I no longer recomend Vanstaal

9539 Views 72 Replies 26 Participants Last post by Bigg J, Nov 10, 2007

gator7_5

Discussion Starter · Nov 7, 2007

..and I wont until they can be maintained locally. 600 for the reel and hundreds of dollars to maintain them just isn't feasible. I love the reel but won't purchase another. just got a call that I wll be billed 161.00 for misc parts and labor. It worked ok when I sent it off!

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John B.

· #2 · Nov 7, 2007

tell them to send it back...

i won't send mine in for this exact reason, hell, the warranty is only for 1 year anyways...

so, until the reel stops working, i'm not sending it anywhere!..

sorry about the $160 bucks... not sure why they wanna fix something that isn't broken?

gator7_5

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 7, 2007

I've actually owned it fora while and have yet to send it off. I'm taking it for Striped Marlin to Cabo and I want it relubed, its the last time I'll send it back, thats for sure. I'll just fish it till it explodes.

Garbo

· #4 · Nov 7, 2007

I love mine, and find them a pleasure to fish with. Worth every cent. I understand your frustrations, and the cost is high, but I seem to be able to justify it on every cast.

Simply love em.

John B.

· #5 · Nov 7, 2007

gator7_5 (11/7/2007)I've actually owned it fora while and have yet to send it off. I'm taking it for Striped Marlin to Cabo and I want it relubed, its the last time I'll send it back, thats for sure. I'll just fish it till it explodes.

a buddy of mine took his to cabo and caught a striped marlin on his 250... i'm assuming it's a 300 you have, right??

i wanted to catch a white this year on my 250, but never had the time to go:banghead, maybe next year!... good luck!

gator7_5

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 7, 2007

no itsa 250... I've talked to some people over there. Its tough - but not impossible. as long as you avoid the 200+ pounders.

John B.

· #7 · Nov 7, 2007

yeah, that's the only thing that sucks.... AVOID THE BIG ONE!:banghead

seanclearly

· #8 · Nov 7, 2007

I've caught stripers in Cabo and you should have no problem catching them on a 250. They do get pretty big but the majority are in the 100-200 lb range. They are awesome to sight for. Have a great trip.

MR.STAAL

· #9 · Nov 7, 2007

yea not good.... i love staals but ou have to be nice to them hahaha nah i wont send mine in until it freezes up. an for the name van staal its not supposed too.

John B.

· #10 · Nov 7, 2007

MR.STAAL (11/7/2007)yea not good.... i love staals but ou have to be nice to them hahaha nah i wont send mine in until it freezes up. an for the name van staal its not supposed too.

the only way yours will lock up is from a 2" thick layer of dust!!!... haven't fished with you in a while!

Captain Woody Woods

· #11 · Nov 7, 2007

MR.STAAL (11/7/2007)an for the name van staal its not supposed too.

The company Van Staal hasn't been "in the game" for long at all. Personally, I hate bail-less spinning reels. But that is biased. In terms of quality, there were originally developed for STRIPER fishing, not the grueling demands of bluewater fishermen. They are pieces of shit. Take a company like costa del mar for example: when my $300+ swordfishes mess up (which has happened like, ONCE in the last 8 years), they sure as hell replace them for free or repair them for a minimal cost. As in, less than $30. Van Staal as a company is worthless. They mark up their products something ridiculous like 900% of production costs. I'd much rather put my dollars and trust into a name such as Shimano or Penn. And this isn't coming from a once-a-month fisherman. We have nearly the entire line of reels made by both Shimano and Penn on our boat, and we fish them every week of the year, from Venice down to the Bahamas.

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Travis Gill

· #12 · Nov 7, 2007

Man so far I only know of one Van Staal that has locked up. I don't even know how many times I have had penn spinning reels break. Anti reverses are bad, and van staals don't have them, one less useless thing to break. I've caught big fish on Van Staals and love them. IMO they are the best spinning reels made.

Captain Woody Woods

· #13 · Nov 7, 2007

we maintain and lubricateour tackle as if we are going to put it on display. OCD about it. too expensive not to.

gator7_5

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 7, 2007

The Blue Hoo (11/7/2007)

MR.STAAL (11/7/2007)an for the name van staal its not supposed too.

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The company Van Staal hasn't been "in the game" for long at all. Personally, I hate bail-less spinning reels. But that is biased. In terms of quality, there were originally developed for STRIPER fishing, not the grueling demands of bluewater fishermen. They are pieces of shit. Take a company like costa del mar for example: when my $300+ swordfishes mess up (which has happened like, ONCE in the last 8 years), they sure as hell replace them for free or repair them for a minimal cost. As in, less than $30. Van Staal as a company is worthless. They mark up their products something ridiculous like 900% of production costs. I'd much rather put my dollars and trust into a name such as Shimano or Penn. And this isn't coming from a once-a-month fisherman. We have nearly the entire line of reels made by both Shimano and Penn on our boat, and we fish them every week of the year, from Venice down to the Bahamas.

VS's are NOTpieces of shit. Unless you can verify your opinion with facts - its just worthless opinion, like most of your posts seem to be.

