Cast further with overhead than egg beaters.

Easily done at night.

Takes some learning, there are complications if u stuff it up, could end up losing 50m of line

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You couln't wipe that grin fom my face even with a hammer.

You won't be casting like a hero straight away...it takes time for your thumb to be "educated"!

 Use a streamlined rig...a snapper lead with a smallish hook/bait is ideal. Metal lures are another good thing to practice with. Lightweight, non-aerodynamic lures like soft plastics, and large baits such as whole squid, act like parachutes when you cast, which means the line slows while coming off the spool while the spool itself doesn't, which means backlash/birdsnest.

Also, avoid casting into the wind when you first start out, which sort of makes it hard on a tailor beach during a summer arvo...again, this slows down your cast and can cause problems.

Once mastered, overheads generally do cast farther than spinning reels, largely due to the fact that the line comes out in a narrower arc and creates less contact with the rod guides, but getting proficient enough to be at that stage is the hard part!

I wouldnt put expensive line on when you are training your thumb,great big knots are to be expected ,important to set the brake to the weight on the sinker befoie you cast ,stops the overspin when you are learning.Do this by suspending the sinker and then free spooling it to the ground ,set the brake to control the speed.Pratice make perfect

as a good overhead for the beaches. Or if you have a big budget, go the Shimano Trinidad DC.
As the others have said, it takes practice, but when you get the hang of it you will love casting overheads.
Don't try to cast too hard when you start out and remember to keep your thumb in place on the reel so you can slow the spool down when as it is about to hit the water.
If you get an overrun and end up with a birds nest, pull the loops out slowly and most times it will all come out.
(Colin 1 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)

Probably best to learn with mono, the accidents are cheaper. With braid, if you birdsnest it, you may critically weaken it as it has no stretch.

When casting an overhead, load the rod up as much as you can at the start of the action, and let the rod's action send it out. Don't try and flick it at the end like an eggbeater cast or you will just birdnest.

Spindle tension stops early cast overruns, cast control is best used max on until you get the hang of it, and then slowly back it off.

iv been fishing with over heads for over 20yrs,but being from S.Africa thats all we used , we had names for fisho's that used egg beaters in the surf ..... saying that the conditions are totaly different here(only metro experence)  the egg beater type reel is alot easier to use - donno how far they cast as iv never used one,except for flicking soft plastics but along this stretch of coast its far enough.

i generally ave 120 - 140m with my set up(5oz plus bait) and 160 - 180m with my bigger setup(7-8oz plus bait) we(S.African's) use mono with braid backing or just straight mono.

if u wanna spend the bucks then the dawia saltiga/saltist or the shimo trinni/torium are the way to go,shimo 20/40 will last u forever its almost bullet proof and alot cheaper than the bling bling reels - had one for almost 10yrs without a days trouble,landed alot of fish(sharks)over 100kg on it  and its still going strong .... hope this helps

I am the worlds crappest overhead caster but i learned in a night fishing trip :) As long as i keep my weight up i should be alright 99% of time. Just dont powercast haha.  

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You couln't wipe that grin fom my face even with a hammer.