Officially Launching at the ICAST 2013 Show in Las Vegas in a few days time and arriving in SA in September, we have the privilege of having an in depth sneak preview of what makes up the new Penn Conflict. Black with gunmetal grey trimmings, it sure is a pretty reel!
The reel is aimed at the "Technical Inshore" enthusiast, whatever that means, I assume it's for estuaries and the like. South Africans will use this for R/Surf purposes too.
PENN CONFLICT SPECIFICATIONSGear Ratio: 5.6:1
Capacity: .38/305m .46/210m .48/190m
Weighs in at 605g
Components:
Full metal body
7+1 Sealed Stainless steel bearings
Aluminium Rotor
Techno-balanced rotor
Machined and Anodized Aluminium Spool
Machined and Anodized Aluminium handle
Stainless steel Main shaft
HT-100 Carbon fibre Drag washers
Infinite Anti-reverse
Heavy duty Alu Bail wire
Superline spool
Line Capacity rings (The one I was supplied with didn't have these?!)
So we're looking at a Spinning reel based very much on the Penn Battle, which in turn was based on the Penn Sargus. So we can expect minor upgrades on these previous models.
Interestingly, Alan Hawk rates the PENN BATTLE third best spinning reel in the under $100 category. I have never personally opened up a Battle, so I'm interested to see this one...
Let's bear the cost of this reel in mind when taking it apart. Just how much technology and features can you get into a reel of this price?
Let's begin by taking it apart.
Remove the handle. Solid machined and anodized aluminium, similar to the Torque... nice! Eva foam knob.
Great start to the reel!! A serviceable handle, with 2 sealed bearings inside!! Very nice surprise for a reel in this class.
2 different angle Cross threads on the handle to prevent stripping of the Main gear.
The Drag Knob
Solid Composite plastic!
Inside the Drag Knob - Nicely sealed.
THE SPOOLMachined aluminium with cut-outs to save weight.
The Penn Battle weighs 620g, while the Conflict is claimed to weigh 605g. My scale says 600g! First time I've ever found something weigh less than manufacturer's claims!
Spring retained Drag system...
Penn continue with their "superline spools" - a rubber insert that allows one to tie braid to the spool without any slipping!
Penn claim that this reel has Line Capacity rings, which is a useful feature, however the reel I was given didn't have these...
LIP OF THE SPOOL - this has definitely been improved to allow better casting characteristics. The spool lip now has a big inverse bevel to allow line travel off the spool much easier.
Remove the spool...
Reveals one of those Fixed Ratchet gears - fixed to the Main shaft. While providing for a much more solid platform for the spool to rest on, it creates havoc with the Servicing of the reel. In order to remove the Rotor, one has to first remove the Main shaft by opening up the Gearbox and dismantling the Crosswind Block from the Main shaft.
A Main shaft spool bearing! Another BIG plus for a reel in this class category!
So we need to stop here and get into the Gearbox... no problem, just remove 4 screws!! Love this design of the newer Penn Reels. Quick and Easy access to the gearbox is a major plus for me in any reel.
A nice feature.... helps with sealing the reel from water intrusion.
Inside, we need to unscrew the Cross wind block from the Main shaft. DO NOT try remove the Main gear first - the Main shaft fits between the bottom half of the main gear and the top half. It won't come out until you remove the Shaft...
Now we can slide the Main Shaft out, at the same time undoing the Rotor Nut and retainer plate.
Now we can remove the Drive Gear.
Never been a fan of the Reverse Cam systems as used in low end reels. That Cast "pot metal" type block is ugly and makes allowance for large discrepancies in gear tolerances.
But they work!
Back to the other side, remove the Rotor, we're left with this:
Remove the AR Holder and washer.
Then the AR bushing and spring...
The bearing Retainer Plate
And the Pinion Gear
There were issues with the previous models having premature Bail closure on a cast. Penn seemed to have sorted this problem out with both the Battle and the Conflict wioth a decent Rotor brake and incline.
THE PINION GEAR ASSEMBLY
THE ANTI-REVERSE BEARING
Maintenance of this bearing should be with an anti-corrosive oil. A drop or 2 on the inside of the bearing and spread around will help stop this bearing from corroding and failing.
This is one of the few reels in this Class that has a fail-safe backup of the Anti-reverse bearing. Even though it is a plastic Pawl, if the Anti-reverse bearing fails, the Dog Pawl will kick in and prevent reverse of the Rotor. It might not last long, but it should help in landing that PB!
When the Rotor is rotating forward, the AR Holder holds the Dog Pawl out the way. But as soon as there is backward movement of the Rotor, the Dog Pawl moves outward and engages the teeth inside the Rotor. Instant Anti-reverse, with no play whatsoever!
One disconcerting spinoff of this feature is the clicking noise made by the Rotor on slow retrieval. Sounds like the Dog Pawl clicking in a Multiplier reel, except plastic on plastic instead of Metal on metal.
The Main Drive gear...
This gear has been the subject of much debate over the years... it is the same part number as both the Penn Battle and Sargus Drive Gears. I assume therefore that it is the same material used as before and hasn't been upgraded? This Drive Gear is Cast aluminium, one of the cheapest ways to manufacture a Drive Gear and apparently one of the weakest too. Having said that, there are very few (none, in fact!!) reported cases of failure of this Drive Gear in the Battle reels. I have searched the Internet far and wide, but haven't found any reported failures. So who knows? Perhaps Penn upgraded this Drive Gear and the Crosswind gear after the Sargus, and just kept the same Part number?