FACT: I HAVE busted a Penn reel while fighting fish. In seven years I have never had any problem with my VS

FACT:You have never seen a VS malfunction.

See how that works...I started the thread andnever said the reel wasn't a fine product - just to expensive. IMO, its still one of thebest spinning reels on the market.

In fact - here's an excerpt form a conversation I was having with a captian in Cabo about using spinning reels on Stripeys.. Seems your just as expensive Stella's weren't up to the task

"The Saturday before we did 61 with anglers from Brazil and they bought 3 x Stella 10 000's. Great to cast for the person who cant cast a trinidad and for long casts but all 3 literally blew up with bits and pieces flying all over the place fighting these striped marlin. I can see the benifits for long casting on smaller models but when we had bigger fish they could not put the drag to them and then the reels exploded.
We put 30 lb Spectra tuff line hi vis yellow topped with berkley Hi test 30 lb clear and 90 lb Seagar fluro snelled to the 8/0 eagle claw circle hook."

BTW,

I think Costas are total pieces of shit. I've broken at least 3 pairs, just by dropping them. Thats why I wear ocean waves.

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seminolewind

· #15 · Nov 7, 2007

I think VS are great reels but they are overpriced like VS200 said the warranty is only one year fish with them till they explode then send them in. As for Costa the new glasses are pieces of shit seems like they started producing so many glasses they forgot about quality. When Iworked at Boater's World a few years back Costa's were not as popular but the quality seemed alot better.

BlackFlag

· #16 · Nov 7, 2007

gator7_5 (11/7/2007)

The Blue Hoo (11/7/2007)

MR.STAAL (11/7/2007)an for the name van staal its not supposed too.

Click to expand...

"The Saturday before we did 61 with anglers from Brazil and they bought 3 x Stella 10 000's. Great to cast for the person who cant cast a trinidad and for long casts but all 3 literally blew up with bits and pieces flying all over the place fighting these striped marlin. I can see the benifits for long casting on smaller models but when we had bigger fish they could not put the drag to them and then the reels exploded.
We put 30 lb Spectra tuff line hi vis yellow topped with berkley Hi test 30 lb clear and 90 lb Seagar fluro snelled to the 8/0 eagle claw circle hook."

Click to expand...

I have heard alot of mixed reviews lately about van staals and most of them were negative. I'm not sayin they suck but damn expensive. I bought a stella 20000 recently and i love it. As for your story goes, i don't doubt that happened to the 10000's cuz i have seen reels come out of the box and not work. My theory is on that particular day on the assembly line some hungover shmuck put those reels together. Conspiarcy?

gator7_5

Discussion Starter · #17 · Nov 7, 2007

BlackFlag (11/7/2007)

I have heard alot of mixed reviews lately about van staals and most of them were negative.

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mind if I ask what he problems are? I have the older, original design/manufacturer model so I haven't purchased one since '00..

Garbo

· #18 · Nov 7, 2007

I have 2 Van Staals that were bought in 92, and both perform flawlessly today. Never had a problem with either, and you can't have one any older than these two, and they used to get fished alot harder than they do now but they stillget their gametime.

I have 8 of the little VS100's and not had a problem with any one of the 8, ever.

With that said,I also have never had many problems with some very old 706z's either, and they cost alot less toown.

I would have to think that anything that goes through the riggers that the saltwater enviroment can dish out, has to be taken care of, and I do take care of my gear. But I also can't see how a anyone could call anything as well built in both function and detail as a Van Stall reel a POS.

I am going to order a ZeeBaas and I look forward to fishing it, I don't see anyway it can be worth what they cost, and I will be glad to let you know what I think about it, but I can promise you that Robert Koelewyn didn't, hasn't and won't design, machine and produce anything that would deserve to be called a POS. The man is a true Craftsman.

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Captain Woody Woods

· #19 · Nov 7, 2007

gator7_5 (11/7/2007)

The Blue Hoo (11/7/2007)

MR.STAAL (11/7/2007)an for the name van staal its not supposed too.

Click to expand...

VS's are NOTpieces of shit. Unless you can verify your opinion with facts - its just worthless opinion, like most of your posts seem to be.

FACT:You have never seen a VS malfunction.

I think Costas are total pieces of shit. I've broken at least 3 pairs, just by dropping them. Thats why I wear ocean waves.

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oh right, you have been with me every trip i go on, and have proof that i have "never seen" a VS malfunction. youre a damn idiot and you should keep your ignorant mouth shut if you want to preserve any image of intelligence you might still have. i have personally seen THREE VS reels drags freeze up and blow up on yellowfin. i'll never buy one or trust one to an angler when money is on the line. not saying shimano or penn is necessarily better, but i'd rather have them as opposed to VS. and in reality, i'm sure all reels have failed at one point or another. but on our boat, we have seen 3 different $800 VS reels fail, and we'll never waste our money on them again. oh and about your costas-lesson learned-don't drop your shades. :banghead wear straps. you asked foran opinion-whether you agree with it or not, and i just gave it to you.

Boardfeet

· #20 · Nov 8, 2007

Why not a Stella 8000..................no maintenance.PERIOD SMOOOOOOOOOOOTHE

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