Okuma owners.......happy ?

LakeConjolaFish · #1 05-02-2005, 11:38 PM

Question for the people who have had Okumas now for a few years, are you happy with them?

My two are still going OK, still dont think that they are anywhere as smooth as my Saraha's, but they are still OK reels.......except the finish is wearing on the main body in a few places from wear and tear and rubbing and underneath it looks like its black plastic........surely I'm wrong ??????

Evileye · #2 06-02-2005, 01:03 AM

ive had an okuma fina 30 for about 2 years now, and its been dropped in water and still has a smooth strong drag, and it is a strong stable body. i have an okuma av 20 and i dont like it.....its not smooth and is not the right size for what i like. but it has a good drag.

ash

LakeConjolaFish · #3 06-02-2005, 01:36 AM

Mine are the Epix EFS-20

the_hide · #4 06-02-2005, 06:05 AM

I love my Okumas to death, brilliant value for money. Only when the paint starts to rub off it really looks a little cheap.

The only real regret I have on them. The EFS-20 has black plastic underneath and the inspiras tend to have a white plastic.

panger · #5 06-02-2005, 05:57 PM

I've got 2 avengers and absolutely love them. Sure the paint scratches off here and there but there a $70 reel and it doesn't affect performance. I've dunked them and had no issues. The only incident was the bail spring going after a year of solid use on the 20 which was replaced promptly at no charge. My Av20 is super smooth, but I'm guessing there's a bit of variation between individual reels at that price.

Baz · #6 06-02-2005, 08:13 PM

Ive got about 8 Okuma egbeaters ranging from sizw15 up to the EFS 80 and they all get a very hard life. In general for a relatively cheap reel, I have been very happy, andany reel under $200 that dowsnt break or fall apart in 2 years is doing well I think. They show a few dings and wear but so does anything that gets used and abused. Basically they get a wash after a saltwater trip and a few have been lucky with a service.
No, very happy. A few other brands have not put up with me nearly as well

LakeConjolaFish · #7 06-02-2005, 09:16 PM

I havent still got the boxes they came in, can someone tell me if the body of the reel is plastic or is it carbon fibre or something else? because I'm sure its not alloy.

Gaffer · #8 06-02-2005, 10:05 PM

I've got several okuma reels and I'm happy with all of them. I used a little FB20 to play out an epic battle with a 49cm bream late last year and drag was superb.

I use a capricorn on my main breaming rod now, but would not consider myself seriously disadvantaged if I had to suddenly put the okuma on again.

I only bought the capricorn due to the weight factor and also its great reputation.

The FB20 is also a baitfeeder, which has it's advantages when I want to soak a prawn bait at night

Gaff

Angry · #9 07-02-2005, 12:38 AM

Definately not metal bodied. As far as I know they (Okuma) don't make any metal body threadlines. Okuma quotes "lightweight graphite body" for the Epix and the rest of the range is about the same. "Graphite" basically means injection moulded plastic that is reinforced with graphite/carbon. Graphite and carbon are the same thing but can be used in different ways, the other obvious way being strands supported in resin, like fishing rod or carbon fibre panels.
There is nothing wrong with graphite bodied reels, like metal bodies the quality of the end product boils down to quality of casting/machining put into the reel. I've seen some crap metal body reels.
I've got quite a few Okuma reels (amongst the other brands) and enjoy them all. They've lasted well and respond to good treatment as well as any other brand.