I bought my slammer after reading your blog, absolutely love it! 🎣🐟👍

Thanks Henry, just received my Penn Slammer 3 can’t wait to give it a go!

🤩Totally agree with you,a great reel when fishing the surf for bass.Not as smooth as the others but smooth enough,noisier than the others but you don't notice it when fishing with the sound of the waves and wind.I relax when I'm using my Slammer 3 3500 because it just deals with that type of session perfectly,I don't leave home without it👍 tightlines Henry 🎣🐟

Great!! i love slammers too...

Just bought the slammer IV todsy i‘m glad to see you are happy with it

Love your dog! 👍🏻

Thanks Henry, good to see updates on your reviews. I bought one last year,after spending £65 repairing my dunked Stradic. This went against my instinct after returning two Penn Clashs that wouldn't lay line evenly (even with washers and custom shims! ), but I've always been happy with your recommendations, and I love this workhorse of a reel now. I'm sixty, with an arthritic wrist, and it s weight doesn't bother me at all, seems normal after a while- just as you say. I'm with you on the drag, giving the fish line is a no-no where I fish. I just can't see the point of the big - knobbed handle- unless you've lost your finger tips to frostbite perhaps? Three blanks so far in West Wales, but its good to get out!

This is a great review from a similar fisherman to myself. Another tough surf fisherman in the rough. Fighting the waves and the spray in full waders. I appreciate the time you took to make this video. Can I ask, if you were going to buy just one Slammer this year for surf fishing would it be the 3500 or 4500?

Been watching some review vids from the US on these as well where they've deliberately drowned the reels over and over as well as burying in sand etc. One quick splash and all the sand seemed to be gone (as much as you can tell from watching a video). Bloody impressive! The biggest reel I own is a 2500 size shimano but feel like I need to upsize just to get one 😀

Second the comment about getting smoother. Some of the best stuff works that way.Your sure not at the beginning , maybe I made a mistake. You get used to it then one day you realise it’s been “run in” and it’s wonderful. 👍

Great vid. Delighted with the reel myself: I do not think there is anything else I could use in the surf. Again, thanks for the video and the good advice.

Hell yea they're beast of reeels man! You can't go wrong with them! But what's up with the rods? You got any info of them? Would love to check them out! 🎣💯

The most honest review. I myself have spinfisher vi 2500 and it's the best reel I could ever get for my sea bass fishing journeys with artificial lures I just dont want other then penn may be this year I will buy the slammer iv

Great reels I’ve the 45 and 35 size spent more time in the water than my waders. Nearly two years now and they actually feel like there getting better with use.

great surf and cliff fishing reel

Brilliant review Henry, thank you. Gives me comfort as I have a Slammer 4500 arriving today (hopefully). I was swayed to order one after fishing with John in Kerry last week. Fishing in the surf for the first time, my old Daiwa was grumbling on the 2nd session. I noticed John has a few Slammers, he said they outlast other reels by a long way, even with the abuse they get from some clients. New Slammer 3500's are as rare as rocking horse poo, but I picked up a 4500 which is only 20g heavier. It looks like the same reel with a bigger spool, so may give me a little more cast distance and faster retrieve when wanted. Keep up the good work with SG, some interesting stuff coming out of that!

I caught a 30inch redfish on the Galveston coast while surf fishing it was the best fight ever had my slammer 3500 on a 7ft light pole it was insane he pulled so much drag out I thought I would get spooled at first

Great reels. Penn did have a bail upgrade for the very first 2016 Slammer lll's then built the upgraded version into the slammer lll at no cost. If you have a original from 2016 the better bail can still be purchased . The reason the reel gets smoother over time is that that the seals on the shaft wear in and it makes the shaft spin better. The seals are kind of snug when first used and anglers mentioned the reel had a tighter minimal drag setting . Slammer now has a 4th edition and a 4th edition DX with Stainless steel gears which goes to 8500 size.

Been using my slammer 4500 for 2 years now, haven't serviced it yet coz i haven't encountered any issues yet and just like you said its oddly smoother than the day it was bought.

I'm buying one too...the surf beaches in Kerry and Clare are challenging

Great Review, yes the Slammer is an awesome reel, the amount of drag these things put out is outstanding also. If you do a follow up to this video it would be great to get some macro shots of the inside of spool and inside rotor area to see what if any corroding there is. I own a few of these and personally the weight is favorable, as you said in the video after a few sessions you forget about it and it feels natural. Tightlines

Not used the Slammer, but, have got Surfmaster 70's, 20 years old and gong strong, light boat use, rock, beach and pier fishing, just cleaned and serviced regularly, Penn for salt water, cant beat them

i have one 6500 really amazing

I love mine.

