I have the Zenon 2000s. Bought used as new for £220 gbp. Best reel I’ve ever had without a doubt. Zero wind knots, smooth, light. This this will be a keeper.
All true. Love mine too. But you forgot to mention the cool-ass drop shot keeper on the handle-swap knob. What took so long for that feature to show up? Simply brilliant.
Good video. I feel like abu stuff is underrated, especially the rods. I have a Zenon spinning rod and it’s fantastic. As for the reels, I have a hard time buying the ultra high end as I have some Stratics and they are fantastic. Since I only buy about one rod / reel combo per year since I have good stuff now I tend to buy high end. At that price point though, I’d be tempted to buy a more proven Shimano or diawa reel.
My most expensive rod and reel is a Sixgill Siren rod and Nimbus reel. Ive handled a 30 pound blue cat in river current on the Nimbus and im sold for life. Sixgill has put some serious combos in my hand for half the price.
Great video. Love the honesty and the fact that you have put the screws to that reel. Price point…it’s up there for sure however I have experienced similar issues with spinning reels…they seem to fizzle out at about 6-9 months…
Hey Balzz . I wanted to put my two sense in! I’m a total gear head, with a eye for value. I used to be a ABU Garcia only fan growing up. Now I feel Diawa is the best bang for your buck. Having said that… I think Shimano makes the best spinning reels. With the new Miravel being a stand out reel for $129.00 in my opinion! Thanks for the great videos and Keep hooking my RUclips friend!!
I use the revo 3 sx 2500 on a 7’1 m/f spinner and I wade fish for 3-6 hrs at a time. Not sure of its weight off hand but I’m sure not in the 5s. I never seem to get g tired when I’m out there from the set up. more so just the moving while in the water is what I feel later
When I was getting into higher end spinning gear (smallmouth fishing in WV) I was able to hold the abu you have, the Shimano stradic hg and a couple diawas. They were all butter but the stradic felt the best to me imo. With that being said they are all workhorse products. Once you spend 200+$ on these proven brands you can't go wrong. I picked the stradic because of the sealing from debris and water being a kayak fisherman . Good video brotha
After owning stradic reels I can never go back to anything else under their price range. They are so smooth and light. Caught my 8lb pb using my first one with a dropshot roboworm. Got a second one to use with finesse crank baits and I'm so confident with both of them it's not even a question of if I'm going to catch fish but how many that day. They are definitely worth their 200 plus price point. I will have to try that 500plus Abu to compare.
If there is a comparison,shimano feels the best out the box but are notorious for losing its smoothness and becoming loud eventually.(unless your good with maintenance) High end daiwas feel good out the box and becomes smoother and more "broken in" while maintaining its relative silence. There is much less info on abu and quantum reels for to research so I've never chanced myself with those brands.
@@MrBeams707 I waited to come back to this after using the Stradic religiously this fall. I also never feel like I’m gonna lose any fish because the drag is so buttery. I think now that I’ve had it a full season and went through literally thousands of smallmouth that this reel may be worth around 400$ I’ve never I repeat NEVER have gotten a line twist. I throw Ned rigs a ton on it and this fall I’ve been smashing them on a rebel crawl. I can honestly say I’ll never buy another spinning reel other than a stradic.
Since I had to unload my boat to take it to the shop, I have my rigs stacked in the garage. I have 8 or 9 spinning combos and all my reels are under $100. I have caught fish on all of them. I caught a 5lb smallie at Dale Hollow on my lightest combo. I’m too cheap to spend that much. Cool reel though.
I can't even see spending 500+ for a combo. Wow. My best reels are the ProQual 2 and Origin TX. Both sub 100 dollars. And both have treated me very well.
