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which reel should i get? ross or galvan

8K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  salmo 
#1 ·
i now have the funds to buy a big game reel. the choices that i have narrowed to are tha galvan torque and the ross reels canyon big game. does anyone have any feed back for either reel for me? mostly it will be used for steelhead in the great lakes, redfish in the gulf, and maybe permit and tarpon as well. (if i can talk my wife into letting me go). help
 
#2 ·
Buy Danielsson LW 6-9 ( formerly sold by Loop ).
This reel is much better that Ross or Galvan or even Abel.
Has super durable, smooth fully sealed drag, similar capacity to Ross BG-4 and cost less: was $585 now directly from factory for $295.

salmo
 
#6 ·
wrenchman72076 said:
i now have the funds to buy a big game reel. the choices that i have narrowed to are tha galvan torque and the ross reels canyon big game. does anyone have any feed back for either reel for me? mostly it will be used for steelhead in the great lakes, redfish in the gulf, and maybe permit and tarpon as well. (if i can talk my wife into letting me go). help

Why buy either when the loop (now danielson) is just as good and %40 -%50 cheaper?
 
#7 ·
Danielsson! This is truly the way to go. Top quality sealed drag and performance and durability that equals any reel on the market at any price. You will be totally impressed with this reel, period. Get a hold of Ron Larson and talk with him about the line and backing requirements you have and let him help you with your decision.

Chris
 
#8 ·
The former loopusa.com page now is a Danielsson webpage and you can find all info you need. I have FW, LW and HD reels with Loop or Daniesson logo.
LW 6-9 has a silghtly bigger capacity then Ross BG-4, cost less and is a much better reel!!!!!.

call Ron at 541-673-9810

Salmo
 
#11 ·
Ross Big Game Reels

Hi wrenchman72076, i have used the Ross BG for my guide buisness for the past 4 years and they are great reels. I have the BG4 for the 8wt single handers and the BG7 & BG8 for the two handers.They are great reels and have taken all the knocks with no problem. I have also used them on a trip to Belize and they performed flawlessly in the salt, the sealed drag is great. The Ross Warranty is the best with 2 day turn around time but i must admit i have never had to use it.
I have never used a Galvan so i can not comment on them but i think they do look good. Tight lines,brian :)
 
#14 ·
Eddie said:
the Ross drag is not sealed (kind of looks like it is)
Eddie, you are right on, Ross does not say there drag is sealed but it sure looked like it to my old eyes :smile: ,from there web site
Contamination Immunity
"Saltwater reels are exposed to some of the harshest elements known to man. Keeping any fly reel free of salt and debris in surfcasting or flats wading conditions is an impossible task. We took it upon ourselves to design a system that could easily be restored to 100% performance following contamination. By simply removing the frame from the spool and vigorously rinsing the two pieces in water returned the Canyon Big Game to full working condition. "
And that is all i did with them when i was flats fishing :)
 
#15 ·
Reels

I would stay away from the ross big game they have been having problems with the drag sytems. I have sent back three of my customers reels including my own which makes four. I don't know to much about the Galvans so I can't give you any inout on those but if you like the Galvan you should really consider checking out J. Ryalls there are definatley a work horse reel.
 
#16 ·
www.loopusa.com

wrenchman72076 said:
i now have the funds to buy a big game reel. the choices that i have narrowed to are tha galvan torque and the ross reels canyon big game. does anyone have any feed back for either reel for me? mostly it will be used for steelhead in the great lakes, redfish in the gulf, and maybe permit and tarpon as well. (if i can talk my wife into letting me go). help

Why those two reels when loop reels are just as good and half the price? See (not affiliated with either, nor do I gain anything from you buying one.)
 
#17 ·
guide program?

Whiskey Dick said:
Hi wrenchman72076, i have used the Ross BG for my guide buisness for the past 4 years and they are great reels. I have the BG4 for the 8wt single handers and the BG7 & BG8 for the two handers.They are great reels and have taken all the knocks with no problem. I have also used them on a trip to Belize and they performed flawlessly in the salt, the sealed drag is great. The Ross Warranty is the best with 2 day turn around time but i must admit i have never had to use it.
I have never used a Galvan so i can not comment on them but i think they do look good. Tight lines,brian :)

