Van Staal

 Anyone ever used or handled a Van Staal reel or jigging rod? 

 

Thinking of getting one, but not sure..

 

Would be good to get some opinons

 

Cheers


Posts: 967

Date Joined: 17/01/10

 Used them yesterday. We had

Tue, 2011-01-18 13:08

 Used them yesterday. We had about 5 on board. Very nice reel. All water proof, which makes it one bit better than a stella

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SamC's picture

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Date Joined: 30/08/06

Stella's are water resistant

Tue, 2011-01-18 13:16

Stella's are water resistant John

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Cheers,

Sam

Posts: 967

Date Joined: 17/01/10

 not the drag system

Tue, 2011-01-18 15:04

 not the drag system

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ricey's picture

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Date Joined: 24/12/09

i only used once

Tue, 2011-01-18 13:49

but did not find it smoooooth like a stella. no bail arm which feels weird at first too if i remember rightly.

 

will outlast a stella though i think

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crasny1's picture

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Date Joined: 16/10/08

Van Staals are designed to get wet

Tue, 2011-01-18 13:54

Originally developed for some fishing in the US where the guys swim/wade out to post with rod and rigs. This the reel is always covered in water.

They are tough, but they dont feel as smooth as a stella when you handle them together. However this is to do with the mechanism and doesnt mean it isnt smooth.

I recon it is a beautiful reel and might skull drag a Stella/Saltiga off similar size. I think the price is greater than a Stella so why would you want to go the Van Staal when Stella/Saltiga is so good anyway. This does sound like I have changed my mind about the van Staal but I cant figure paying extra for anything above a Stella.

If I had spare dough I would bet a Van Staal anyday.

Neels

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big john's picture

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Date Joined: 20/07/06

Apples and Oranges

Tue, 2011-01-18 13:58

Water Resistant is not the same as Water Proof Sam. Stella's aren't really designed to get dunked by waves whereas Van Stalls do when used for surf fishing ala Blue Fish in the USA.

Edit - Crasny beat me to the punch.

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Jigs available online in my web store!

brenz's picture

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Date Joined: 15/06/06

may be water proof but it

Tue, 2011-01-18 14:04

may be water proof but it voids its 1 year limited warrenty if any corrosion is found  on the reel.

crasny1's picture

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Date Joined: 16/10/08

Sorry BJ

Tue, 2011-01-18 14:44

Yes I couldnt remember the fish they were targetting. I had a thought that it was big Tailor, which they call Shad I think.

Ahh Had a quick google and it is one and the same, Bluefish = Tailor.

Must be pretty big tailor with the size and drag the Van Staals have. They arent a pushover.

Neels

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"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk

PattyT's picture

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Date Joined: 15/08/10

Im sure they are a killer

Tue, 2011-01-18 14:28

Im sure they are a killer reel... but god they look terrible in my opinion.

big john's picture

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Date Joined: 20/07/06

Poor

Tue, 2011-01-18 14:35

IMO 1 year warranty is pretty poor for a premium product like that.

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WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.

Jigs available online in my web store!

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Date Joined: 21/02/08

VS is now owned by zebco and

Tue, 2011-01-18 14:46

VS is now owned by zebco and the product comes out of china, along with fin nor and a few other brands, their glory days may be over!

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crasny1's picture

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Date Joined: 16/10/08

1 Year suxs

Tue, 2011-01-18 14:49

I thought it was longer than that for sure when I looked at bying a Van Staal or Stella. If I knew it was only a year I wouldnt bye the reel. That IMO means the producers dont trust it. However I would like to see a Van Staal have any problems because its so tough.

By the way stupid me settled on a pair of Saragosas instead of a Stella or Van Staal!!! One for the Mrs and one for me. Should have gone the Stella 10 000SW.

Neels

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"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk

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Date Joined: 17/01/10

 I always thought they looked

Tue, 2011-01-18 15:09

 I always thought they looked pretty dog, but in real life with a spool of braid, they pretty slick. Just buy an Accurate or Zeebass if you dont like Van Staal aha.

 

Really... comparing van staal and stellas is like comparing a ferrari with a lamborghini.. both as good as it gets... just comes down to preference 

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Ryan C's picture

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Date Joined: 08/07/10

van staal/stella

Tue, 2011-01-18 20:16

except one feels like a ferrari and 1 feels like a ferrari with a blown diff!!LOL    stella anyday!!!!

Bunny's picture

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Date Joined: 05/08/10

Not to get off topic a bit

Tue, 2011-01-18 21:31

Not to get off topic a bit but both the Saltiga and Stella reels are fully waterproof. This includes the drags. The clip below shows the new Saltiga under a lab test against what I think is the Saltiga surf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDMu88Hmo-I

The VS are for sand and surf fishing which is why they are not as smooth as the Daiwa and Shimano reels. They don't have as finer tolerances but that's fine for what they are designed for. They have a great reputaion and are a very tough reel. I doubt I'll ever get one as I don't do that sort of fishing.