What reel would you have kept?

[Vagabond]

back in the day, JW Young made reels for a lot of other companies...wouldn't surprise me at all if they made something for LL Bean that was basically a solid workmanlike reel.

They also made reels for Orvis, including Battenkills based on the Beaudex series, along with a multiplier, can’t remember the model name of the multiplier.

I dropped my Beaudex, made circa 1962, back in the 80’s and broke the reel foot (not machined obviously) and Orvis gave me a new bright machined foot. Same length and width but it had slightly less depth so I had to make a shim to add between reel and foot so you could release the spool otherwise it would catch on the screws. Still in there today. The Reel Pfoot suffers from the same anomaly but there are work arounds that can fix that issue.

 

[Dloy]

My first was an Orvis Battenkill (for a 5wt) but when I got it home it the spool scraped in the cage. Probably a rare thing because they’re much loved by many, but I decided to pony up and spring for the LRH. Loved it enough to get extra spools, a second reel and a Princess (+spools) over time. I have (& had) other Hardys and thought I wanted a Flyweight too. I have fairly large hands and at the store I felt like a gorilla winding a spool of thread. I’m sure it’s just as good as the others, but too small for me. Besides, I like 4wts more than 2s and 3s because when I’m out on SSs there’s usually some wind that pipes up mid day, so the LRH is perfect. I can still nap though a blow, but don’t have to.