I had a birthday recently. I’m still waiting for your gifts to arrive, any tracking numbers to share?
Anyway, I had some gift certs to that little on-line marketplace called Amazon. I get a lot of gear on loan for trips, so I thought it might be interesting to know what I spend my own money on, and why.
The newest member of the family
First, I would normally try to buy from a shop. Getting the Amazon gift certs ruled that out. There are some shops around here, but they don’t sell through Amazon, so that was not where I was going to drop my money. I had $300 to spend and on Amazon there really weren’t that many choices for saltwater appropriate reels.
My options were limited. The reel options were Hatch, Galvan, Ross, Hardy and Lamson, for the most part. When you look at the right size at the right price, the pool was reduced further. Would I like a Hatch or an F1 from Ross or a Nautilus? Yes. Would I have bought one of those if they were $300? Yes. I would also buy a Tibor if it was $300, which they just aren’t. So, confined by price, I looked for value.
I have to say that I know Aaron Adams and Davin Ebanks haves been fans of Lamsons and that did come into play.
I also put a Lamson through reel testing and it passed with flying colors.
It feels a bit like a modern consumer tale. It was vital I was not restricted by where or how I could buy the product. Additionally, I was swayed much more by what I saw through my social network and through non-aligned social media than I was swayed by commercials, ads or any of the industry hype I have a habit of drinking like so much Kool-Aid.
So, that’s the story of my new Lamson Velocity 3.5. This reel is intended to take the place of my TFO 375, which has frozen up, corroded from saltwater exposure and is no longer fit for service. This will be my 7-8 weight bonefishing reel of choice (within my stable of options), until and unless it makes me regret that decision.
