Let’s discuss reels. Today, I am comparing the Penn Slammer with the Shimano Saragosa and let me tell you, I have some THOUGHTS. I have been using both of the reels for a while now and I finally feel like I can share my opinions with you.
This video contains MY OPINIONS and MY EXPERIENCES. Just because a reel doesn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t be great for someone else! Are you #TeamPenn or #TeamShimano? Let us know in the comments below!
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I own a shimano bait runner and love it as my other reels they are daiwa .
I’m team BG baby, shimanos are fragile and penns though superior imo there are so many models it becomes convoluted
I love the light weight of Shimano. But I also just bought 3 Penn Slammers for my boat. I want a reel on the boat that can take a little beating and land a large fish.
I love my shimano's and penn fishing gear slowing getting into daiwa gear now!!
I've always use Shimano it's light and smooth as pen just to heavy for my liking tight line from New Zealand
makes absolutely no sense what the title is and what your saying lol. GOOD JOB! You can get a lighter penn real imagine that lol
I held a stradic and then I held a Penn Clash II. The Stradic felt just like my 60 dollar Mitchell bass reel. Flimsy and plasticky. The Clash felt like a well tuned metal machine that’s ready to go to battle . Just my opinion but there was no way I was going to buy that Stradic over the Penn Clash
Saragosas aren’t light reels either though right? From my understanding they’re fairly heavy but maybe not as heavy
Well I have Abu Garcia and Daiwa Ugly Stik and there's another brand starts with an O I can't remember the name of it and so far I like the Abu Garcia Pro Max and everyone keeps telling me about the shimano's
Came across the Daiwa BG four years ago. Haven't gone back to Penn since .
Shimano spinning reels are trash. Shimano Only make good rods. Daiwa and Penn perfect
To me I use both but If I’m going to try to compare I put my 4000 peen vs 5000 Shimano to me the size of the reels are different
I'm shopping for a surf spinning rod and reel. I've been exploring Penn (products and reviews); and, watching you catch fish like crazy on the beaches of the world…BTW, the Cabo San Lucas excursion was crazy-fun to watch! After all I've seen, including this video right here confirming the lighter aspects of Shimano and the shaky reliability of Penn reels, I'm exploring Shimano rod-reel combos. Based on what I've seen, Shimano uses a worm-gear setup, which gives it a slimmer profile and lighter weight. The Penn uses a cam…loads of screws inside, which could work loose, causing the funky noises you've experienced. In any case, I hear you. I don't want to have to crack-open the reel for maintenance all that often. I like what you're saying about your Shimano reel not needing any attention after a year. All things considered, I'm looking at a 10' Shimano rod/reel combo: The Offshore Angler Breakwater Surf Spinning Rod and Reel Combo – BR8000/1015302. This length is paired with either the 7000 or 8000 reel. What are your thoughts? I'll be fishing San Diego, CA area beaches…expect to catch surfperch, Mackerel, and…it might be nice to hook some juvenile Bonita. Am I dreaming? 🙂
Your videos are awesome…recently discovered your channel…subscribed.
I've been running penn since high school. Unfortunately I live far inland but I ordered an 8500 slammer 4 after locking up my fierce 3 on a big spoonbill. I ran out of drag and the fish ran out of my life. I'm hoping the slammer 4 is the answer to my future snagging endeavors.
I still fish and catch with Shimano's I bought in the 80's. So, fan boy here too. But here's the rub… Shimanos and Penns are best bought in the value price range. Never paid more than $160 for a reel. I've caught massive tarpon, baddass snook, and just a ton of fish with both. Also, abused them to hi heaven. They're still rock'n. You're wrong about Shimanos – they are every bit as strong as Penns. Question: I've fished all day/night nonstop and my "arm" never got tired. Someone please explain this "tired arm" thing. It really makes me laugh.
There are isolated failure stories with every brand and model reel. You have to look at the overall performance record.
Handle coming off is lack of maintenance on owner unless something broke. I use penn on my heavy duty rock fishing rod, shimano on my lighter gear.
As expensive as anything even kinda decent is anymore I use penn. I remember the days where you could go to your local hardware store and get a decent quality rod and reel combo for under $20. Cheap didn't mean absolute trash back then. Anything you can get for under $20 now is a garbage fire on top of a manure pile as far as quality goes. Cheap shouldn't mean unusable.