I wonder do you do a take apart service for your slammer reels on a periodic basis? I collect and restore vintage saltwater spinning reels. They are all I like and all I use for surf fishing and I own nearly 350 of them. None of them are sealed though I install housing seals to all my large saltwater Mitchell reels. Because I use vintage reels, after every trip I do s complete take apart servicing of every one of them that I’ve used. The reason I like vintage reels is because of their durability and longevity. They are proven masters of sport fishing but they are not fancy or overly smooth reels full of plastic parts and little factory support. I do those things myself and maintain an extensive library of spare parts. This is why I ask you that question about servicing your reels. If you haven’t been doing this then I am truly impressed with the Penn Slammer. I own 30 vintage Peen spinners going back to two first edition 1961 Spinfisher 700 spinning reels - the first spinning reel made by Penn. I love them all except for two Penn silver series reels from the 1970s - a 104 and 105. If all you do is fish a reel that hard and only rinse them off then I’ve got to look at the Penn Slammer. I admit that I am prejudiced against the Pure Fishing conglomerate in China that currently owns and makes the current Penn reels. They own and operate so many once great USA brands and I don’t like that a bit but a good reel is a good reel. Thank you for encouraging a closer look at a current Penn reel. This video caused a lot of fresh consideration. - Chris

Agreed

Just brought a Penn authority 4500

other than that , henry have you ever had an issue of wind knot with these reels? When i ask about penn slammer series in my country some daiwa retailers reply as " yeah they're great sturdy reels but we had uneven line distribution and wind knots so we don't sell them anymore" ( i actually thought they don't want to sell it because of it's everlasting condition ) i second the penn slammer 2500 size request :)

Precision machined gears of hard materials have to wear in and get smoother over time. Cast gears or those forged in molds (shimano) start off smooth then get rough.

Great review, what reel seats were these sat in? I've read that folks find them a tight fit with fuji's Henry, I was hoping to pair a slammer up with my HTO Nebula?

Great review mate. Love my Slammer. Poor thing I absolutely abuse it.

First thing u said: after 40 mins of use it just feels perfect , did not have this sensation with no other reel I got ! I got a Spinfisher VI and thought just the same ...👍🏼🔝 And 😂😂😂😂please Penn Hq can you make a 2500 version of this reel 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣almost died of laughters

Did you figure out the loosening up of the reel? I would venture to guess that the thicker grease the reel comes with was slower wearing away, and making it seem smoother. I thick some people (Tackle Advisors?) had mentioned re-greasing after purchase with their own favorite grease to get that smoother action.

Is the bail arm plastic or is it metal?

PENN❤️

I have a battle 2 great reel

Why does my slammer tick when under tension?Its brand new and I used guarantee ,they sended me brand new again.And this one also has some ticking noise when i use spinnerbaits,crankbaits for pike fishing?Hate that feeling of ticking.....

Hi! I need a Penn Slammer for shore jigging. My rod is a Majorcraft Solpara 1002H 60-100g. Do you think will fit better a 4500 or a 5500 size? The Slammer III is still worth the price, or the Slammer IV will meaningfully be better? Thanks!!

I couldn't agree more. Slammer III is a heavy duty reel made up for Hercules.

Does that big Alloy handle knob not get very cold in the winter?

Thanks for the review. What kind of braid are your throwing. I originally put 20 pound braid on. But I think I’m going up to 30 pound.

I'm a beginner who constantly has corroded reels... I rinse but ....still, get in trouble ...could you be so kind as to point out exactly what you do ...is it a spray of warm water or a dunk in warm water ...any wd 40 ....so much conflicting advice ... cheers...

Just ordered a 4500

most of the lure fishing videos for bass that i see tend to be in calm ish sea conditions. Do you tend to use heavier lures in these sorts of conditions? and you're using a metal seeker lure for the video, will any type of lure (surface ect) work just as well or are some preferred in rougher conditions?

yes it is 4000 size of shimano/daiwa reels and 150gr heavier but people misses the fact that this is a SW type of reel and SW equivalent of this reel in shimano and daiwa models are also quite heavy around 350-400 gr...and i'm not sure a twinpower/stella SW or a certate HD/saltiga can survive 3 years of constant saltwater torture..I'd like to see it though.Someone give henry a SW reel for longterm testing lol

What pound braid are u using and power of rod?

I’m thinking about buying the 4500 what size rod do you suggest I pair it with ?

Nice rods Henry! What are they? 😜

Wait for the slammer 4

Do you ever fish Ultra Light gear?

Copper gears wear on over time that's why penns get smoother

Henry, what rod was that you used with the slammers ?, great whip to it 🎣🐟

Can u give me any advice about what rods i should combine with my slammer 4 3500

You got your wish Henry , the 2500 is coming September

You describe that reel like a sommelier would describe a wine....

Is there no reverse on this reel . Or am I missing something 🙈

just got a 8500 😀

More bass videos

Penn Slammer……… Chevy 3500 Diesel. Shimano Stella FJ………. Toyota Tacoma After 3 years one of my 4 Slammers handle broke, the jetty is rough. And it’s no where a Stella or Exist needs to be. Hands down best bang for your dollar.

Can you explain lain your setup in detail?

What rod though?

when a wave comes i also like to purposely dunk my reel

my reel paint got off from sawltwater

Heavy

Nice! -- QUESTION -- What does 3500 refer to in a reel? Is it a measurement of something like reel diameter? What exactly does it signify?