Penn Torque II: First Look

[meccalli]

9 hours ago, RocksMeEasy said:

Do you usually use a sealed reel for casting to "offshore pelagics via a boat"?

Is the Penn T2 sealed ala VS or ZB?

Is the T2 built as a boat reel or a surf reel?

The torque was designed as an offshore reel primarily for big game. Guys still skish with Z's.

 

[HKJonathan]

6 hours ago, BrianBM said:

And more talked about then done, I think.  You see it done at Montauk and a few other areas, but there is a lot more to Long Island then Montauk, and there are a lot more people that don't, then do. 

I have a slightly different perspective.  I don't skish or crank under water.  I do get splashed with regularity and dunk my reel from time to time.  For me, the reason why I use VS and the Torque 1 is less to do with making sure the reel is absolutely impervious to water and more to do with not having to maintain it.  I have very little free time and so I really hate the idea of spending my free time disassembling a reel, cleaning, lubing and reassembling. With sealed reels, I can get away with serving it once at the end of the season and not worry about water, salt and sand.  

[johndtuttle]

1 hour ago, HKJonathan said:

I have a slightly different perspective.  I don't skish or crank under water.  I do get splashed with regularity and dunk my reel from time to time.  For me, the reason why I use VS and the Torque 1 is less to do with making sure the reel is absolutely impervious to water and more to do with not having to maintain it.  I have very little free time and so I really hate the idea of spending my free time disassembling a reel, cleaning, lubing and reassembling. With sealed reels, I can get away with serving it once at the end of the season and not worry about water, salt and sand.  

 

I think you are absolutely right and a significant part of the calculus behind all of this sealing is that seals are cheap cheap cheap but add a lot of value to the average guy who doesn't service his reels more than he fishes them (like me these days :P).

As much as the DiY crowd loves to take care of their reels the average guy probably thinks things he can't maintain himself if he tried, like a Saltiga mag-seal or a Stella (million parts) are the cat's nuts when they put as much protection into the reel from the get go....He has to worry about it less and the service bill.

This is also why we are seeing so many companies putting extra lube and ideal types of lube in their reels....its cheap compared to replacing reels within the one year warranty.

Edited July 15, 2017 by johndtuttle

[striperondafly]

13 hours ago, BrianBM said:

And more talked about then done, I think.  You see it done at Montauk and a few other areas, but there is a lot more to Long Island then Montauk, and there are a lot more people that don't, then do. 

 WAAAAYYYY more talked about than done. These threads make me laugh. 

[dennysnook]

On 7/15/2017 at 0:50 AM, johndtuttle said:

 

I think you are absolutely right and a significant part of the calculus behind all of this sealing is that seals are cheap cheap cheap but add a lot of value to the average guy who doesn't service his reels more than he fishes them (like me these days :P).

As much as the DiY crowd loves to take care of their reels the average guy probably thinks things he can't maintain himself if he tried, like a Saltiga mag-seal or a Stella (million parts) are the cat's nuts when they put as much protection into the reel from the get go....He has to worry about it less and the service bill.

This is also why we are seeing so many companies putting extra lube and ideal types of lube in their reels....its cheap compared to replacing reels within the one year warranty.

It may be a new generation thing or isolated to what I know about in FL, but I would say that 95% of fishermen do little to no maintenance to their reels. They wait for it to break then get it fixed and for most a rinse is a luxury. Out of the people I know that fish somewhat regularly, the ones who take the best care also fish the least. Although I make an effort, I get lazy and could and should take more care and maintain my gear better. The more seals the better because seals definitely have their place for the average guy to provide longevity.

Even as a buttery smooth fan I have always understood that comes at a price. Whether that be literal or with maintenance or capability disadvantages, the more the market competition pushes everything to be cheaper, lighter, more durable, and more capable we as fishermen are in a win, win. Is pretty exciting to see companies giving us more and more faster than I can ever remember in my short fishing career. 

[johndtuttle]

On 7/16/2017 at 0:37 AM, dennysnook said:

It may be a new generation thing or isolated to what I know about in FL, but I would say that 95% of fishermen do little to no maintenance to their reels. They wait for it to break then get it fixed and for most a rinse is a luxury. Out of the people I know that fish somewhat regularly, the ones who take the best care also fish the least. Although I make an effort, I get lazy and could and should take more care and maintain my gear better. The more seals the better because seals definitely have their place for the average guy to provide longevity.

Even as a buttery smooth fan I have always understood that comes at a price. Whether that be literal or with maintenance or capability disadvantages, the more the market competition pushes everything to be cheaper, lighter, more durable, and more capable we as fishermen are in a win, win. Is pretty exciting to see companies giving us more and more faster than I can ever remember in my short fishing career. 

 

Naw, Denny, you are exactly right. Few fisherman know or care what's inside, they just want reels that work and look cool (and make them feel cool). 

