I used to do technical stuff, so I can throw a bit of info dump here for you- A lot of reel manufacturers will have that 500 step-up in their sizes because they tend to be using the same housing casing- but they'll maybe change the ratios and there will be a spool size increase along with the armature on the bail arm. Essentially, it saves them some money! So when they go from say 2500 to 3000 or 3500-4000 they can just use a lot of the same components and its not an inconsiderable saving either when you're making 1000's of the things and having to do another casting for a different housing. Most reels these days are full of ball bearings because modern manufacturing made them cheap, like even the one you've got for about 100 bucks is probably going to have maybe 6 or 8 of them in there, whereas 'back in my day' we'd get reels full of bronze bushings and maybe 2-4 bearings on some of the better ones. Hence they roll really smooth, they're very quiet and very low maintenance, with the added bonus that they're not having to machine as many components in terms of gears. They're more or less sintered metal alloy powders that get cooked in a casting at many 1000's of degrees, they slop them out in the millions, throw them in a tumbler to knock off the sharp bets and other crap- huge savings over having to machine things like pinion and helical gears. They are not as strong technically as a machined gear, but for realistic purposes, its a fishing reel and not a car gearbox so it doesn't have to drag 1000's of kilos through it! Anodizing is basically an electrical etch treatment for aluminum and titanium. Why its better than say, paint or a baked on enamel is that it doesn't change the dimensions of a machined or cast aluminum component, you can scratch it but it won't chip off either so that's why its usually the preferred way of treating aluminum. Things I liked reading- There's a DLC on the roller which is 'Diamond Like Coating' and thats a comparatively high tech addition, it is literally baked diamond hard coating over the metal, it won't corrode and its super slippery so always good to keep the friction down on anything that contacts your fishing line and especially for something like braid which is a bit abrasive. It won't wear through. A lot of the important bits are still machined- the spool and the pinon gears, the crank arm are all things which are good for two reasons They essentially chop them out of a big billet of aluminum or brass, this means they come from a homogeneous, single chunk of metal that's been melted, formed and forged into a shape through drawing dies and what that does is that it makes the metal stronger than a casting, which is just melted and poured into a form to shape it. So it doesn't necessarily have that drawing/forging process on the metal to give it a more solid density. Plus when its machined like the spool, that will be more 'accurately round' than if it was cast Things I liked less- There's a lot of mostly other meaningless crap like 'gear stabilization systems' and 'oversized high density gearing' and 'flite drive' which really is just word salad rubbish! No nice way to put it, its there to make up someone's word count for the day... and yes I did time in the trenches as an engineering documentation and technical process writer. You could never tell that :) Oiled felt drag- its not the worst thing in the world, but they do dry out, they also grind themselves out in the clutch plates so it is a 'wear item' and it would be good to know if there's a source of new ones if your drag ever stops working properly. Most of the modern systems will use carbon plates these days which are harder wearing items and last much longer, but got to save some bucks on manufacturing somewhere its all built to a budget! Overall though, its good for the money in that lower-mid tier of engineering anything so I think you got a good deal for how much you paid

If you’re looking for a cracking reel, the shimano sienna is the one to do the job for me. Bought it 3 years ago, never had a line issue. Dropped it into the saltwater, it was a bit rusted, cranked it a couple of times, running perfectly normal and it was 70 bucks at a local tackle store. Most reliable reel ever!

Great unbiased review, I usually go for the high gear reels also. I get a lot of tangles when using spinners that don't have a swivel built in, the line just constantly twists.

Hey Robbie, gr8 review. I purchased the 5000 size last year for high speed spinning at sea & happy with it to date. Also has 10 year warranty. Cheers

Great honest review I’ve got a 4000 Okuma which I use on my Boat rod it’s excellent for that purpose

A Great honest review Mate. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome review robbie!!

Solid review Robbie. Thanks buddy

Zeps won 2 tournaments using okuma fishing reels. Between we have 6 of there reels and truly love them on everything bream and flathead fishing and took them on a trout trip. Love love love em

I have a few okuma reels …no okuma rods yet because I can’t find a store who has a good range in store locally .

