What are y'alls opinions on these reels?

Fish don't care and I can't afford one. LOL. I am always scanning the ocean floor looking for one though.

I live in NE do not try a bail less reel with a full spool of braid in howling wind at night,when large striped bass are going berserk.Others may disagree, let them find out on their own.

To be fair the slow gear ratio is great for when you’re working plugs in the surf

My comparison is the same I use for any product of high quality. If you spend $20 on a zippo lighter vs $1 on a Bic. You throw the bic away when its empty. You use the Zippo forever, maintain it and change the wick and flints. It lights in wind and lasts forever. I'm of the opinion to spend the money. Not only will it last forever, but the feel, fit, finish etc. are of the best. My next purchase is a VR150 or 175 Gen 2. I service fishing reels for a living at Reel Quality SRQ. I've had them all open. I prefer the better to best rather than entry level product based on opening up hundreds of reels and seeing how they are made. Sure a $20 Walmart reel will work but will it work and not break when you have that catch of a lifetime on the other end of the line? Again, My opinion only.

Amen to the van staal band wagon with south east Fl snook fishing, love my penn spinfishers

I have 2 Van Staals a 200, and 250 it is a INVESTMENT. It depends on your style of fishing. Any fish in the northeast or pacific coast of gulf of Texas I would recommend one. If your catfishing on a lake I wouldn’t. But you left out 2 important things! Drag pressure on the van Staals are high. They put out at near 30lbs of drag pressure which is why tuna fisherman use them. I’m not sure why your VS has issues but it shouldn’t be sticky my Van Staal drags are not. The other thing was you mentioned. The reason why they don’t move like a shimano is due to the seals which are thick and have to be broken in. But again there not shimano smooth. Overall if you want durability and power and a lifelong reel! Van Staal is it! If you want a super smooth reel that you don’t mind getting serviced or taking care of there are better 200 dollar penn and shimano options out there. Just my feelings! But drag pressure on the Van Staals is a major pro which is another reason why Northeast Fisherman use it.

Yah I’ve been using Stradics forever and they haven’t failed me. I was thinking about a Van Stahl but I can get two for the price of one. I fish the NE but I draw the line at fishing in a wetsuit. I’m also not concerned with line capacity. I keep my shimano reels full up with braid and a little mono and I might not be Gadabout Gaddis but if a fish spoils me of 250 yards of 40 braid I would be honored!

thanks Adam Sandler, good info

I found a penn battle 2 rod amd reel combo that was under long island salt water for probably a year or so the rod was broken and had barnacles and muscles growing on it I took to reel and serviced it and cleaned it all out and lubricated everything and I'm still using it today.

Your right, for the Noreast or any type of rough water or chance of reel submersion. The reason (& u probably know this) is the shaft seals that keep the water & sand out create a resistance on the shafts. I own a brand new original VS200 sitting on a lammy 2 piece Ron Ara pro 11',1-3 oz rod. Purchased a few years ago & hurt my back. Haven't been fishing since. I might casting my smaller St Croix rod to loosen up first. If all goes good after I get my casting muscles in shape. If not, someone will get a bargain on a great combo. Out on LI,NY, they (mostly younger men) swim out to the rocks & some just swim out to no rocks with wet suits & fins to fish for the Stripes.

This is a good video. Solid explanation on the pros and cons of a VS. I had wanted one for 2 years and saved up to get 2 of them. VS150 & VS200 purchased a few days ago. The manual pickup is awesome. I can get pinpoint accuracy and super soft lure landing once I learned control. However, just last night I was fishing a popular bridge in SE FL when the 150 completely seized up. Doesn't move at all. The spool and pinion had separated from the reel and if I had not been looking down when it happened the whole assembly would have gone for a swim. Today it was shipped to Saltwaters Tackle in NY. Looking forward to what they have to say and I'll keep you posted. I work in the industry and understand that there are defectives and failiures for no apparent reason sometimes. It's just bad luck. Hopefully Van Staal will approve of the warranty work as I can't imagine a $700 reel owned for 5 days, and fished with 5 times, wouldn't be covered with a failure like this. I absolutely love the reels! I just hope this insn't a sign of things to come since I know many people with these reels old and new and never had this issue.

As a northeast fisherman, van staals are a massive advantage for surf fishing and kayak fishing. It has such a solid feel from the surf and there is nothing to break or worry about breaking. Although I use a shimano Stradic and a penn spinfisher, which get the job done, van staals are such a massive advantage to getting to spots and staying on spots

I've always been a dawia fan. I would prefer to have a saltiga mainly cause i know they work. on what you said at the end, I can agree on that. I've out fished people that have Van Staal, ZeeBaaS, Stella's, and Even Saltiga's and all I main use is a Gosa 6k

great info on these +JunoRyan. I fish in the surf/beach casting mostly and been looking at VS for a while. but the more info I get, the more I realize its not for me. the fact that you cant have them easily serviced and they only come in left hand reel is a downer. and now you mention about the sticky'ish drag. thanks for sharing...

