maceo
Well-known member
Bought one of these this morning for 15 quid from the local Lidl. It's not really called the 'Smart Pryce' but even if it were and had that name emblazoned all over it in Arial Extra-Bold script, I wouldn't be bothered as long as it does the job....
It comes with a spare spool and feels very chunky and solid. The bail arm is thick and thunks over like a mouse trap when you wind the handle.
It's got four ball bearings (so it says) and feels smooth enough. Obviously not like the (much) more expensive ones, but not too bad at all.
The freespool/baitrunner thing is a lever you push forward to engage. The drag for it is then set by the twist knob on the back. One thing I don't like too much is that if you don't have the freespool on (i.e. the lever is backwards) it juts out from the back in what looks like quite an awkard, get-in-the-way, slack line catching position.
If you don't have the freespool on, then the drag setting is on the front of the spool.
I wonder what would happen if I had the freespool feature engaged and very little drag set on the back knob, but had the drag on the front of the spool set hard on? Would that not affect it at all? I'll find out when I take it out I suppose and can experiment a bit.
It also comes with 3 years warranty, which seems pretty good. I've had one or two reels that have barely lasted a season. We'll see how this one goes on. The contact phone number for service is in Northern Ireland, but the only clue as to the reel's origin is a company address in Germany.
It comes with a spare spool and feels very chunky and solid. The bail arm is thick and thunks over like a mouse trap when you wind the handle.
It's got four ball bearings (so it says) and feels smooth enough. Obviously not like the (much) more expensive ones, but not too bad at all.
The freespool/baitrunner thing is a lever you push forward to engage. The drag for it is then set by the twist knob on the back. One thing I don't like too much is that if you don't have the freespool on (i.e. the lever is backwards) it juts out from the back in what looks like quite an awkard, get-in-the-way, slack line catching position.
If you don't have the freespool on, then the drag setting is on the front of the spool.
I wonder what would happen if I had the freespool feature engaged and very little drag set on the back knob, but had the drag on the front of the spool set hard on? Would that not affect it at all? I'll find out when I take it out I suppose and can experiment a bit.
It also comes with 3 years warranty, which seems pretty good. I've had one or two reels that have barely lasted a season. We'll see how this one goes on. The contact phone number for service is in Northern Ireland, but the only clue as to the reel's origin is a company address in Germany.