i have bought 3 okuma epix ef30 fishing reels,there is button/clip that keeps the reel handle locked in place,so far 2 have broke in less than a month.the buttons just seem to break.anybody else having problem of this nature.other than that they are super reels.fish on! scott

Yep. First time I got ready to take it out fishing with DanS, we noticed the button had fallen out; somehow and some way. Of course, we "reel" men don't need a foofie lil button....now if it was a streamlined steelie going 90 to nothing, it would be a tad more difficult. It just takes some time to get used to, or you can send them back I guess

Overall, the reel is bad @ss. Broken or not, it's still getting loaded up.....I'm talking about the reel, not the fisherman, or am I?

I had four cn-45l level winds in my boat until my second time out a big king did a hit and run making the line guide jump the worm shaft gear, thus making this loud line snaping sound followed by a few choice adult words. I took all four back to O/E and swaped them for Tritons. It would take alot for me to try Okuma reels. In my opinion you can't go wrong with Shimano.

WOW!!!!!!!

Glad I read this........just called, yesterday, about the EF-30-S. They were outa stock.....guess I'll do more research, the 9 ball bearing sounded good, and the reels that I tryed were so smooth but maybe I'll just stay with Shimano........like I have for 15+ yrs.........

"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"....

Drifter, the model I had was 2 bearings and was about $75, the model you guys are talking about is much more expensive and may be of fine quality and construction but I just don't trust them. Just my .02

The EFS30 is about 60 bucks. Looks like a solid reel and has performed well for me in its limited use. I'm not crazy about the button, as Redneck's fell out before it ever tasted water, but I'm waiting to see. The equivalent Shimano will set you back about 80-100 bucks, but I don't have any complaints about Shimano quality. Shimano has the right idea with the handle though.....no parts to fall out.

Ask me again next spring, and I'll be able to give you better feedback.

I've been pretty happy with the Penn 310GTi that I bought last year. So far my dad and brother each have 2 of them and they absolutely love them.

Anybody heard bad things about the GTi series?

Hey Kramer,

I've got two 310's, two 320's, and one 340, I love them all. The only problem I've had with any of them was on one of the 320's, the bail was a little sticky, brought it in to R&R Marine in Port Angeles, Paul there took it apart and went through it for like $7.50, now it works fine, he said it just needed to be lubed.

Now I bring all my reels to him once a year.

-N.