I grew up fishing with Penn reels, then I moved away from the coast for about 12 years. Now I'm back and I thought I'd restock on the gear that I knew and loved back then. I bought this Penn reel about a year ago now and have been fishing with it that entire time. I have to say that the quality of this reel is not anywhere close to the Penn I remember back in the day. They look the same but there is something different here. The spool has a lot of play (maybe even a quarter inch up and down) after the drag adjustment has been screwed down. The drag adjustment is amazingly bad. It is nothing like the old Penns. It is not anywhere near sensitive enough. You tighten or loosen the drag several turns and it seems to do nothing until you get to a very sensitive area. And then in just a few clicks one way or the other the drag is too loose or too tight. And I still can't figure out what the heck this "live liner" switch is on the bottom. No instructions came with the reel to explain its operation. I keep this as a back up reel but have since purchased a Pflueger reel and I am much happier with it, as well as it being slightly over half the cost of this Penn. I used to be a big Penn fan, but I'm sad to say this will be my last Penn purchase. The price is just too high and the quality isn't there anymore. I'll keep my eyes open for vintage Penn gear, but I'm done with the new stuff.

Nice and foamy provides good protection.

Light tackle spinning reel that feels like a well made reel the first time used. I prefer the carbon fiber washers for the drag over the felt washers. The change of the handle from right to left, or left to right takes less than a minute. It weights about 9 oz, and is 1/3 the weight of a heavy duty reel of the same brand.

Very smooth reel and compact narrow body! Fishing and trolling.

Received the rod October 29th in a flimsy package and stored with my other rods. Went fishing yesterday (01/12/2025), so I took the rod out of the package and found the eye tip was bent and line protector was gone. This is my fault for not checking on the pole condition.