Drennan Red feeder reel vs Shimano Alivio 2500RC reel

Hi,
Has anyone used a Drennan Red feeder reel and the Shimano Alivio 2500RC reel - and would like to share their views on each?

I have a Drennan Red float reel which is nice. I wanted a slightly larger reel for my feeder fishing rod so looked at the Drennan Red feeder reel but the line capacity wasn't big enough. After a bit of research I went with a Shimano Alivio 2500RC reel for £19. It's arrived today but the reel itself is a tad smaller than the Red float reel. The spool is slightly bigger but I'm surprised the reel overall is smaller.

The Alivio reel only has 2 ball bearings, but so do more expensive Shimano reel. Is the Alivio reel any good for feeder fishing? Is it better or on par with the Drennan Red feeder reel?

Thanks.

As you've now learned, line capacities give no indication of the physical size of a reel. Reels from different manufacturers with seemingly similar numbers may not be remotely close in size. Even the numbering of single brands can mislead the unwary. A Shimano mini big pit reel of 4500 or 5500 size is likely to be bigger than a Shimano Baitrunner of 8000 or 10000 size. A 4000 size Shimano match/feeder reel will be nowhere near as big.


A 2500 size Shimanos wouldn't be my choice for feeder fishing, but they'd not be my choice for most float fishing either. However, I would have a Shimano reel in preference to the Drennans. That has nothing to do with the line capacities though. The Drennan shallow spools are the best feature they have and the capacity of the feeder reel is perfectly adequate for all but the most extreme angling situations. In those extreme situations, you probably wouldn't want to be using a standard reel anyway.

Thanks Sam.

The Shimano Alivio 2500RC reel has a metal (like) spool. Is this Shimano being flash or are metal spools actually more efficient?

Would you care to share why you would prefer Shimano over Drennan reels, and does it apply to budget ranges too?

Just go out and use them, the fish don't know what reel your using.
Yes you could have gone for a 4000 size shimano for feeder work but don't worry about it just go out and catch a few and enjoy yourself

dac1 said:

The Shimano Alivio 2500RC reel has a metal (like) spool. Is this Shimano being flash or are metal spools actually more efficient?

Click to expand...

It's not a question of efficiency, just looks and longevity.

dac1 said:

Would you care to share why you would prefer Shimano over Drennan reels, and does it apply to budget ranges too?

Click to expand...

Shimano are a manufacturer of gears, they know what they are about. The Drennans may be OK, but they are off the shelf reels rebadged. The best feature of the Drennans is the shallow spools, something that Shimano increasingly forget about as they make reels primarily for the worldwide spinning market. However, my main reason for favouring Shimano reels is that I've been using their reels for twenty five years without issue. I still have the first one I bought and it's still going strong.

Thank you.

Unless you're chucking a feeder to the moon, the Drennan capacity of 100 meters will suit most users. The red range and the Shim are both built to the budget minded. My feeder reels are Drennan FD30 and Greys GFS40. Both more or less the same reel just rebranded Chinese reels. The only difference is the Greys hold more line.
Both your reels will suit you for Feeder and Float applications. As long as they are a good balance to your rod i wouldn't worry about the line capacity as most chucks are around the 20 to 50 meters range. Just use them