Lamson Guru question

[saflyfish]

Hi guys

I really like this reel at $199 however looking at the reel the spool width seems well "too wide".Ive never used the lamsons but my concern is when reeling in, the line may bulk up on one side or the other.Do you lamson guys find this happens?Im looking at the guru 1.5 for a 5wt?

 

[winstonwt]

I have the guru 2.0 and the litespeed hard alox 2,never a problem with either one.

 

[kuch]

To answer the couple questions you have.....the 1.5 can be a great reel for a 5wt rod. The drag on the Lamsons is very smooth and maintenance free. They are durable reels and we'll made. However the down side is as you have noticed the wide spool. Yes, it can build up in spots but it's not as bad as some might tell you. I have found that the key is to not load the reel to the maximum with backing and line as to allow plenty of room between the frame and the line. Overall it's a good reel for the money. Lots of people around here use the guru for their steelhead rods.

 

[moucheur2003]

I don't have a Guru but I do have several Lamson Litespeeds and Velocitys, with a similar design. Yes, the wide spool can be a problem, especially if you have the spool fully loaded with line and backing. Fortunately it's not too difficult to keep an eye on the spool when you're retrieving line and wind it back on evenly, but it is nevertheless a minor additional nuisance. If you think it's going to bother you, it might be better to choose a narrower reel.

 

[james w 3 3]

I saw that too, and bought the Speedster.
A noticeably thinner spool.
Love it!
Bought 2 more.
All the Lamson positives but without that one negative.

 

[saflyfish]

what other reels in this price range would you guys recommend in LA?

 

[stokes2]

Love my Lamson Guru on my 5wt!! Great reel with smooth action and great drag. i have never found this problem personally but if your are worried about this you should look at Allen reels. The Krackin in particular is a great real with the same price point but it has a V shaped spool that feeds the line back in nicely so it does not "birds nest" I have the one Guru but a good handful of the Allen Reels. The fish does not care what reel you use so get whatever feels right and works best for you. No need to spend $500 on a reel that will catch the same amount of fish as a $200 reel.

Hope this helps.

 

[comeonavs]

Yes the Guru does have that problem and like others I bought a speedster to solve it. On a much more budgetary route you could just upsize your Guru purchase by one size and then put the standard amount of backing on

eg for a 4wt rod, just buy a Guru 2 and follow the Guru 1.5 specs for loading it.


The guru is a perfect fine reel except for the wide / shallow aspect ratio.

 

[mridenour]

I have a Guru and underload the backing a little to account for the wide spool. If I buy another reel it will be an Allen. Narrower spool with every bit as good of a drag system as Lamson.

I have 2 Allen reels and they see much more time on the water than my Guru.

 

[ts47]

The Lamsons are beautiful reels with a good drag. Many, but not all of them do have issues with the wide aspect spools if you fill the spool to the level it was designed to hold (backing and fly line).

Another possibility would be to consider a different reel. One of the really well liked reels that has a narrow spool, but still a large arbor is the Hardy Ultralite DD. They are similarly priced to the Lamson Guru. Hardy Fly - Products - Reels - Performance Reels

They come in black and silver. Nice reel, great drag and a smoother retrieve!

EDIT: +1 to the Allen suggestion above. http://www.allenflyfishing.com/reels/ They do have spools narrower than the Guru. If you sign up for their newsletter, you will get a 15% off coupon!

 

[sweetandsalt]

Lamson guys, I acknowledge it is not hard to get into the habit of level winding on retrieve and, even in a narrow spool reel, care should be taken to regain line uniformly. I concur that the Hardy U DD is a very fine reel with a stacked drag mechanism and captive spool release knob in addition to its superior aspect ratio. Impressive quality to cost ratio too.

Please explain to me someone; if the depth to width poor design feature of many Lamsons is so widely perceived, why do they enjoy the degree of popularity and loyalty they seem to have? When I've examined them they reveal an "O" ring pop off spool retainer, exposed one-way bearing, considerable flex in larger sizes and that worst-in-industry aspect ratio. With so many reels on the market what gives?

 

[ts47]

Lamson guys, I acknowledge it is not hard to get into the habit of level winding on retrieve and, even in a narrow spool reel, care should be taken to regain line uniformly. I concur that the Hardy U DD is a very fine reel with a stacked drag mechanism and captive spool release knob in addition to its superior aspect ratio. Impressive quality to cost ratio too.

Please explain to me someone; if the depth to width poor design feature of many Lamsons is so widely perceived, why do they enjoy the degree of popularity and loyalty they seem to have? When I've examined them they reveal an "O" ring pop off spool retainer, exposed one-way bearing, considerable flex in larger sizes and that worst-in-industry aspect ratio. With so many reels on the market what gives?

We needed you to educate us.

I say this in jest, but mean it to be a true statement. I didn't realize the issue was A design flaw until I started reading your posts a year or so ago. Since then, I stopped buying Lamson and pay close attention to spool widths on other manufacturers reels. For me, there was also some need to prove it to myself before I changed my mindset. Once I did, well... My post above already said it... H U DD is my current favorite.