Hey Mikey: Abu Garcia Rev IKE30 is the most expensive fishing reel I own. I "really" like it. Tacklewarehouse has dropped the price by $100, to the point where you could literally buy 3 for the money you spent. Mind you, 7.6oz is not 5.4oz
I just can't use a fairy stick each to their own I guess. I use my bait caster for everything. I want to tell ya it was rough Friday between the rain and whit capping water I came up short. That's cool I plan on heading back in a couple weeks. Thanks for the review very informative maybe I will get me a spinning rig
Good purchase based on a lot of your personal preferences.. Keep on fishing. I guess you don't have windknots because of the lightness of that combo (It is lighter, better balanced and thus moves better in your hand and trough the air)
I think when people get wind knots on spinning gear it’s due to twist in their line. Simple fix is to cut off tackle and spool out line while idling around…drag it for 5 minutes…..will get all the twists out of line and spool will be tighter when you spool it back on. I will do it when fishing spinning gear often and never get wind knots.
No offence but... I tried my friend's Zenon just to compare with my Shimano Stella and Daiwa Exist in terms of performance. I do agree with Zenon being a fantastic reel from Abu Garcia. It is a lot cheaper and the money spent is worth it. However, the crank smoothness and finess of the materials and details can never be compared with Stella or Exist. The differences are very definite and obvious. Abu Garcia Zenon is still a great treel for its price.
Bro I been checking it out since it came out....I'm a Abu Garcia fan boy... lol but I ain't got the coin to put out for the zenon I did how ever pick up the Abu Garcia zata and a HALO HFX spinning and I absolutely love the combo
I bought a few spinning reels from aliexpress a few years ago . ranging from $7 to $30.... all i can say that $7 reel had been lighting it up. My favortite spinning reel for some time now. I put away my diawa reels for now. lol. You cant do that with baitcasters though...
If I tried to even put that reel into my cart to buy it, I could not do it. It’s way more than I need. Now if Mikey wanted to give me one, heck yeah!! Oh…and an autographed picture of Bog!!
You truly get what you pay for in the rod and reel department. I just picked up a NRX+ the other day cuz I wanted to try the boojie side of fishing and man is that joker awesome.
Awesome video! And I like your person and energy imma sub! I have the zenon 1000s spinning reel for my UL setup and I absolute love it! Thinking about getting a 3000 size zenon to replace my stradic on my sea trout rod. But daaang they’re expensive!
Love the connected feeling to the reel! It's a extension of your body,and inputs have to be felt and deciphered to difrentuate to what the bait is doing,or feeling! I have a few walmart z30 setups, there decent .but hvy compared to a elitist reel like that one.still you appreciate a quality piece of eqipment! I have a old black max baitcaster w slop In the reel handle from mega abuse w braided line,and gnarly hooksets on frog fish.example... 2 full front flips outta the water I jacked em so hard on 2 to 3lb level fish! But I was delaying, feeling the suck in dropping the rod tip,and blasting the hell out of em! Love that you test your eqipment for a while before reviewing the pros and cons!helps me decide if the $ is well spent! Love the gear reviewing! Go MBRF 🎣 👍. I got on Okeechobee yesterday,,and got 1 fish.it was 3pm to 6! And i flipped reeds out front of Okeechobee park w no luck on beaver baits.So I tied on the classic chatterbait, I mod w a clip, removing the lame linkage, and went to hvy cover left of the launch around the island you pass around to the main lake. And got me a nice 4lber! Chartuese,and white w a swim senco old school trailer upside down got it done, and 20 lb floro, st Croix 7ft4 med hvy did the sneaky work. Found a cove pocket w mixed vegetation, and slight moving water that was 0 to 1 ft. Visibility. First time on Okeechobee with the Lil jon, and she didn't disappoint! Thx for all the tips MBRF! Helps me every time I get to fish!
Did you sell your hair to buy the Abu Garcia?😂😂 Looks like a sweet reel, but not sure I’d pay that much for a spinning reel. I cried when I bought my first few white, Shimano, Stradic 2000 (many moons ago), and still have and use them today!
Hey Mike there is no rod or reel worth that kind of money period and Mike I've had expensive rods reels their just not worth it to me. Thanks for the video God bless you and bog's and family your pal fisherman Mike.
Would've went Daiwa or Shimano for that price point. That being said, as a budget guy, bad drag washers is like $20-30 and 20min of time being meticulous, less if you're quick about it. I'm surprised you'd rather buy a new reel than fix that simple of a problem.