Nice review Robbie

G’day Robbie. Great review mate. I have an Okuma, bait runner 2500 size that I’ve had for years and it’s actually one of my go to’s. I really love it and never had any problems with it.

Good morning Robbie, I just watched your review on the okumo spin reels ,I have had a 1ooo and a 3ooo for a couple of years now I haven't had any troubles with the line getting caught under the spool though I use braid on the spool and mono for the leader as I only use them in salt water up here ,when I fish the fresh waters out west in qld I have other reels spooled with mono ,thanks for the review on the okumo reels mate .Gary.

i love the ceymar reels :)

Hey mate, just to extend on the gear ratio for anyone that doesn’t know. 6:1 means that the spool will do 6 full rotations, in 1 rotation of the handle. Same for 5:1, 4:1 etc. I also use a 1000 size reel for my trout setup. Perfect in my opinion.

I've been using a light and an ultralight Pflueger for years. After quite a few reels breaking for one reason or another, for decades, I bought a Pflueger. They are bulletproof and smooth! Just my opinion and 45 years fishing XP. I'll have to check out the Okuma's eventually, Pflueger's are still working like Swiss watches, until then, nice review!

Hi Robbie, Good, honest review and glad to hear it's not a sponsored review. Use to get peed off watching main stream fishing shows, and 15 minutes of a 30 minute show would be sponsers plugs. Quick question, is the handle interchangeable for left handers as well as righties?

I'm addicted to vintage tackle. I guess because it's what I grew up with. I fish Penn 710 reels and Mitchell 300 reels for most fresh water species though I do keep a Shimano Summer Solstice lightweight reel for trout. I use a Montague Flash fly rod with a Pflueger Medalist reel. Not for everyone and new tech has better offerings but I enjoy the nostalgia of it all. Nice review of the Okuma. I hear they make pretty good gear.

Good one mate 👍👍👍

Haven’t tried Okuma spinners yet. I was into Shimano (surf) and Daiwa (light) and now I am using a couple of Penn reels for multi purpose. But I've found that if you put a small reel with a small bail, on a big rod with a big first guide. You will tangle and break a lot of line. And same with a huge bail arm on small rod guides.

Reels were spinnin' dude!

I have that reel.....but yet to use it. It's a backup. May give it a try given this review

I normally go for ones I know work, (curados, sedonas and vanfords) I know I can trust them to land a big fish. I’m headed up to negambie for a couple nights so I’m aiming to get a Yella on my spin combo and a cod on a lure!

Hi mate I hope this is helpful I watched a video on the line going under and apparently if you take off the spool and I think move the nut on the shaft up a bit or down gee not sure anymore but there is a video on it hope this helps

Hey Robbie. I bought the same reel from the same fishing shop and I would have to say I'm not a fan of the reel, however the shop is A1. My first fishing session I spent the entire couple of hours untangling line. Also, I had that same metal bit fall out of the reel but fortunately I was onto it thanks to one of your earlier videos. I had a couple of short problem free sessions but on another session had another tangle, just as a trout took my cricket and I lost the fish. I suspect the 4lb line is not a good match for this reel and it may be better with braid or heavier line. I'll be taking the reel back to the shop this Friday for some advice and hopefully a good deal on a replacement.

REEL it in!

The colour looks good but I usually go Shimano or Daiwa 🎣🙂

Another good reel is the okuma jaw hope this helps someone.

One thing I look for is a reel that doesn't have plastic gears. I use to really love zebco reels till they became more plastic than anything.

Yes first coment

Hey Robbie I love ur content and was wondering if one day we could do a collab?

Mad reel, I have one, and it destroys the daiwa legalis I also have. I dont even use the legalis now

I've got a few of their rods, rippa little rods but unfortunately they break very easily. Good thing they are cheap haha

Best fish 1100mm barra.😂

2500 never look back.

2500. 2500 2500. 2500 2500 😂 better. Super line on my reels.

Is a good reel the only thing the body is carbon which may good okuma is designed in japan but made in malasia any way im here in London I can get the 3000 for about 50 English pounds which is good any way my friend good luck ah the best reel is okuma makeira bit expensive over 500 pounds but is the best super quality just to let you know okuma is better than SHIMANO daiwa penn and others 👌👌