Steelheader69: I purchased my 525 locally from a shop where Craig (a manager)recommended an Ambassadeur 6500 instead. I went with my own mind and went with Penn. I HAD heard good things about the Penn 525, and my experiences with Penn in the past had been good. AND I have been trying to buy "American". That's not always easy. The ball bearings on my Penn 6500 spinning reel indicate they were manufactured outside this country. I drove a Camaro for a while, which was assembled in Canada. Go figure. I just heard on the news this morning that the trade deficit for the US has set a new record. Oh, well.