I'll pass on abu. Shimano and daiwa just last a very long time. My Stella and Exist have lasted me 7 years and still going with absolutely no maintenance. My Abu MGX has gone through a few adjusments and just stuff falling off randomly. My friend has this Zenon reel, and there's alot of play on it. The drag cap feels wobbly and loose, the bail doesn't always feel solid, etc.. Not worth 550 IMO. If you look at the shimano and daiwas reels that are $500+, they have very tight tolerance and almost zero play on them. I guess you can say I am spoiled. I would get a Daiwa Certate or Vanford over this.
That's nice but that is just way too much for one reel. At that price point I could have at least a couple of Abu Revo Rockets or Shimano Stradics. Or even budget a few Lews Customs.
Thank for the video! For us minions who wouldn’t throw $250+ at a reel, what would you recommend for us pleasure seekers that want a really nice reel as an affordable ($100~ range) that’s Buttr!
It really doesn't matter if your fishing with a $100 or a $600 dollar reel. If you not on the fish it doesn't matter what reel your using. All I say, buy what you like or can afford. Hey Mikey, did you get a free cup of coffee with that haircut. LOL!!!
While I’ll watch the entire video - just because I like the new haircut - I don’t have to watch to know a $540 spinning reel for bass is just not worth it. When I ran my blue water charter boat we fished exclusively for yellowfin tuna and blue marlin where your tackle selection was actually critical. I also fished the long-range SanDiego charter fleet where we fished exclusively for 200-300 lb yellowfin on these 18 day trips. Spending $800 for. Penn International 50SW was simply required since a typical fight could last 1 plus hrs. But for bass? Any reel with a quality drag can handle a largemouth - even the fatties down here In Headwaters. I’d much rather spend $500 on a knowledgeable guide to teach me how to locate bass …
Shimano reels live a human livetime. So dont talk bullshit. Ur problem is that the brakes of low cost reels aren t waterproof. Dry them... Daiwa is going crack often.
![Best Spinning Reels 2024 [don’t buy one before watching this]](/img/1.gif)
I have the Zenon 2000s. Bought used as new for £220 gbp. Best reel I’ve ever had without a doubt. Zero wind knots, smooth, light. This this will be a keeper.
I just got done watching the second place finish on Okeechobee wow what a good video 8 lb 3 oz
Thanks man that was a fun day and a lot of the credit goes to my buddy Donny
I'm 100% diawa... I've caught a lot of smallmouth throwing a 110 Jr. On spinning rod. Caught several stripers 20 plus. Imine are all still like butta.
Same, Daiwa reels are so solid.
A good friend gave me a Pflueger President spinning reel last year. It's the best reel I've owned yet.
All true. Love mine too. But you forgot to mention the cool-ass drop shot keeper on the handle-swap knob. What took so long for that feature to show up? Simply brilliant.
Good video. I feel like abu stuff is underrated, especially the rods. I have a Zenon spinning rod and it’s fantastic.
As for the reels, I have a hard time buying the ultra high end as I have some Stratics and they are fantastic. Since I only buy about one rod / reel combo per year since I have good stuff now I tend to buy high end. At that price point though, I’d be tempted to buy a more proven Shimano or diawa reel.
My most expensive rod and reel is a Sixgill Siren rod and Nimbus reel. Ive handled a 30 pound blue cat in river current on the Nimbus and im sold for life. Sixgill has put some serious combos in my hand for half the price.
Great video. Love the honesty and the fact that you have put the screws to that reel. Price point…it’s up there for sure however I have experienced similar issues with spinning reels…they seem to fizzle out at about 6-9 months…
Have the zenon x baitcasting reel and it’s awesome as well
Hey Balzz . I wanted to put my two sense in! I’m a total gear head, with a eye for value. I used to be a ABU Garcia only fan growing up. Now I feel Diawa is the best bang for your buck. Having said that… I think Shimano makes the best spinning reels. With the new Miravel being a stand out reel for $129.00 in my opinion! Thanks for the great videos and Keep hooking my RUclips friend!!
dude will check it out! i'm always a sucker for shimano stuff but i want to make sure i'm trying other brands as well.
