allen kraken vs Greys gx900

[Flieguy]

For a 9wt for pike, both reels are a similar price, and have great reviews.

any thought on either of these reels for pike-sized fish? I know cf8 loves his kraken, and I'm a greys fan

[BobLoblaw]

I don't know nothin' from nothin' regarding either of these reels.
It would be kinda cool to say this every time you cast your fly...
http://youtu.be/2OlCnPKr4Q8

[CanAlta]

I'm a Hardy and Greys junkie. I don't have the GX900 but I have the GX700 and GX500 that I use on my 8wt for pike and they're great.

[Jason Bourne]

Can't help you on the Kraken but i just brought back an Allen Trout 2 from the States this week and it is a very nice reel and i intend purchasing a Kraken 5 as soon as they are in stock hopefully in the next week . I was very impressed with the quality of the reel and the service from Allen was great. No reports on real world use yet though…..

[Flieguy]

Originally Posted by CanAlta

I'm a Hardy and Greys junkie. I don't have the GX900 but I have the GX700 and GX500 that I use on my 8wt for pike and they're great.

do you have any experience with the greys carnivore rod?

also if you're looking to get rid of any hardy or greys reels, you know where to find me!

[MK2750]

As I mentioned in the other thread, I have the Kraken reel but have not fished it. I can tell you that I very much like the design and have read pages of reviews that speak highly of the quality.

I can tell you that this company is well respected on the US fishing forums and that the owner (Justin) is a stand up guy that wades into to every thread when someone has a question or problem with his products.

I can also tell you that the company is moving much of it's manufacturing back to the US including it's best rods and the soon to be released Omega reel series. I intend to try at least one of their rods in the near future and really like the look of their new Kraken XLA reel.

I will give you one of many examples of customer service I have read;

A gentleman after placing his order with the company fell upon hard times and had to cancel his order. I can't remember the details but it involved injury or illness IIRC. Anyway, not only did Justin refund the money, he also sent the entire order at no charge.

As a fairly new company, there has been some growing pains with slow shipping etc. In the early days there was only one or two working there. By reading the archives on many forums you can see that Justin himself went out of his way and beyond what would be considered good customer service to make things right.

If my new reel fishes half as good as the finish work and design would suggest I am sure it will be a keeper.

If you do have a question about products/service from this company, you can contact the owner directly via e-mail and he even puts his personal phone number on sites he frequents.

[SimonB]

Kraken all the way. My brother has it on his 8wt setup and just loves it. I had the chance to fish with it for a day and I was very impressed with the quality of the product !

CHeers

[CanAlta]

Originally Posted by Flieguy

do you have any experience with the greys carnivore rod?

also if you're looking to get rid of any hardy or greys reels, you know where to find me!

You bet! I have an 8wt Carnivore. Great rod. I put more casts on it last year than all my other rods combined. It's been good to me.

I've been drooling over the Hardy ultralite cassette reel. If I can sneak one home without the old lady finding out my 700 is all yours!

[Flieguy]

I was eyeing up that CLS for my 5wt, decided to go with a sage 4200 instead. Still not sure if I regret it or not, both are great reels.

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by Flieguy

I was eyeing up that CLS for my 5wt, decided to go with a sage 4200 instead. Still not sure if I regret it or not, both are great reels.

I have the Ultralite CLS and it is nice however it is very heavy. After fishing the smallest one (5000?) on my 6wt Z-Axis for a few days it was moved to an 8wt rod where it fits and balances perfect.

[CanAlta]

Originally Posted by MK2750

I have the Ultralite CLS and it is nice however it is very heavy. After fishing the smallest one (5000?) on my 6wt Z-Axis for a few days it was moved to an 8wt rod where it fits and balances perfect.

How much backing were you able to get onto that reel with an 8wt line?

[MK2750]

I didn't measure it but I filled it to where the tapered v ends. It still held the WF line but you wouldn't get DT on the spool without putting a lot less backing.