[philthy]

Hi Frank,

No, the ones I've gotten are last year's models, but the one I've had for about a year has been a real tank. Not even a smudge on it and it's not treated with kid gloves, either. I can imagine the hard alox is even better. Here's a link to some folks that still have the v2:

Fly Reels

It's 149.00 and they also have the Galvan OB-2 for 235.00 The v1 I got from a place in MA called Rodbuilder's Workshop and I just happened to stumble across it on Google (probably around page 10 as I was desparate!). The guy said they didn't do online orders and normally didn't do phone orders, either. I turned on the Texas charm and the rest is history.

I had picked up last year's model Lightspeed #4 from Cabela's back in the spring and couldn't believe the price....$49.88, which isn't bad for that class of reel. If you have a little patience and are willing to look around, the deals are out there!

Phil

[ezamora]

yup, the deals are out there. i picked up a lamson radius 1.5 a couple of years ago. it features the same conical sealed drag as the velocity i think. my reel developed a problem. the spool started rubbing. soon, it was very difficult to turn. lamson said in a phone call it sounded like water had gottne into the drag system. yes, i took the spool off (the two thumbs through the hole system leaves something to be desired for me) but i never took it off near water. upon closer inspection, it DID seem like there was some corrosion. how or why that hapened i'm not sure. i have yet to send it in since i've developed a penchant for older click and pawl standard arbor reels for trout. i'm not the first to have this problem with lamson reels and it has happened to radius and velocity models from what i've read. i DO read lamson has fixed others' reels.

eric
fresno, ca.

[philthy]

Wow Eric, this is the first time I've heard of that. Mind you, I don't generally look too hard for people's problems with these reels. All the ones I've gotten specifically state to never, ever take it apart for cleaning to keep water out of the drag system, but you stated you hadn't. Sounds like your Radius may have had a bad O Ring? Stuff does happen. With the limited lifetime warranty, I'd sure send it in to find out. If nothing else, it could be fixed and sold since you like the older style reels. My biggest complaint so far has been with the spool removal. It doesn't "just" snap off the frame. Having strong fingers are a definate plus.

Phil

[trout breath]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I settled on the Lamson Velocity. It doesn't have the new finish but the price was right.

Thanks again,
Trout Breath

[philthy]

Trout Breath,

Excellent choice and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

Phil