I use the revo 3 sx 2500 on a 7’1 m/f spinner and I wade fish for 3-6 hrs at a time. Not sure of its weight off hand but I’m sure not in the 5s. I never seem to get g tired when I’m out there from the set up. more so just the moving while in the water is what I feel later
Shimano Vanford is my new favorite!! For the price it’s money 💰
Great video as always brother. Hope all is well and be safe
Great video, love all the technical lingo you were whipping out on us!!! Thanks Mikey
I remember having a discussion with you about that reel….Glad it performed well for you…!!
Good review my spinning reel problem is every time I try to buy one I usually come back with a shimano SLX DC lol or curado lol
Love my curados
Love the hair homie! Keep KILLIN IT brother! 🤘
When I was getting into higher end spinning gear (smallmouth fishing in WV) I was able to hold the abu you have, the Shimano stradic hg and a couple diawas. They were all butter but the stradic felt the best to me imo. With that being said they are all workhorse products. Once you spend 200+$ on these proven brands you can't go wrong. I picked the stradic because of the sealing from debris and water being a kayak fisherman . Good video brotha
After owning stradic reels I can never go back to anything else under their price range. They are so smooth and light. Caught my 8lb pb using my first one with a dropshot roboworm. Got a second one to use with finesse crank baits and I'm so confident with both of them it's not even a question of if I'm going to catch fish but how many that day. They are definitely worth their 200 plus price point. I will have to try that 500plus Abu to compare.
If there is a comparison,shimano feels the best out the box but are notorious for losing its smoothness and becoming loud eventually.(unless your good with maintenance) High end daiwas feel good out the box and becomes smoother and more "broken in" while maintaining its relative silence. There is much less info on abu and quantum reels for to research so I've never chanced myself with those brands.
@@MrBeams707 I waited to come back to this after using the Stradic religiously this fall. I also never feel like I’m gonna lose any fish because the drag is so buttery. I think now that I’ve had it a full season and went through literally thousands of smallmouth that this reel may be worth around 400$ I’ve never I repeat NEVER have gotten a line twist. I throw Ned rigs a ton on it and this fall I’ve been smashing them on a rebel crawl. I can honestly say I’ll never buy another spinning reel other than a stradic.
Since I had to unload my boat to take it to the shop, I have my rigs stacked in the garage. I have 8 or 9 spinning combos and all my reels are under $100.
I have caught fish on all of them. I caught a 5lb smallie at Dale Hollow on my lightest combo. I’m too cheap to spend that much. Cool reel though.
I went with the Certate LT CXH-3000 with a NRX best spinning rig I’ve had! Your reel is a couple ounces lighter for sure! But my Daiwa is butta!
I can't even see spending 500+ for a combo. Wow. My best reels are the ProQual 2 and Origin TX. Both sub 100 dollars. And both have treated me very well.
Stradic is bomb
agreed, I've used them a ton in saltwater applications. I can't see any reel having +$300 worth of advantage over them.
Hey Mikey: Abu Garcia Rev IKE30 is the most expensive fishing reel I own. I "really" like it. Tacklewarehouse has dropped the price by $100, to the point where you could literally buy 3 for the money you spent. Mind you, 7.6oz is not 5.4oz
I just can't use a fairy stick each to their own I guess. I use my bait caster for everything. I want to tell ya it was rough Friday between the rain and whit capping water I came up short. That's cool I plan on heading back in a couple weeks. Thanks for the review very informative maybe I will get me a spinning rig
Fairy stick lol. All the BASS guys had to 10 on their deck on the st Lawrence at the last event
Good purchase based on a lot of your personal preferences.. Keep on fishing.
I guess you don't have windknots because of the lightness of that combo (It is lighter, better balanced and thus moves better in your hand and trough the air)
I think when people get wind knots on spinning gear it’s due to twist in their line. Simple fix is to cut off tackle and spool out line while idling around…drag it for 5 minutes…..will get all the twists out of line and spool will be tighter when you spool it back on. I will do it when fishing spinning gear often and never get wind knots.