I respect everyones opinion but van staals have power people I keep hearing u only get them cause there submerable they have great power

Love this video. Reel guy review👊! Price point.... this reel is up there with the Stella's and Saltiga's. I mean, if Staals were made in Japan, they would be $1200 easy. It's really a preference when buying a luxury reel. It's worth it for the enjoyment of fishing.

There's a difference between need and want. Where I fish in the northeast you need a van staal Like you said getting pounded by waves knocked over and such. I couldn't do without mine love it and would never go back. Took me urs to save up to get it but I'll never go back

I own them both, Stella SW and Van staal. I completely agree with every comment you made. Great review

Most guys don’t need one and would prefer a lighter and smaller reel. Seals equal less smooth. They’ve got poor line pickup, poor line lay and therefor uneven drag, they’re heavy, expensive, they’re a bitch to take apart, list goes on. I still fish one every day. Why? It works. I’m on the jetty or in the suds on rocks every morning, I probably put 150 days on min last year. My cheaper reels don’t hold up. You can pull a truck out of a ditch. They hold a ton of line and cast well. Best line roller I’ve ever used, simple and effective with no knots. If you’re on a boat, not getting your reel wet, need a lot of pickup or a lot of drag, get a different reel. If you want to fish every day in the surf you should think about a staal. Mine is worth about 100 more than I paid for it. Service is 50 bucks plus parts and shipping and I do it annually.

I like them for snook jigging because of the low gear ratio, hard to find in other reels

I kayak and beach fish. I beat reels up. I bought a Spheros 4000XG SW for like $140 and I bought a 4000 saltwater Seaknight reel for $35 on Amazon at the same time. The seaknight out lasted the spheros by a mile. My spheros rusted in 2 different spots and the drag clicker broke all in 2 years. It was light and nice n all but...that seaknight boy. Love it. Bought 2 more and if they went bigger than 6000 I'd buy those too. Highly recommend if u want just a punching bag/workhorse of a reel. I disrespected that thing and it's still smooth as ever.

Happiest two days were when I bought one and then 3 months later sold it for a profit. I don't know what anyone sees in these reels. If you have big hands they feel like crap. You have to spend 75 bucks more to get a power knob. The manual pickup sucks, I owned a 706z back in the day and the pickup was much easier to use. I now own two Penn Slammer 3s and a 8k stella and couldn't be more happy.

Good vid bro thanks i was deciding

Should i stick to spinfishers if i know how to service it myself

Thanks for the vid. You talked me out of it. I've been striper fishing for 48 years. I own lots of Shimano Stradics and Sustains. I've landed tens of thousands of stripers and a few hundred between 30# and 53# all on plugs and plastics with no problems. The ONLY issue is I tend to get my reels wet. SO, I thought I'd break down and get a VS. After watching this video, I'm thinking it's overkill and more importantly, SMOOTH cranking and SMOOTH drag are EXTREMELY important because I'm trying to present lures with a smooth cadence in a river and I'm battling big stripers in often fast river current with relatively light tackle so I can't have a herky-jerky drag. Anyway, thanks again for sparing me a lot of disappointment...

Im the biggest klutz there is, I’ve literally dropped 7 reels. Sand and all , somehow i broke a rod as well. Ive probably paid hundreds in repair. BUT when i fish, i get good big ol fish. What do you think ? Should i pony up n get it?

Hi I have questions about fishing reels?? For North East (Cape cod canal) , what reel u prefer...drag,light and good cast. Plzz tell me. I like ur show.

Too many people fish them for there looks an to just say that they have one

Zeebaas ZX2-27 - Dual Pickup Bailless 1) Fully sealed. Heirloom quality.2) Self serviceable 3) 40lb silky smooth drag4) Billet aluminum body, w/titanium spiral bevel gears5) 4.75:1 - 39.5" retrieve 6) Handle turns like butter7) Made in America

No doubt they are great reels. BUT, unless you plan to push that thing to the limit, don't buy one. Like Ryan said, you don't need a $700+ reel to catch a snook (which is what most guys buy them for down here). Good vid Ryan, keep up the good work 👍. A question some may ask is how the x models compare/contrast to the older VS.. have they resolved some of the cons you mentioned such as the drag, line lay, and smoothness?

stealing my line" I know little bit about a little bit" lol. one thing I knave noticed about fishing gear over the years is some people don't care about the performance or what they want they just buy it to say they have it cause everyone else has it. I fishing tsunami classic 3000 inshore shit they were 30 bucks and I have stop big jacks and shook with them. people don't need a lot of money to catch quality fish.

question: in the vid when you were landing that fish from a pier, was that rope rigged with a gaff or a loop? either way, you may want to consider putting a snap link (caribiner or a dog leash type snap) at the gaff or loop, then snap to your line when you get the fish to the pier below you...then just lower the rope and it will lead itself right to the end of the line and you'll be able to snare or gaff the fish quickly. My uncle taught me that way long time ago and I've hauled up fish 30-40 feet up rocks off the San Francisco oceanside. Works great off piers too. Just a suggestion. oh and luv my VS150.

