perfectly into the cage too. No issues with warping, but I refer back to my amount of time spent fly fishing LOL.

[GGY]

Dont buy the Greys, the quality is terrible. I bought a set of the ones with the interchangeable spools, and the spools are plastic and really badly moulded. After a while they warped and wobbled. The cage has a one way bearing drag, and my son cooked it on a yellowfish in the Richtersveld. The bering simply gave up, and never worked again, so we had an awesome looking Greys reel, with three plastic spools, that was useless. We decided to remove all the lines, and give it to one of the Nama heardsmen, who was really gratefull. I wont ever buyanother Greys reel ever again... I think that they are rubbish.

Andre - was that an older GRX/GRXi reel or a newer GX500/Gx700 reel?
I love my newer GX-model reels.
Just because a manufacturer has a bad model (think new model Simms Freestones [not the originals or the corrected/fixed newest models]) does not mean you should write off the whole brand.

[Andre]

Ya, you right Gary, I since found out that all the reel manufacturers use the same bearings for their drag, so it probably could have happened to any reel. It was an old model, correct, but its longevity of service was disappointing. Not about the amount of service it saw either, it was still quite new. I just think that reels with bearing drags, don't particularly like yellowfish when they get angry.

Andre - was that an older GRX/GRXi reel or a newer GX500/Gx700 reel?
I love my newer GX-model reels.
Just because a manufacturer has a bad model (think new model Simms Freestones [not the originals or the corrected/fixed newest models]) does not mean you should write off the whole brand.