I still like the Lamsons I already own and have no immediate intention to stop fishing them. I have striped off large amounts of backing or moved those reels to smaller line weight rods to open space on those spools to resolve the problem.

Todd


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[sweetandsalt]

I can rant about reel design 'till I'm blue in the face...won't matter much. Don't listen to me, think for yourselves but at least start form the vantage point of brand/design objectivity and eschew brand loyalty. As soon as any consumer learns of issues and starts to challenge his own purchasing decision making process, all kinds of defensive or self justification attitudes emerge in light of the criticism. If you have an allegedly effected GM compact car that might have the faulty ignition switch and say; "heck, I've never had a problem and I like my Pontiac (or whatever)", it does not mean you DON'T have a bad ignition switch.

If you look at the acknowledged reel design leaders; Abel, Hatch, Islander, Tibor, Nautilus, Galvan, modern Hardy...there is plenty of diversity in drag and overall design except for a few commonalities. All of them feature narrow spool widths regardless of arbor diameter. They employ some sort of spool retainer that can't pop off by itself under load and fail during use. Saltwater sizes are constructed so as not to flex or deform in any way. And, if they claim to be sealed drag design, the drag is sealed whether the spool is on or off...if you can see and touch the clutch bearing, you do not have a sealed drag reel. And it is not limited to Lamson at all...there are or have been plenty of reels that proclaim maximum line retrieval rates by enlarging the arbor diameter and compensate for lost backing capacity by going wider, Loop and several European reel makers where big on this a few years ago. But you have never seen Ari't Hart doing it!

 

[ts47]

I don't want to be the only one responding here, because I already agree with you. It did take some ranting on your part before I finally realized you had a point.

I think one of the reasons Lamsons are so popular is the company's ability to build a good low end reel. Once folks cross that $225 mark, there are numerous well designed and built reels available that are far superior to anything Lamson has.

What's missing in your list of reels is the well designed replacement for the Guru and Konic 2 - or now Liquid and Remix. It's hard for someone who can only afford or justify a $150 reel to let go of their loyalty when the next step up is nearly a 100% increase in price.

Please remember while reading this that I am 100% in agreement with you. And... I really appreciate all the advice you offer on such a regular basis.


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[caseywise]

I'll admit i have a bit of brand loyalty twoards lamson. It was founded years ago with the purchase of an lp1 reel that i love to this day. Now that reel did not have an overly wide spool so did not have any line piling issues that some people have. However, it got me started on the lamson kick.
to me l like the o ring spool holder, i've never had a problem with it and like the simplicity and the fact that it seals the drag of dirt and silt. Although i can see where saltwter spray while changing spools could be a problem.
I like the overall design as well, although not nearly as much lately with my new found love of classic hardys and cfos. The super modern machining designs of the litespeed, ula or guru are slowly giving way to older, like the original lp, standard arbor designs of 25 years ago.
as far as spool width, meh, not a huge deal to me(on a large 8-10 wt reel it would) ive had other reels that have had wide spools and theres ways to combat troubles that may arise from this. as mentioned earlier, alot of the later lamson users, as i have, have almost unconciously trained ourselves to manipulate the incoming line to steer clear of any piling problems.
will i buy another lamson? Probably not, the only exception being a speedster. With all the new reels coming out from allen and hardy etc. that feature norrow concave spool designs, i think my lamson buying days may be coming to an end. We'll just have to see what other changes they make in the next few years.

casey

 

[kuch]

What's really the functional advantage to concave spools? Generally, most spools are concave on the portion of the spool section and that section is generally filled up by backing. So in effect your line is still going on the same way over the backing whether the spool is flat or concave on the bottom. Unless someone is regularly catching fish taking them into the backing , I just don't see the advantage to the design.

 

[mjkirshner]

It's hard for someone who can only afford or justify a $150 reel to let go of their loyalty when the next step up is nearly a 100% increase in price.

Thank you for making point that is so often missing in these forums when someone asks for advice about a "budget" item. Mercedes and Porsche make some very nice cars, but that doesn't help when the budget requires a choice between Honda and Toyota. I have a Lamson Konic II that I picked up new for $110. The new Liquid goes for $99 to $129 depending on size. What other reel at that price is as good or better? Sure, a Tibor Everglades will out-perform the Lamson... for five times the price.

 

[guest61]

We live in the large arbor generation. A good percentage of us have adapted to large (wide) arbor reels. It becomes second nature to guide the line onto a reel as you reel up. Its a good idea even on standard arbor designs. I have a guru and I don't see the difference between reeling line on it from my abel, my nautilus or any of my large arbor reels. Youll adapt quickly to guiding the line back and forth for even take up.

 

[winstonwt]

Absolutely correct flygrain,could not agree with you more.

 

[oldskewl808]

For sure... I fish a Lamson Litespeed 3X on my 6wt for Bonefish so it's not very often I hook a fish that does not take me well into the backing. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about that reel, it has been a top performer for me.