I think you forgot to mention that Ross sells their reels to guides at half off. How many other reels were available to you at half off? Have you tried the danielson reels? THey are just as good as the ross canyon only at half the cost.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Steve_sullivan said:
I think you forgot to mention that Ross sells their reels to guides at half off. How many other reels were available to you at half off? Have you tried the danielson reels? THey are just as good as the ross canyon only at half the cost.
Steve, All the Reel makers sell there reels at reduced prices for guides and outfitters and shop owners and employee's so what is your point?., If you go back and read wrenchman72076 first post on this subject he asked "i now have the funds to buy a big game reel. the choices that i have narrowed to are tha galvan torque and the ross reels canyon big game. does anyone have any feed back for either reel for me? mostly it will be used for steelhead in the great lakes, redfish in the gulf, and maybe permit and tarpon as well. (if i can talk my wife into letting me go). help", And let me point out to you that at no time in his postings does he say price is an issue. And if it was the Danielson HD reels and the Ross Canyon Big Game reels are almost the same price for the same size reels!!!!!!.
wrenchman72076 also said in a follow up post"i appreciate your info to loop reels, but i like to keep my money local and support my local fly shop. my customers are all local based, therefore i would like to return that favor to them. yes, the owner of the local flyshop is one of my customers. " :)

He had all ready done the hard work of narrowing his choices down and was asking for feedback on his(not mine)choices and as i had used Ross BG reels for a number of years i thought i would give him what he asked for ,an honest opinion on a product i had used for some time, 4 years in the guide buisness and 3 years personal use as well as other Makers products for more years than i care to admit to.
To answer another one of your questions; No i have not tried Danielson reels as they were not avalilable 4 years ago, Loop reels were but i decided at that time that since i make my money here in the US i would go with a US company and US made product and one that was also a little less expensive than Loop as salmo quite correctly pointed out.
However when i go to the Flyfishing Retailer World Expo in sept in Denver i will look up Danielson as i am sure he will have a booth there and look at his product and see what i think. Hey after i get to look at them, play with them and talk to the rep about Warranty and turn around time for warranty work who knows? i might just switch, Wait a minute Danielson will not be at the Retailers show as he is cutting out all the small buisness owners, you know your local fly shops from selling his product, becouse if they sell his product the price goes back up and then there will be no more coments like"How in god's name can you say this when danielson is just as good if not better but at half the price?" but you know Steve_sullivan by the time you pay the postage the Danielsson HD reels are more expensive that the same size Ross Big Game Reels. tight lines,brian ;)
 
#21 ·
I love it when someone asks about one thing, and gets twenty replies about other stuff. Maybe if the posters answered his origional question first and then made a different suggestion.
We all have our favorites. But to clobber a question about Ross with a response like:
"Steelefin ROCKS...'nuff said. "
is'nt that helpful.
Here's a good reason to be wary of Danielson (who makes excellent reels): they might not be around for too long. They are a new company here in the States. They will have ZERO dealer support. I doubt that more than .3% of flyfishermen here have ever heard of them. Many people have heard of Loop. Their distribution and brand awareness isn't that great either. Danielson will have to rely on paid advertisments/promotions and "good will" internet posters. This is new ground in the industry. Maybe it will work. Maybe it won't. When Powell went the direct sales route last year, I remember the flury of internet posts pimping the new company. Their product is excellent. I hope they will make it. They might not. Know anyone that fishes with a new Powell? Let's keep our fingers crossed for both of these first rate companies. Didn't TFO try to go this route?
Ross has been around for about twenty years. That's twenty years of first rate service. That is an excellent reason to be thinking about a Ross.
Brian, I doubt that you will be seeing Danielson in Denver (or SaltLake?) this year, because Danielson won't be selling to dealers. Maybe they will be at the other shows.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I hope you are right. It will be expensive to market their reels in the states. It takes tons of work and alot of money. It might prove to be not worth the effort for the US Danielson distributor (who no doubt is taking all the financial risk). I suppose that if you had a problem in a couple of years, you could ship the reel to Sweden. Of course, Ross has a very fast turn around.
Hayden makes a great reel with tons of internet (free) good will. Ask Jay Horton how hard it can be to establish an excellent product.
I am not nocking Danielson, just pointing out the challenges they face. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that one or two of the BIG US reel makers aren't doing so well. Hello Bill Archuleta...
 
#25 ·
Oh, oh... :eek: I should say right now that I do not know of ANY reel makers that are going out of business. I do know that all the mfgs in the flyfishing bussiness have been challenged in the last few years and what I meant to say was that I wouldn't be surprised if there were one or two or three that weren't in great shape.
mea culpa.
 
#26 ·
i have spoken with some local guides and a small group of guys that chase reds, and permit mostly, mostly they recommended the galvan torque. it is new for 2005, but i was told that if this reel is made the same way the rest of the galvan line is it will be a great reel. on another note the ross does not have a sealed drag where the galvan does. the galvan does not have as much drag surface as the ross, however, the galvan has better start up inertia, as well as the same stopping power. and i like the looks of the galvan more. i have recently purchased a galvan t-8. thank you for your input.
 
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