Van Staal VS- looking at bying one.

[MudRiverDan]

Some may have noticed that I have been flogging off a bit of my gear here and there in classifieds.
Main reason is to go towards a spin reel hopefully a Van Staal.

Just have a few queries and would like some opinions as I notice these reel are now being produced in China and will become more available here at a cheaper price.

1.) Made in China?.. I hear you say.. yes but from what I can gather from some US forums the build quality has improved, I am not sure about warranty though.
There does not seem to be any issues with quality, though a few in the US forums have said they are disappointed it has not dropped the price of the reels in store.

2.) These reels were designed in the US specifically for fisherman targeting large striper Bass, a fish similar in size to a Mulloway, so they definitely have the grunt for big Mulloway and Greenback Taylor.

3.) Submersible, sand resistant, low maintenance. I give my reels a hard time, drop in sand get knoked on rocks and most of all when I have to walk out on a bit of a bar to get a cast a rogue wave often sees me waist or even chest deep in water and foam frequently in a session, so submersable reel is for me.

4.)Alvey reels, why not? mainly because I don't like casting them off rocky ledges or precarious footings, or casting them at night time, just my personal choice, If I am going to be casting quick without worry of line falling off spool the wrong way while I gain footing then I want a spin reel.
Though I still like Alveys a lot (pretty good cast when you get it down) and no doubt will acquire one in the future some time.

5.) Price? Well I could do a lot worse paying big bucks for finesse gear that I only catch flathead on, or I could pay a bucket-load for a Stella and wreck it in the sand and surf, and not get the durability or salt resistance.
Hence I have sold off my Alphas r edition and a couple of G-loomis rods that I never get any good use from.

Questions are:
I am going to put one on a 15 foot graphite surf rod.
Most probably will go the VS 275 or the VS 250.
They both have a tonne of spool capacity and I think the VS 250 holds 600 yards of 50lb, so I can't see any great need to go to a 275 or 300, though there are size weight and retrieve differences.

Anyone know if there would be a benefit of going to the 275 or 300?
Benefit in casting or anything? I am unsure.

Other question is, and this may make or break my decision to buy, is the short length of the spool, they are deep and short.
Will this impede casting? or have little to no effect on braid?

Any ideas or opinions appreciated.


Cheers

[Micadogs]

I have the Van Staal VM 150 (the cheaper Van Staal). Got it for a better price here in Australia than in the USA. Van Staal is now owned by Jarvis Walker. After sales parts and service will be excellent from Anglers Central in Sth Aust. I had to buy two dust covers for the VM 150. In the USA they were $25+ each. Went to Anglers Central in SA, $7.50 each plus $5 for postage. Got the within a few days of order.

I suspect that you will get good service for these reels here in Australia. Parts were cheap and very quick.

Regards Adam

[NAGG]

I have wondered why there has been a considerable drop in prices lately .......
I've never been overly convinced that they are as good a reel as has been made out - certainly they look like a reel that can take abuse but when compared to the Stellas , Saltigas or Twinspins ..... they seem & feel agricultural. Then again I wouldn't want to be surfcasting with a quality spin or overhead anyway. Maybe that's where the Van Staals would come into their own dunno

Chris

[MudRiverDan]

I have wondered why there has been a considerable drop in prices lately .......
I've never been overly convinced that they are as good a reel as has been made out - certainly they look like a reel that can take abuse but when compared to the Stellas , Saltigas or Twinspins ..... they seem & feel agricultural. Then again I wouldn't want to be surfcasting with a quality spin or overhead anyway. Maybe that's where the Van Staals would come into their own dunno

Chris

They are not as much as a high class reel rather a workhorse, In price they are actually not very expensive when compared to Stella or Saltiga.

They are primarily made for big fish, so the oversize internals and the sealed drags and what-not inside takes away the smooth silky feel of a high end reel.

You can submerse them, bury them in sand drop em on rocks and they withstand the punishment.
Not many other spin reels can even come close to that claim.


ZEE Bass reels are similar and more expensive, they are designed by the same guy who designed the VS.

Cheers

[reggy]

Don`t get too concerned about Made inChina. The current Saltiga and the previous one have main gear bearings made in Thailand, just like the Banax Kingpin.
Van Staals are purpose built for surf fishing. If you like it, go for it.
I had concerns when I bought my Jigging Masters. Best reels I own.
All the best!

[Just_chips]

I think the Zeebaas reels look a better option, mostly because I love the fact that a tackle manufacturer is taking the mystery out of self servicing their reels and actually encouraging you to do so. The initial ridiculous outlay should pay off over the years in servicing costs and longevity of what appears to be a lifetime purchase.

http://www.zeebaas.com/

Kev

[MudRiverDan]

I think the Zeebaas reels look a better option, mostly because I love the fact that a tackle manufacturer is taking the mystery out of self servicing their reels and actually encouraging you to do so. The initial ridiculous outlay should pay off over the years in servicing costs and longevity of what appears to be a lifetime purchase.

http://www.zeebaas.com/

Kev

Yes definitely a nice reel.
Seems to be a little more refined that the Van Staal.

I ended up ordering a VS275 which has pretty similar specs to the ZeeBass ZX27, both designed by the same guy.
Got the VS for $770.00 US (about $720.00 AU) shipping included (quite a good deal).

Guess the whole price thing could keep going for me, so I saved well over $200 dollars and opted for the cheaper VS275.

The thing for me was the whole made overseas issue that appeared a lot in some US forums regarding Van Staal production.

Zee-Bass did the same, however they have moved 100% of their assembly to US shores, this is not saying that many of the parts are not manufactured in China (20% of them according to the site).
I think Van Staal copped a lot of fall out for the overseas move (and rightly so I guess since the US buyers liked the feel of buying a US made reel).
Zee Bass are trying to recover some of the home grown individuality by advertising they now assemble in the US and the self service thing is a bit of a marketing ploy to add to the individual feel.

You could always self service a Van staal, they sell self service kits.

Oh well, all I wanted in the end was a sand resistant tough submersible surf reel useful for large fish, lets hope I got one....

Will post up some reports when I get it together enough to actually wet a line.

The Zee Bass looks like a real nice reel and probably the better reel as far as smoothness and drag design goes. Though the Van Staal will be an interesting venture for me.



Cheers