I'd like to think the DiY guy/reel nerd is interested, and the thousands of hits these posts get is confirmation. And they are probably influential in the marketplace.

It truly is a "golden age" of reels, spinning, low profile and conventional, good times for us reel nerds.

 

Edited July 17, 2017 by johndtuttle

[dhofar]

What i like most about torque is that they're so simple to service them , i have the first generation 7 can't compare it to my stella 6000 swb hg in this important option, both represent the flag ship for their companies what penn reels need badly n urgently: ( the way i c it n i could be wrong )

 

1- strong quality control 

read many comments world wide where alot of user complaining about defferent ussues yes it's there for stella as well but not as bad as torque if we pick the line lay alone would be enough among many issues . Mine is ok thank God .

2- better refinement

the drag knob play ,the handle knob less free spinning , handle play more noticeable and need better shinning paint work similar to that of stella n saltiga , most of those have no effect in the real world but it does help to have them..

3- weight

most of pen's reel r heavier than shimano ones,  yes we do appreciate all metal body but then again when using lower quality alum. Which tends to add alot of weight overall where lower weight alum. Might be more expensive but does save alot of weight in return. They could take the carbon/plastic composite bath as long as it's tough n rigid enough ( for med to lower reels) 

4- forward wide angle spool lip

pls consider such designe instead of old school one which almost 90degree doing nothing but decreasing the speed of the line flow , if the line lay is good enough why then making such spool lip unless it is there for a purpose which is reducing line twist due to line lay management simply not good enough to adopt the forward wide angle one , i do cast alot almost 6 to 7 hrs stella,sustain and saragosa lead the way in this regard better distance /less wind knots, i do have ultegra xsb14000 which is super for long reach n still have spinfisher 7500 lc which i prefer it more due to its water resistant feature although the ultegra is a tad better casting reel. 

5- auto/manual bail switch

no high end reel needs it not even most reels of nowadays designe

again i must say it loud stella can't compete in an individual service dept. no chance at all the torque just as simple as one plus one ( for long run use this could be a decisive matter for some). my torque 7 here in southern region of oman seen hard times , start to think big GTs got no chance with this reel ever. Smooth drag as silk combined with plenty of torque n strong body made it the right reel for big game . Stella 6000 swb in the other hand with light line made me reach where most non specialized surf reels can't n it's the best for everything except for the real big games . 

Edited July 22, 2017 by dhofar

[Noodles]

Now, I could be incorrect. But looking at the Stella/saltiga, those reels are made out of cast aluminum which would be inferior to the torques machined from billet aluminum (I'm guessing 6061) frame. In practice, it probably doesn't matter much.

[Crazy Alberto]

After reading this thread with great interest... I don't believe the original intent of this post is about Penn vs. other brands.  It's about how it is made. With that being said,  I've tested many top and premium reels (VS, ZB, Dogfight, Stella) and they all have their + & -....But I have to give kudos to Penn. Without trying to get into any arguments ... I am very abusive to tackle, and I really don't have time to take care of my tackle. In truthfulness...All I care is about "performance" and hands down, the  PENN Torque is definitely a new game changer.  Here are some recent photos and in all seriousness.... Penn has come a long way, and they deserve the respect for their efforts, and more importantly for their dedication for taking their products to a new competitive level of performance.  Sorry for having to chime in like this...but I just needed to add my 2 cents worth... 

[Tagman]

100% this ^^^^^^^^

[IsmailG]

If there is anyone that can put a reel through it's paces, it's Crazy Al. The original Torque however did have it's issues, which was documented hundreds of times by users, I'm a fan of Penn and their customer service is outstanding, just hoping that the issues from the original Torque are rectified which will make the Torque 2 an outstanding reel.

[FXF3]

Damn Alberto save some for the rest of us 

[johndtuttle]

On 7/14/2017 at 11:15 AM, Noodles said:

I wouldn't pretend to know if it would actually matter, but it would still be a downgrade.

 

Update, it was more "silver" than expected once I cleaned all the grease off and Penn confirms that the Oscillation Gear is machined Stainless Steel. 

 

[Noodles]

46 minutes ago, johndtuttle said:

 

Update, it was more "silver" than expected once I cleaned all the grease off and Penn confirms that the Oscillation Gear is machined Stainless Steel. 

 

That's, quite odd. Were they seeing a bunch of failures and thought they needed a stronger oscillation gear? 

[johndtuttle]

18 hours ago, Noodles said:

That's, quite odd. Were they seeing a bunch of failures and thought they needed a stronger oscillation gear? 

 

Highly doubtful they ever saw a  single failure of the oscillation gear. Even a Saltiga uses a cast Alu/Zinc one and the older Brass one was far tougher than a pot metal one would be. 

The Oscillation Gear is machined at the Penn Factory in Philly, probably just a case of it being ideal for them to make in the facility there.