Penn 515 mag 2    vs    Avet sx 5.3 mc...

Now i can confirm that the penn 515 mag reel is a superb piece of engineering. Having used a couple of the original penn 525 mag's and found them to be a fantastic fishing reel, well capable of anything i should encounter here on the north west coast i had to make a good excuse to buy a new penn 515. Knowing that the 525's were very well constructed and ultra tough gearing , they had never let me down on the beach and allowed me to cast to the best of my ability without getting any birdies. That was apart from when my coat sleeve would catch the mag slider when winding in and if i didn't notice before the next cast i may occasionally get a birdie. That was it, enough excuse to buy the 515, i had convinced myself.

 And so it arrived, carefully removing it from its box i was in awe of the new designed and coloured penn reel i had just bought. My first outing was a low water mark in the dark and i have to say i was a bit gentle at first, but after a few casts it was down to business and fishing. It is without doubt a superb reel, slightly smaller than the 525 but holding enough line for me, and it felt right. The mag control knob clicks round nice and doesnt get knocked along by accident. The reel runs very smooth and true and despite early reports that line went down between the spool and the cage it has never happened to me as yet. In all an excellent reel that would suit most of my fishing needs, i couldn't want for more.

 So why then did i decide to buy a brand new Avet sx 5.3 mc then ?

 Because it looked nice on the internet....But really, i had read a number of reports, mainly on U.S. forums and they only seemed to have positive things to say about them, in fact Avet reels in general seemed to get a glowing report. I made an excuse to myself that the 5.3 sx would make a better low water reel for me than the Penn, purely because it held more line and i have to say the drag system seemed somehow magical, probably because of its unusual set up, unusual for the U.K. anyhow.

 With that excuse in mind i paid up and waited for the U.S. postal service to do its job. They did, it arrived and again i opened the package with excitement. It is, without doubt a stunning looking reel, and as my brother had said, something you could put on a shelf and just look at, occasionally taking it down and winding the handle around.

 Out of the box and in your hand its evident that this reel has a lot about it. Slightly smaller than the penn 515 but with loads more line capacity, 375yds 16lb line , opposed to penn's 230yds 15lb line, quite a difference. The reel feels solid,and it is due to the cage and left endplate being machined from one solid piece. The mag control knob , like the penns is a dial job ,and works very well, only offering five settings against the 515's 10 but i guess working just as well. The gears again, being U.S. design are built from leftover space shuttles i guess, as they are bullet proof and i doubt they will let any fish im going to catch get away. The drag system, being a lever type is new to me and despite this unfamilier device does seem to be easy and effective to use. Time will tell, and hopefully those smoothounds will give it a run later this year. Until i have had it on the beach, there isnt much more i can say yet ut im expecting great things.

 I have to admit, that with the onset of christmas i didnt get a chance to take the reel out, and in fact i have only just spooled it up ready to cast, so with that in mind i must end this report, but safe in the knowledge i shall update just as soon as i have taken the little reel out for a play...