How are these reels?
do they hold up ?
I'll start with THE BAD speaking specifically for the 50w size:
1 - It's NOT a TRUE 50w reel by line capacity like internationals are or even Avet 50w, compared to thous is JUST A 50.
2 - Line capacity 700yds at 50lb, vs the TRUE 50w 900yds at 50lb mono.
3 - the clicker gear is made from plastic and is not as efficient (loud) as the lower size reels, same series
4 - without tuning the drag, the 50w will only give you 30lb drag at full spool
5 - as of January 2012, this reel is retired, which also makes complete sense why is so cheaply sold on ebay
I'll begin THE GOOD:
1 - even though this reel is in reality a 50, rather then a 50w, you can still pack 1,000yds of braided line at 100lb, and about 20-30yds of 150 as a topshot
2 - the clicker gear being made from plastic, is not a cheap plastic, and doesn't give any sign of giving up, plus is very cheap to buy it from okuma directly, also, that clicker gear fits perfectly from 20-ll up to 50w of the Okuma Cavalla series.
3 - tuning the drag up to 50-55lb at full spool cost about $5 for the part, here is the tutorial that i made regarding this: http://www.fishingstyles.com/forums/oku ... 5-t47.html
4 - now is the best time to buy the cavalla, since companies sells them for cheap, and okuma confirmed that they'll gonna carry parts for this reel for the next 5 year, that means till 2017.
5 - in lower gear this reel can dead-lift, by cracking, like a crane - 45lb weight
6 - has helical cut gears, which make this reel not smooth SUPER SMOOTH
7 - airplane type aluminum frame, type II anodized spool NO CLICK SOUND when turning ther reel with DOUBLE independent anti-reverse dogs, in case that one fails, the other takes over, 306 stainless steel bearing and gears
8 - by default has extremely smooth drag - to the point that it will fool you when a fish takes drag -- meaning you'll need to look at the spool to realize that the fish takes slowly the line
9 - tiburon engineered T-Bar handle, make cranking much easier, where sometimes you'll need to stop cranking because you overpower the drag settings and the drag layers start to skip at 50lb drag - which is nuts
10 - ONE VERY VERY THICK ALUMINUM FRAME - this reel can be taken apart only on ONE SIDE.
To make it last for very very long time - use this technique if you decide to buy, AS SOON AS YOU GET IT: http://www.fishingstyles.com/forums/oku ... i-t19.html
Last year, using the railing on the pier, i caught in 20 minutes of fight an 8-9ft hammerhead, having the okuma cavalla 50w cranked all the way at full with +50lb drag digitally measured. The fish had one run up to 150yds, then the rest of the runs were around the pier - 20-30yds under same drag pressure.One hour later about same size hammerhead shark, doing the same thing, i manage to snap my 100lb braid inline (no knot where it snapped). For the money that you can bid on eBay, you can't get a better reel then this, in its class. So... That's Okuma Cavalla 50w-ll.
P.S. ...and its NOT MADE IN CHINA - Made in Taiwan, where majority of CNC machining from Okuma are. For thous who don't know this. Okuma AS A COMPANY, is World Wide Leader in CNC machines, which companies like BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari, pretty much all high end cars, uses in they production line CNC's made by Okuma, to make transmission gears for they cars. I won't be surprised if same brand CNC machines are used by other high end reel manufactures. Okuma has HUGE production power, and deep deep pockets.
Good info. thanks for the share