No offence but... I tried my friend's Zenon just to compare with my Shimano Stella and Daiwa Exist in terms of performance. I do agree with Zenon being a fantastic reel from Abu Garcia. It is a lot cheaper and the money spent is worth it. However, the crank smoothness and finess of the materials and details can never be compared with Stella or Exist. The differences are very definite and obvious. Abu Garcia Zenon is still a great treel for its price.
Dude that reel costs more than what I paid for my boat, but I do have a simple 12' 1968 sears aluminum v bottom .
Bro I been checking it out since it came out....I'm a Abu Garcia fan boy... lol but I ain't got the coin to put out for the zenon I did how ever pick up the Abu Garcia zata and a HALO HFX spinning and I absolutely love the combo
I bought a few spinning reels from aliexpress a few years ago . ranging from $7 to $30.... all i can say that $7 reel had been lighting it up. My favortite spinning reel for some time now. I put away my diawa reels for now. lol. You cant do that with baitcasters though...
If I tried to even put that reel into my cart to buy it, I could not do it. It’s way more than I need. Now if Mikey wanted to give me one, heck yeah!! Oh…and an autographed picture of Bog!!
love it!
You crack me up I'll send one to you like your tips and you have the best humor
You truly get what you pay for in the rod and reel department. I just picked up a NRX+ the other day cuz I wanted to try the boojie side of fishing and man is that joker awesome.
Awesome video! And I like your person and energy imma sub! I have the zenon 1000s spinning reel for my UL setup and I absolute love it! Thinking about getting a 3000 size zenon to replace my stradic on my sea trout rod. But daaang they’re expensive!
Magnesium and salt doesnt go well
Love the connected feeling to the reel! It's a extension of your body,and inputs have to be felt and deciphered to difrentuate to what the bait is doing,or feeling! I have a few walmart z30 setups, there decent .but hvy compared to a elitist reel like that one.still you appreciate a quality piece of eqipment! I have a old black max baitcaster w slop In the reel handle from mega abuse w braided line,and gnarly hooksets on frog fish.example... 2 full front flips outta the water I jacked em so hard on 2 to 3lb level fish! But I was delaying, feeling the suck in dropping the rod tip,and blasting the hell out of em! Love that you test your eqipment for a while before reviewing the pros and cons!helps me decide if the $ is well spent! Love the gear reviewing! Go MBRF 🎣 👍. I got on Okeechobee yesterday,,and got 1 fish.it was 3pm to 6! And i flipped reeds out front of Okeechobee park w no luck on beaver baits.So I tied on the classic chatterbait, I mod w a clip, removing the lame linkage, and went to hvy cover left of the launch around the island you pass around to the main lake. And got me a nice 4lber! Chartuese,and white w a swim senco old school trailer upside down got it done, and 20 lb floro, st Croix 7ft4 med hvy did the sneaky work. Found a cove pocket w mixed vegetation, and slight moving water that was 0 to 1 ft. Visibility. First time on Okeechobee with the Lil jon, and she didn't disappoint! Thx for all the tips MBRF! Helps me every time I get to fish!
Hope it holds up,for that $$..should have went Stella
Did you sell your hair to buy the Abu Garcia?😂😂 Looks like a sweet reel, but not sure I’d pay that much for a spinning reel. I cried when I bought my first few white, Shimano, Stradic 2000 (many moons ago), and still have and use them today!
Hey Mike there is no rod or reel worth that kind of money period and Mike I've had expensive rods reels their just not worth it to me. Thanks for the video God bless you and bog's and family your pal fisherman Mike.
👍
Would've went Daiwa or Shimano for that price point. That being said, as a budget guy, bad drag washers is like $20-30 and 20min of time being meticulous, less if you're quick about it. I'm surprised you'd rather buy a new reel than fix that simple of a problem.
