Redington Large Arbor

Review Date
October 8, 2008

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Reviewed by: Stewy ,  Day Hiker

Price Paid:  $120.00 at Retail Fly Shop

Summary:
Redington GD 4/5 - Drag is everywhere but where you want it to be.
Spoke with a angler who has the same reel.
Same problems...My first fly reel ever
a Orvis which cost me less than $50
performs better than the GD.
Lesson learned... Redington..Never again.

Customer Service:
Never responded to E-mail.

Similar Products Used:
Orvis / Lamson

Review Date
March 13, 2008

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Reviewed by: Mill ,  Snowboarder

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Own a GD 7/8, AL 7/8 & 9/10. The GD is lightweight and the drag is good except for the fact that it changes setting it wants to, and looses tension when false casting! The drag knob is small and awkward. A Half turn of the knob is the difference between fully engaged and free willy. This is a fatal design flaw in my opinion. My 7/8 AL drag looked like ground eraser after a half day on fresh coho's!! Not enough drag and I kept getting spooled due to the fact that the reel holds way less backing then stated. Stay away from the AL's. I Will never buy another Redington as long as I live.

Customer Service:
Pretty good but refused to admit that these reels suck! They replaced my drag on the AL's numerous times with the same outcome. Now I just use them as expensive paper weights.

Similar Products Used:
Ross BG, Tibor everglades, Teton Tioga,

Review Date
May 19, 2005

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Reviewed by: Mark23 ,  20 days a year

Price Paid:  $140.00 at Bow River Troutfitte

Body of Water:
The Gorge in the Grand River

Favorite City:
Toronto

Favorite State:
Ontario

Favorite Country:
Canada

Summary:
I wanted an inexpensive but reliable disc drag for my 5 wt rod to fish some trout. I went with the Reddington GD and though the price was right, the reel is not worth it, especially considering the fact that you can pick up a Tioga for the same price (which I know now). The drag on the GD kept losing tension with every set of false casts and is very finicky to adjust. It was for frustrating. I'm on my way to go buy a Tioga, which though slightly heavier, for the price is a nice reel with good drag and is super reliable (my brother has one and I have one on my 8 wt).

Strengths:
Aside from the spinning out of the drag on the false casts it worked fine, but this is a critical problem that just ruins your day.

Weaknesses:
The drag spins out with false casting.

Customer Service:
Haven't used them - my brother also had a GD and it had the same problem, so I haven't really dealt with sutomer service. I'm just moving on.

Similar Products Used:
Teton Tioga, an old Lamson (which also had a drag adjustment problem - all or nothing), Reddington RL (which is fine), Ross Colorado, Ross Cimmaron

Review Date
May 9, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by: MasterGoa (Unregistered User) ,  20 days a year

Price Paid:  $159.00 at www.salmonature.com

Body of Water:
Miramishi River

Favorite City:
Deux-Montagnes, Musky Town!

Favorite State:
Quebec

Favorite Country:
Kanada

Summary:
This review is for an RS2 9/10 reel.
Paid 159 Canadian at 1.42 exchange.

I really like this reel.

First for the build quality an attention to detail.
It looks and feel like a reel twice it's price.

Second, for the drag.
Curiously, Redington read these reviews and corrected the
drag problem cause mine has none.

Very smooth, will drag up to 35Lb and keep it silky with
no creep.

I also like the thikness of the back plate, it will
hold up to the largest fish.

Two bsll bearing with a 12MM one-way bearing, easely
converts from right hand to left hand winding.

Strengths:
Fit and finish, THINK anodizing.

All machined to exact dimentions, everything fits
perfectly.

True large arbour, great for boat fishing when you
can't run after the fish!

Weaknesses:
A little heavy, but robust in build.

Cannot turn of clicker.

Drag knod could be knuled deeper and have
a strongger threading, its hard to get it tight.

Customer Service:
Calls and questions regarding CS were dealth with in no time. The reel has not failed, so only questions were directed at Redington CS.

Similar Products Used:
Orvis Rocky Mountain, Teton Tioga (another great reel), Ross Colorado.

Review Date
January 7, 2003

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Reviewed by: James (Unregistered User) ,  40 days a year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Found the drag very sticky and not smooth.
Very disappointing no wonder they do not make these reels anymore. Being so cheap in both quality/price my situation it is less expensive to throw it away than to send it in for repairs.

Strengths:
none

Weaknesses:
sticky drag which is bad for tippets.

Customer Service:
Have not used will not waste my time

Similar Products Used:
Orvis Battenkill