But the Gears definitely have that ugly 'potmetal' look about them, excpet for a few highly polished surfaces on the axles. Alan Hawk, in his review of the Penn Sargus back in 2008, claims that this gear is one piece, including the shaft. Having a look at the above picture, it's quite difficult to believe that is the case here - the axle is highly polished all the way through and to my untrained eye, seems to be 2 pieces? Again, who knows?
UPDATE:I have managed to establish that the Battle definitely has an upgraded Drive Gear from the Sargus. The Battle has a "Machine cut Alloy main gear" according to the Penn Battle Specs on the box. This makes more sense to me but this has not been carried forward in the Conflict - one can see the print marks of a Cast metal part.
This reel is manufactured in China.
7 SEALED BEARINGSThe reel has 7 "sealed" bearings. Most reels have "sealed" bearings nowadays. However, what really surprised me is that these bearings had rubber seals, which are much better at sealing bearings than the stainless steel seals. Steel seals are generally loose fitting and in my opinion, a waste of time. I remove them completely on all my reels. I am speaking of budget bearings, not the expensive high tolerance bearings that are unsuitable for a reel of this class.
All 7 bearings on this reel have rubber seals! The bearings are the place where an uncared for reel will fail. Reels generally seize through corroded bearings restricting movement and eventually placing too much pressure on one of the inline components, causing breakage.
To service these bearings is much easier too. Once serviced properly, they can then be sealed again and left for some time before necessitating service again.
Interesting that these bearings all had the bare minimum of grease inside... To increase the longevity of this reel, These need to be properly greased out the box.
A bearing packed properly with a quality grease and resealed with rubber seals is going to last MUCH longer than one sealed with steel.
This is a great feature of this reel!
Although this reel's gearbox is not waterproof, the fact that the bearings are rubber sealed makes up for this. I don't believe a reel will fail due to a few drops of water entering the gearbox, especially where the bearings are properly greased and sealed. My mind would be at rest even dunking this reel.
After a wet session, it's a piece of cake to remove the Gearbox cover (4 screws), and to dry out any water that may have entered.
THE DRAG SYSTEMTried and tested, the Penn HT-100 system of Keyed Carbon Fibre Drag washers is about as good as it gets in the Drag department. Outstanding smooth drag from Penn, providing between 20 and 22lbs of Drag.
THE LINE ROLLERI was disappointed to find that the Line Roller had a Plastic bushing in it instead of a Bearing...
Examining the Dog PAWL
A simple spring loaded system that might not be bullet-proof, but is certainly better than no Anti-reverse Backup!
RE ASSEMBLYSo let's put the reel back together...
Having a look at the Side Plate, there is no attempt at making the reel water resistant with a rubber seal. Would have been a nice addition?
Place the bearing and the Crosswind block plate and the Cross wind gear.
A disturbing feature of this reel is that many of the working parts fit directly onto the Body, without the added protection of even a bushing, let alone a bearing. The Crosswind gear fits directly onto a cylindrical tube projecting out from the RHSide Plate. This is not ideal. I don't particularly favour metal on metal working parts, especially where the one part is a fixture and irreplaceable. Should the side plate cylinder become worn, it's tickets for the reel. It's not repairable without buying a whole new Side Plate and reel stem!?
The same arrangement is seen with the Pinion Gear inner fitting - metal on metal working parts - no bushing or bearing.
Make sure the Anti-reverse bearing is put on the correct way, otherwise the entire reel won't work!
Replace the Pinion gear.
Here we see where the Pinion fits into a recess in the body of the reel. The pressure that this part of the reel takes during function will certainly cause wear of that recess and eventually loss of tolerances.
The Pinion in place... don't those sealed bearings just look fab!!
Pay attention to the orientation of the Retainer plate...
Don't forget the Rotor Washer before placing the Rotor itself.
A nice feature of the Rotor nut retainer plate is that it is adjustable, making fitting that tiny screw a piece of cake...
Examine the Crosswind block
Now would be a most excellent time to screw in the handle and test that all the gears are functioning correctly before proceeding!
More beautiful sealed bearings...
Replace the Side plate
Replace the Spool and.... done!
Impressions and ConclusionsA solid reel, and very smooth on the retrieve.
Outstanding Drag system and if the line lay system is similar to the Sargus and Battle, there will be no complaints about that.
Very little attempt has been made to waterproof this reel, but that is made up for by the Rubber sealed bearings.
In my opinion, most reels fail and fall on bearing maintenance. Seized bearings are the biggest culprits to causing general failure. Penn have got their priorities spot on here with focusing on putting in bearings that:
1. Can be serviced and maintained easily
2. Will last much longer than other bearings, once properly packed and resealed.
This definitely is a HUGE plus for the average angler, who hasn't got the knowledge or experience to service their own reels.
My big corrosion concern for this reel is the AR Bearing, which has no protection at all from corrosion. This bearing needs to be lubed straight out the box, and regular maintenance will be necessary.
The Drive Gear composition, as discussed, was initially a grave concern in the Sargus. But time has proven that the Gear is standing up to what it was built for. Same goes for the Crosswind gear.
Not happy with the Metal on metal working parts, reckon Penn could have made a huge difference to these reels by providing at least bushings on the Crosswind gear and Pinion.
Backup Anti-reverse mechanism is certainly a big plus!
Bang for Buck - absolutely! If this is an improved version of the Battle, it can only be good! The Battle has been very successful in it's use and abuse on many Charter Boats in the US.
Also one of the best looking reels on the market... and we all know how important BLING is!!
In short, LOTS of PRO's and very few CON's.