I'll pass on abu. Shimano and daiwa just last a very long time. My Stella and Exist have lasted me 7 years and still going with absolutely no maintenance. My Abu MGX has gone through a few adjusments and just stuff falling off randomly. My friend has this Zenon reel, and there's alot of play on it. The drag cap feels wobbly and loose, the bail doesn't always feel solid, etc.. Not worth 550 IMO. If you look at the shimano and daiwas reels that are $500+, they have very tight tolerance and almost zero play on them.
I guess you can say I am spoiled. I would get a Daiwa Certate or Vanford over this.
You are literally taking food right out of Bog's mouth! 😆
🤣
Nice. I'll stick with my Stradics.
nice any experience with the revo mgx just ordered one
no sir let me know how you like it though.
Definitely nice but I'm a low budget kinda guy ...on some things
I hear you there
Does anyone know if the zenon 2500 compares to daiwa airity? 2500
if you stop breaking your graph screens you might be able to buy another reel. LOL! love the videos' tight lines'
That's nice but that is just way too much for one reel. At that price point I could have at least a couple of Abu Revo Rockets or Shimano Stradics. Or even budget a few Lews Customs.
Gotta take it to the St Lawrence and test it on those 6lb smallies
Lol I got 3 reels Van Staal, Visser and IRT reel all over $650.
paid $249 for mine, just ordered a Xenon rod for same price, so $500 for both...
Ever try backreeling Balzz?
Yeah I’m not t a fan or more precisely not very good at it 😂
Go buy a $550 spinning reel and that’s the bottom line cause Mikey ballz said so
Thank for the video! For us minions who wouldn’t throw $250+ at a reel, what would you recommend for us pleasure seekers that want a really nice reel as an affordable ($100~ range) that’s Buttr!
check this one out - not a stradic but for the pricepoint smooth drag and solid bit.ly/2VxRXxv
I don't understand why the reels from Europe say made in china on the box if the reel is still American
Hey Bog!
It really doesn't matter if your fishing with a $100 or a $600 dollar reel. If you not on the fish it doesn't matter what reel your using. All I say, buy what you like or can afford. Hey Mikey, did you get a free cup of coffee with that haircut. LOL!!!
I would of never thought in a million years you would of bought a 500$ Reel 🤣
this thing sells for 150 dollars here in Hong Kong
Hope it doesn't ever get knocked overboard.
I usually don't comment, homie... just hit the like button, but this time - just NOPE! 549 dollar spinning reel!?!?!? #notapro
While I’ll watch the entire video - just because I like the new haircut - I don’t have to watch to know a $540 spinning reel for bass is just not worth it. When I ran my blue water charter boat we fished exclusively for yellowfin tuna and blue marlin where your tackle selection was actually critical. I also fished the long-range SanDiego charter fleet where we fished exclusively for 200-300 lb yellowfin on these 18 day trips. Spending $800 for. Penn International 50SW was simply required since a typical fight could last 1 plus hrs. But for bass? Any reel with a quality drag can handle a largemouth - even the fatties down here In Headwaters. I’d much rather spend $500 on a knowledgeable guide to teach me how to locate bass …
Ain’t no way this thing is worth $500+
That mug can be had for about 3 from "China"
What rod do you have it on?
Halo ks ii 6 10 med bit.ly/2GcQLLX
Passed ... I'll just stick my Shimano Stella ....
Sounds like mikey got a sponsorship.....
Nope or I’d have 5 of them like a balla #pro
Can't believe I paided 750 Dawa exc
Dawa Exist, best reel ever
In today's economy it is definitely overpriced.
Not worth $549. $230 on Japan Amazon or Ali.
Man, you could have bought 2 daiwa luvias' for that price on ebay. Daiwa or bust.
Ughhh Shimano
$69 Pluger President- #NOPRO 😏
Exist
U pay $500 u got robbed😢😅
Shimano reels live a human livetime. So dont talk bullshit. Ur problem is that the brakes of low cost reels aren t waterproof. Dry them...
Daiwa is going crack often.
This reel is a joke
@mikeyballz fishing check out your private messages on Instagram bro I sent you a private message