Lamson Konic

[Pittflyguy]

I just purchased a Lamson Konic yesterday. I am pretty shocked at how much reel you can get for the money. The drag system is similar to that of it's higher end cousins, but the price point at $129 is tough to beat! All of my smaller line weight reels (6 and under) have been nothing more than the spool that I held my line on as they did not have any drag to speak of.

I have not put a big fish on her yet, but I am eager to do so! Will let you know more as I get more beta, but initial impressions are very favorable.

 

[Spyder20oz]

Huge lamson fan here. I use the little ones and the big ones

 

[wetnet]

Showing leg and beer. Have you no shame! LOL!

You don't have to sell me. I have one, my son has 4. I hooked up on a 4+ fish and you'll have no worries. It is a great bang for the buck!

 

[Pittflyguy]

Wetnet,

Went "brown lining" last night and it performed admirably!

 

[PatrickG]

I love Lamsons as well. I got last year's velocity for my 4wt on clearance and it is just an awesome reel. Very nice looking too.

 

[Spyder20oz]

Lamson's are also crab proof

 

[albatross]

I recently got the discontinued Lamson Radius for my 4 weight and I love it. I also got the discontinued Velocity for 8/9 weight for Fathers Day to catch a Chinook with on the Salmon River this fall, can't wait.

 

[FishOnCamp]

I have a Velocity 3 and my brother has a Radius 3, both very nice reels. Good luck with the Konic, you shouldn't be disappointed.

 

[albatross]

Not to rain on your parade, but I purposely steered away from the Konic. I understand the Konic is made of cast aluminum. I have had multiple Okuma SLV reels that are also made of cast aluminum. The SLV is a tremendous reel with one drawback, it's not tough! If you drop it from waist hieght onto a rock it will fracture and leave you without use of the reel.

I don't know for sure if the Konic is susceptible to the same problem, but I'm leary. Can anyone speak to the toughness and durability of the Konic?

 

[afishinado]

Good point Alby. I have no specific knowledge of the Konic model, but as a general statement, I too would steer clear of any reel made of cast aluminum. I have a whole drawer full of them from my early days of FF, before I knew better. Since then, I have purchased decent (not necessarily top-of-the-line) machined reels, including some Lamsons, and they have performed well for me for a long time.

 

[Fredrick]

Yeah tweed I found that out the hard way with my battenkill mid arbor when I droped it on a rock on the susky and the spool bent making it rub on the reel frame when you reeled in . I bent it back with some pliers and it works fine now though but I was worried for a little bit that I would have to go out and buy another reel ...But for now on i'm not going to buy any more aluminum reels .

 

[StudentofTheStream]

Fred just wondering if you're not going to buy any more aluminum reels, what kind are you going to buy?

I can only really think of one other suitable metal to suffice, which would be titanium. But I cannot imagine the cost of bar stock titanium machined down. $$$$

Maybe there's something else out there but I can't say I've seen it.

 

[StudentofTheStream]

Maybe something by these guys.

http://megoff.hypermart.net/en/about.html

or THIS ONE!

 

[afishinado]

FYI, most fly reels are made from aluminum. It not the type metal (aluminum), it the process used to manufacturer it. Cast aluminum is brittle and is likely to have flaws because of the casting process. Machined aluminum is cut (with some type of lathe) from solid stock. A little more expensive process, but more durable, and usually more exact.

 

[albatross]

Fredrick's reel is machined from aluminum barstock, which is why he was able to bend the reel back into shape and still have it function. If his reel were cast aluminum, it would have fractured and broken either during the initial impact or when he tried to bend it back.

The only viable alternative to aluminum that I've seen in production reels is injection molded plastic reinforced with carbon fiber. These reels are sometimes refered to as graphite. These reels are tough and durable, but they usually are somewhat lacking in sex appeal. There is just something about the finely crafted metal reel that is appealing...

 

[govtmule]

i've got an Orvis mid-arbor and dropped it plenty of times..nicked it up but it's been pretty damn good. Says it's machined aluminum. Sometimes you drop things perfectly and no matter what it's gonna suck...

 

[StudentofTheStream]

I agree that the reason the reels bend and don't break is because they've been machined down as opposed to being cast. To that end machined titanium would be much better but much more costly.

Working for a machine shop I get a first hand look at the intricacies and benefits of machining. I've been trying to convince the 'bigwigs' here to look into reel machining but to no avail.

When you can draw one to several thousand dollars from much smaller pieces of carbide it's hard to make the argument I suppose.

 

[Spyder20oz]

You guys make your own floatant and your talking about buying a titanium reel... haha


You talk about durability... how about the most popular selling reel... the original battenkill reel. That this is a cast reel.

 

[wetnet]

The battenkill is an excellent reel. I have used both and I personally like the Konic. I would still recommend the Orvis Battenkill however, it's just a nice reel for the price and you wouldn't go wrong to buy one. I have an Orvis T3 rod and a Lamson reel...Oh my not a matched set but certainly a pleasure to fish with and I didn't pay allot for either.

The best thing ever is when you find someone that has all this great stuff, doesn't use it and sells it in the paper shop... brand new for half what you'd pay for it. I would have never looked at the Orvis T3 rod. Really not ever, my son fishes Sage and G.Loomis, but I have to say and he did too that it is a sweet rod and it has no fear, even if I buy a 2nd or 3rd that it will every be for sale again.

There is soooo much nice stuff out there. Just not enough $$$ in the piggy bank not to appreciate what I already have! Life is good, going fishing tomorrow!

 

[Raff]

Speaking of the Lamson Konic, redtruckflyfishing.com is having a huge 50% off sale on their reels. There are some great deals on Abel, Sage, and Lamson Waterworks reels, including the Konic.

FYI

I'm a Lamson Guru man myself, but I do like those Konics.