When I crank my van staal and it's smooth, It worries me and I automatically think that there is something wrong with one or some of its seals. With your comment saying that it's not as smooth as other reels, there's a reason for it. It's because of the seals doing their job

Oh ok I was wondering about that and even contacted Van Staal. I bought a x series vs 100 and out of the box the resistance when reeling scared me. Thought a bearing was bad right away.

Pensacola here. Vanstaal vm 150 black cyber monday deal 40%off

Nice review mate . Thnx surely i did enjoy ur video but still a shimano guy.

Best reels on Earth, a necessity if youre fishing the northeast surf. Its amusing to go down to montauk to see 80% of guys fishing these and old school lamis.

What about casting? Is Van Staal better in casting than other reels?

If your a big surf fisherman there great I am I want one if u want a cheaper option tsunami shield there fully sealed an 110$

Sounds like your trying to prove in the beginning that the Van Stall is better than a Stella. Which the points you made are true but the Stella beats it in pretty much everything else. Just my opinion. Good video.

My Shimano Spheros and Penn 706 is doing plenty fine by me. I see the benefit but don't have a need.

PENN SLAMMER FOR ME !!!! I own 2 slammers a 5500 And a 3500 also I own a spinfisher vi with a slammer handle and I own a penn fierce 2 liveliner with a gomexus matching handle LOVE PENN !!!!!!! Super tough USA made and smooth super tough drag

They are good reels. I've owned one. But I'm really impressed with the new Penn Slammer III too. If you fish as you said in very wet conditions then maybe yes. But I don't fish in conditions where I have to reel underwater. I've dunked my slammers a few times and they didn't get wet internally. And I wouldn't dare turn the crank underwater as u can with the VS. Slammer vs Stella, I honestly like the slammer better. If nothing else the line capacity. I see no advantage of a Stella verse a Slammer. Again, my humble opinion. Good review thx. And yes always manually close the bail especially with braid.

Hey there, very informative video, tanks. I surf fish in central and southern Baja exclusively; some of the toughest conditions anyone can imagine. Salt, sand, and crazy winds (up to 40 knots in spring time are very common). My reels are Penn Spinfisher V's, in a few different sizes, but they can't last more than one or two trips usually. Being on the west coast, we never see VS reels, but I'm seriously thinking of buying a VSB200 for my 11" Lamiglas surf casting rod. I usually cast 1oz to 2 oz lures at most. VS150 vs the VS200? Also, because of the crazy winds, I think I want a bail, but my surf buddies call me a total kook for wanting the bail. Any advice is much appreciated.

Anyone know anything about the og ones? I've got a below 1,500 serial number vs300. I heard the us made ones have a lifetime warranty.

I have four of the original Van Staals, but now that Zebco bought them out I'm hesitant to buy another one.

What model vanstaal do you recommend when fishing for spanisg mackerel?

Great video and great info!...Funny you should say you don`t need a $700 to catch a Snook. lol.....It`s a common mistake but I think the majority of people overspend on equiptment they don`t really need.

i have quit a number of reels several bailes ,one is a silstar ET 80 and it is over 40 may be over 50 yrs old made in aluminum body ,and it served me since day one until now nevr failed me and it has seen realy ruff conditions ,ya wanna know the joke ,it costed in tody prices les than 75$ so one can buy 10 silstars for the price of one van staal and they will perform just as wel

I'm from Navarre and almost everybody out there that fish a lot have one

Line lay problem on the VS is an easy fix. Look it up.

I have one and a Stella but I do prefer a Stella tho

Is the 150 equivalent to a 5000 size? And how much drag does the 150 put out?

(Not Henry/ Henry's Dad) using his computer) I grew up fishing Navarre and Pensacola Beach Pier in the 70's. I was only in middle but it was very competitive. At that time all the good fishermen used Penn706 or Mitchell 302 with Manual. The Van Stall is a logical progression and I'm sure many of the good fishermen there now use them... indeed they are cool well made reel. Your Cobia at the gaff brought back many memories, I once caught a 48 lb Cobia on a jig from the Pensacola Beach Pier on my Mitchel 302 with 17 lb lest, on a custom 8'6" gold lamiglass I wrapped myself...got the blank at Wrights tackle shop. However, Penn still makes two Spinfisher models with a manual. I have used those to catch hundreds of small yellowfin tuna on the west coast (where spinning reels are despised) and surf fishing in mexico and costa rica. Your video was useful and honest, Well done. I'd own one if i lived inN florida.....or move . to mexico one day. For now my Penns and shimanno's suffice.