Not an equal comparison. I like both brands but the Penn 6500 is equal to Saragosa 10000, not a 5 or 6 thousand. Reel sizes and numbers are not equivalent across manufacturers. Skipper should note that and make the correction.
Penn Reels are to heavy, Cheaply Made Just Junk IMO,
I have been using Okuma 20000ls And Daiwa BG 10000
would never touch a penn reel again
I wish you did this comparison with the stolen 5500 much lighter better retrieve and so much lighter it got away ! I own a Diawa BG 8000 I know what you mean! That thing is huge! But crab fishing big tuna got one!
SUV Penn v Smooth SHIMANO….. I have a Shimano Sedona and a Shimano Nexave…. the Penn I have been told is great but to be honest I don't need it, I am Shimano convinced although I think the Sedano is actually smoother then the Nexave quite a bit however its the light weight Shimanos which are important for a good few hours casting….
I personally do not consider penn spinning reels to be strong, they look strong and might be quite chunky in their construction but they lack the underlaying strength of Shimano. Shimano seem to use better quality metal in their reels which means they are both stronger and lighter than the Penns. I own quite a few Penn spinning reels, they are nice when new but within a few years something is going to break on them.
The only well built Penns, are the true bluewater reels like the Internationals or Torques.
With regards to 40lb of drag. That Slammer can not handle it. To fight a fish with 40lb of drag really requires a harness and seat. Many charters even get their clients to seat when fighting with 20lb of drag.
Which Shimano brand is it in this video?
(Daiwa BG 6500 or Shimano saragossa SW 6000 which is best?) Thank you…
so your reel gets stolen and you're mad at penn? anyway, good review–liked and subscribed.
The crosswind gears wearing out results in need for a new housing assembly, gear and block. Choose your penns cheaply.
As a big guy I really don’t notice the weight I use a penn slammer 3 4500 people say it’s heavy I don’t notice I cast lures a lot and don’t get tired.
do you not mit your rods and reels? or hit them with corrosion block? Ive used slammers for charters for years and they are all just as smooth as the day I bought them
…. You were turned off right away from Penn because your first one was stolen???!!!! MAYBEEE THAT MEANS ITS A WANTED PRODUCT? Think about it.. would someone steal an 86 Honda or Tesla?
2nd off you anddd your SO are both fishing with the wrong sizes for what you are fishing for… 3000 to 4500 os where you should be. SMH people taking advice from a beginner….
Hi Brandon! I think the two reels in this video are of different size classes. Although the nominal size numbers are similar (6000 vs 6500), the line capacity is quite different on the two reels. The 4500 version of Penn Slammer is closer to Saragosa 6000 in terms of line capacity. The 6500 version of Penn Slammer you showed in this video is closer to the 10K version of Saragosa. So naturally, Penn Slammer 6500 is going to be much heavier than Saragosa 6000. However if you compare Slammer and Saragosa of similar line capacities, their weight do not differ by much. Actually, the same can be said for pretty much all reels in the $200-$300 price range. My biggest thing with Slammer, though, is that they don't seem to retain their value relative to their MSRP in the second hand market. Their MSRP is on par with or slightly higher than the equivalent Saragosa, but the second market price is almost always significantly lower. I don't know if this is due to the difference in perceived higher quality of the Shimano brand, or the higher availability of the Penn reels. Or maybe Penn just likes to label their MSRP higher. Anyway, that's just my observation. Thanks.
You cant take a apple , try to make it a orange ,then call the apple defective because its not a Orange. Two different reels for different angling situations.
Love my Gosa 10K. In 2 years landed 5 wahoos, 2 decent tunas, 2 uluas, and countless small fish. She fell off the boat and went overboard into the ocean, dove into the water and retrieved her 15' below the surface. Opened her up and bone dry. Absolute beast of a reel.
I have 2 penn spinfisher reels for a few years now and Iv never had a problem with them yet…
My son dropped a penn slammer 8500 onto carpet.
The bail roller arm broke.
Got it fixed used 8 times since been perfect.
This morning landed an 18.5kg kingfish off the rocks within 5mins
Smooth reel feels solid ,top quality.
