avet SX or Calcutta 400b?

I love my Avet SX's.  They just feel NICE!!!  I work them hard on the weeklong trips I run.  However, after a week straight of use (with little rinsing in the interim), I find I need to rebuild them due to salt buildup.  I don't have this problem with any other reels I run.  So yes, they do let water in more than other reels.

-Allen

Last time when I got serviced on my Avet, the guy told me that I have to rinse open spool & dry close (or vice versa...?)   I don't remember...  I gotta go back & ask sometime.

I took 6600 C5 in today to my local store for drag upgrade & asked again about the rinsing Avet...  Close (tight) drag to rinse the reel  & store open spool.

I took 6600 C5 in today to my local store for drag upgrade & asked again about the rinsing Avet...  Close (tight) drag to rinse the reel  & store open spool.

That's the standard recommendation, although if you grease the drags and they are carbon fiber, why cant you just rince open?  What's it going to hurt?  Calling Alan Tani ...

-Allen

I have both of these reels.  If i had to choose only one for kayak fishing I would go with the Avet SX.  Its much more powerful in cranking power and drag.

If you are doing a lot of bait casting with plugs and small jigs, the calcutta would be better.

Both are great reels.

-Marvin

What GB2 said. Also don't worry about manually laying line on the reel it sounds a lot worse than it is. You will be happy with the extra freespool anyway.
Although I do like the Calcutta's I will only buy Avet's from now on. I service mine every 5th or 6th trip and haven't had a single bearing go bad or problem with any of the 3 reels I own (lx, mxl, sx) in 3 seasons. I fish 2x a week and imo the corrosion isn't an issue as long as they are washed down well after. One the other hand you should see my abu 7000i. It hasn't seen more hours or fish but it looks and feels like hell. The levelwind is toast and if I want to use it I have to service it often. My 6600 also does not see salt water anymore though it fared marginally better.
If you aren't 100% sure you want to service the reel yourself go with a graphite framed reel. I recommend the Okuma convector or the Diawa sealine. My convector will not quit and I only crack it when it's gritty.

Tim
     

i think this is a great thread very informative and I ended up going with a abu garcia record rcn60hc, i have always had a good luck with my abu's, and i got a killer deal on one.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewabugarciarecord.html



I tried getting a slightly used TE but the more i thought about it, it just wasnt in my budget, so i picked up the abu for 90 bux. 

Anyone have one of these?

I have used my Avet SX for 5 years and it is in perfect condition with original bearings. I do a full rebuild at the end of the year using Alan Tanis procedure. After each trip I rinse it off with the drag on full, then open the reel and dry off the drag and the water that collects in the frame below the clicker with a q tip swab. Then I blast the 2 spool bearings with corrosion X, grease the drag with Cals grease and put it back together. Takes about 5-10 minutes. For surf launches, I stow the reel in a dry bag. The SX is more prone to sand infiltration than other reels like the Revo. It will still work with sand infiltration but is hard on the bearings. As far as the drag is concerned, yak fishing is usually with 30# test or lower so 12# of drag is more than enough. If you can afford it, get the 2 speed model. The high speed is great for fishing iron and the low speed is great for grinding on big fish. The magnetic cast control is good if you are casting a lot but does slow the vertical drop slightly. A full rebuild takes me about 45minutes but is easier than the Calcutta and Luna and doesn't require any special tools.

I have used my Avet SX for 5 years and it is in perfect condition with original bearings. I do a full rebuild at the end of the year using Alan Tanis procedure. After each trip I rinse it off with the drag on full, then open the reel and dry off the drag and the water that collects in the frame below the clicker with a q tip swab. Then I blast the 2 spool bearings with corrosion X, grease the drag with Cals grease and put it back together. Takes about 5-10 minutes. For surf launches, I stow the reel in a dry bag. The SX is more prone to sand infiltration than other reels like the Revo. It will still work with sand infiltration but is hard on the bearings. As far as the drag is concerned, yak fishing is usually with 30# test or lower so 12# of drag is more than enough. If you can afford it, get the 2 speed model. The high speed is great for fishing iron and the low speed is great for grinding on big fish. The magnetic cast control is good if you are casting a lot but does slow the vertical drop slightly. A full rebuild takes me about 45minutes but is easier than the Calcutta and Luna and doesn't require any special tools.

Yeah, what Scott says.  Again, I love me my SX's, but 5-10 minutes of servicing EVERY trip seems a bit excessive (but probably worth it!!!).

Full disclosure here, I did remove the bearing shields on the spool bearings.  And that seems to be where I get the most issues.  But I seem to recall I removed the shields after I had an issue and had to remove them to re-lube the bearings and just decided to leave them off.  A mini-service like Scott says is the the fix.

Oh my, I just remembered something.  Before my last trip, I  tried Extreme Reel+ on spool bearings on the Blue Avet.  I used Corrosion X on the spool bearings of the Silver Avet.  Guess which one is acting rough and in need of servicing?

-Allen

Yeah.....every trip is excessive, so is breaking down gear and stowing in dry bags for launching....and two speeds are way overkill.....you guys got the tackle junkie syndrome pretty bad 


 

Yeah.....every trip is excessive, so is breaking down gear and stowing in dry bags for launching....and two speeds are way overkill.....you guys got the tackle junkie syndrome pretty bad 

I agree with Agarcia on this one. I'm glad it works for you guys but I can't imagine taking my reels apart and drying them with a Qtip after every trip.

When I get home from a trip it's usually a struggle just to get my gear unloaded and rinsed off before I head inside to eat some dinner and go to bed.

I do think the Avets are cool reels and they have a huge amount of cranking power. I just try to stick with the graphite framed reels myself because I don't really enjoy the maintenance.

-Eliot

Yeah.....every trip is excessive, so is breaking down gear and stowing in dry bags for launching....and two speeds are way overkill.....you guys got the tackle junkie syndrome pretty bad 

I admit I am a tackle junkie but 2 speed reels are really nice for YT and tuna. I fish La Jolla and the East Cape every year and when fishing the iron, 2 speed reels are pretty commonly used.

Yeah.....every trip is excessive, so is breaking down gear and stowing in dry bags for launching....and two speeds are way overkill.....you guys got the tackle junkie syndrome pretty bad 


 

nothin wrong with buying nice gear and caring for it.