I don't know anyone who is really good at fishing that owns one. How many commercial guys do you see with one?

yo us ny fishermen get indawater to fish we dunk our reels van staal is the truth idk what u r talking about juno these reels take a beating we fish the hot weather which is rare but we fish the cold weather which is more often van staal is the real deal out here not to many other brands compare they were made for abuse

I really like cadillacs? Really expensive and break down all the time period.

Australian seamartin kicks ass

what is a good rod for a staal 200

All shimano models have smaller spools so there always gonna hold less line then other company's but what u get out of shimanos is better drag numbers in my opion I also fly fish so I fish shimano for spinning I use reddington for flyfishing cause I just started but I'll tell u most saltwater fly reels are usually anywhere from 400 to 1000 dollars it has to do with the fact that most saltwater fly reels are sealed so there pricey I paid 100 on sale for my reddington behemoth now it's not sealed but had a guard around the drag to keep water out

Van staals are good for montauk if you're gonna go rock hopping. But their drags are really poor and jerky. I'll take a saltiga or a saragosa. I striper fish every day for trophy river fish here in Tennessee. We got monsters here. I do miss montauk but way too many yahoo's now, especially in the fall. Don't even get a stella. They have a million little plastic parts. Saltiga way better. I mostly use my dogfight and saragosa...Daiwa has so many good reels now. Bg, bgmq. Saltist mq mavericks saltigas...

van staals are catching on in Florida? i use 3000 4000 size reels when im fishing in the south and i never get wet. up north where i live i need a vs cuz i get pounded by waves and my reel takes dunks all the time imo i wouldnt own a vs in the south

How do you cast them? lol I sound dumb but how?

you ever use bait runner reels?? I have multiple shimano baitrunner reels that are 15 years old that I have never taken apart or broken and I fish stripers in.nh

They are like the Rolex of the fishing world. Its a statement reel lol!

Would a 9 foot rod be good for slinging bait for king mackerel on the 150

do a review on Z Baas reel

van stall 700 dollars. my penn spinfisher 140 dollars. my penn will last at least 10 years. since it is one fifth the price. 5 times 10 equals 50 years for the same price of one van stall.

there is no other way than comparing line capacity of reels with line diameter! The diameter of 50lbs line can differ from 0.28mm to 0.40 mm depending on the brand and price of the braid. If the breaking strengths that are written on these products is correct is then another story...

JR what rod is the corck split grip with fuji k's on the you always have the black staal on cheers

Penn Slammer 3 is the best all around reel. I have 2 Torques and Daiwa Exist. It’s night and day in types of fishing. Torques and pull anything out of your mothers snatch while the Daiwa’s can pull any Bass and crappie. VS, is cosmetically gorgeous but not my flavor.

Thought about one until I found out zebco owns them. fuuuuck that.

I stick to a Saltiga 4000

I have the VS, one of the first ones, never used it yet. Have you made a video on the VR, I have not got it because it is made in China..

How do you clean your reels when coming back from fishing

Now I want one lol

What do think about the bailess penn 706z it's kinda just like the van staal but it cost $199

Music why why.

They are good reels, but I would never ever choose one over a Stella or saltiga

Get yourself a daiwa bg they are about a 100 dollars on average and they feel as good as 500 dollar reel

yo juno u should spend some money on some new blinds in ur windows lol

i would rather keep my daiwa bg or my fin-nor lethal. alot cheaper and just as good for what im doing

You figure with it being stiff it would be because of a high ratio so yeah stiff with a low ratio is not cool

I read the same story!

best VS tip 12:18

Hey bud I am trying to figure out what van stall I just had obie build me a Thrasher 8104. It's 8'10 I was thinking of a VR150 or the VR200 what do you think and see you out on novar pier

Cough, Okuma Makaira

No reel is worth 700 outside of the reels ment for deep sea 1000lb fish

Why pay someone to service your gear, I service all my reels myself...

Not worth it if you’re paying $100 for a service every three years

Damn u rather go for VS in Florida than Stella or saltiga (dogfight maybe)??? Because a lot of people in Florida would Choose these Japanese reel. I still can't believe you go VS. I own VR, pretty smooth reel even I dunk it couple time.

mannn idk i'd rather buy a stella

I love em but the price

Nice but It's too heavy though and drags not smooth

Just today I got screwed out of a deal for a gold Van Staal 300. Super disappointing.

Don't bother if u live in Florida. If you live in the northeast and wanna get into striped bass surfcasting they are worth it

Sooooo...are "Dam" Quik reels still in use there in heaven (Florida)?

What sizes do they come in? Are they good Walleye and pike reels?

Dont use krazy glue it dissolves in wtaer