Aluminum Reel's..Islander, Trophy, RST etc...

[DHA]

I have been reading the forum for a while and finally decided to add something to this thread. The big problem with all of the machined aluminum reels on the market is they are all direct copies of islander reels. Therefore the exhibit almost all of the same problems as islander reels. The only exception to this is the RST reel which uses a different and much better drag material, woven carbon fiber. I have had the chance to use both the MR2 and MR3 for hundreds of days in the most extreme fishing situations possible, fishing deep and lots of springs. I have come to know their faults very well.
What I have noticed is that all of the islanders and knock off reels used deep groove radial bearings which are not designed to take axial load developed by the drag mechanism. This leads to chronic bearing failure in reels that are fished regularly with the drag tight such as in down rigging situations.
The second flaw is the cork drag surface which when lubricated properly works quite well. When even a small amount of water is introduced then you have inconsistent operation, i.e. drag slipping/locking up. This is more of a problem in the reels with a ported back, i.e. the MR3 and by the looks of it the new reel which DHA is testing. It is pretty simple, the more holes you add to a reel the more ways there are for water to get in.
Another problem is the surface which the cork slides against, an anodized aluminum surface. When lowered on the rigger even with a small amount of drag the hard finish can be removed. This takes many cycles and leads to a number of problems. Once the finish is removed the soft aluminum is exposed and vaunerable to corrosion. I have serviced my fair share of MR3’s and almost all have had this problem in varying stages. DHA, I am pretty sure if you were to take your MR3 apart this would be evident. This problem is less noticeable in the MR2 because it has the free spool lever which when used reduces the wearing period to only when a fish is taking line. I do have guide buddies who don’t use this function on their MR2’s and they have serious finish loss and some corrosion on the part of the spool which rests against the cork drag.
All of these design flaws which can be found in islanders show up in the knock off reels as they are just exact copies. The companies who are building these reels offshore need to actually do some engineering of their own instead of just copying the drag and bearing arrangement from an islander. The only reel which looks interesting is the RST as the manufacturer looks to have taken the time to fix some of the flaws found in all of the current production reels, i.e. carbon fiber drag material which will provide and much longer trouble free life than cork.
This subject is quite interesting to me as I am a mechanical engineering student and fishing guide in t he Hiada Gwaii who spends allot of time with islander products. I know this is one heck of a long post for my first but I figured I would share my thought on the subject.

Great input, however, as you have pointed out that there should be evidence in my reel of wear and corrosion due to my lazy butt lack of maintenance. I can share with you that there is none of either corrosion or wear, no evidence at all sharing any form of abuse. We have both been extremely hard on our reels, niether of us have ever taken them apart before today for maintenance or repair. I have included some shots that I took tonight of my reel MR3 #594 bought at River Sportsman & my son's MR3 #3453 bought at Tyee Marine in Campbell River. Just for fun, I included the new TREND Mooching reel.

DHA.

 

[searun]

DHA, the Trend looks pretty good so far. Any issues with line creep yet? I would think not given size of the cork you went with. Only concern I see is the open back which will allow water and debris into the inner workings of the reel more easily than a solid back reel. Other question is can you switch it over to left hand retrieve, and does it have a free spool clicker/mode?

 

[DHA]

@searun,

No issues with line creep, the reel is modeled after the MR3 with developed concessions in order to hinder patterning issues that the Islander reels often have with line creep.

I will reiterate that neither my own MR3 nor my son's Islander reel have the line creep issues that other people have described, as long as they are cranked down. Right out of the box, we both have never maintained our reels from day one. Last night was the first day that I have ever taken it apart, and I was pleasantly surprised that there are no visible or mechanical issues with either reel to speak of. Our MR3 reels have served us well, and I plan to continue using my MR3 for a long time. Some miner clean up and she's good to go for another 5 years lol!

The TREND is both left or right, just like the Islander MR3. Rain has not effected, or hampered the use of the reel yet, there is still lots of time to break this reel, but so far I have been unsuccessful. As far as debris goes, I don't intend on fishing in any dust storms, or hvy force storms, and most of the people that I fish with have pretty clean boats. The clicker system is similar to an MR3, no issue and no worries with potential backlashes. All I can say is, so far so good...I will continue to work at breaking it, this said, so far I have not been able to.

The TREND feels like my MR3 and fishes nice.

DHA.

 

[mikep]

Those MR3s look pretty clean DHA, especially for not being opened up for 5 years. I noticed that they are the solid backed version which is much less susceptible to water intrusion. I have actually been able to fish a ported and unported MR3 side by side for an entire 5 day trip. After 3 days the ported reel was already having drag problems. I will have to get some photos of reels from my guide buddies so u can see what I am talking about with regards to the finish loss. I must admit I am fishing these reels under the most demanding circumstances and they see more work in 2 weeks than that the average consumer would subject them to in a year.

 

[DHA]

Those MR3s look pretty clean DHA, especially for not being opened up for 5 years. I noticed that they are the solid backed version which is much less susceptible to water intrusion. I have actually been able to fish a ported and unported MR3 side by side for an entire 5 day trip. After 3 days the ported reel was already having drag problems. I will have to get some photos of reels from my guide buddies so u can see what I am talking about with regards to the finish loss. I must admit I am fishing these reels under the most demanding circumstances and they see more work in 2 weeks than that the average consumer would subject them to in a year.

The kid's reel was a grad gift from me in 2008, mine being #594 is from way back lol. Water is water and it will enter inside every mooching reel irregardless of style. I'd really like to see the wear issues that you are talking about, cork is not normally known to be abrasive, so there must have been other factors involved.

Here are the Islander requirements for warranty acceptance. Maybe your friends missed a few steps in order to have issues in such a short period of time while maintaining them as much as you've suggested?

DHA.

ARMR2, MR2 and MR3 Reel Care

The warranty for these reels, which is only two years, states that "This warranty does not cover normal wear, misuse, or loss nor does this warranty cover damage due to improper use, improper assembly, improper/inadequate cleaning or improper/inadequate maintenance."

Although these reels are manufactured to the highest standards using the finest materials available, unfortunately they are not maintenance free.

Following are some suggestions that may save some possible future problems and will add to the longevity of the product.
Daily

Rinse off the reels with fresh water, do not use hot water or soak immersed for extended periods of time.
Back off drag adjustment knob to release drag spring tension.
Try not to use the reel frame as a hook keeper. Compromises the anodizing.
Try not to store the reels in damp pouches, particularly salt-water damp.

Every 4 or 5 Days

Rinse the reel with fresh water. Dis-assemble reel, carefully noting parts location for re-assembly.
Clean out any dirt or excess grease using a rag, brush or Q-tip.
Try to brush away any built up corrosion and apply WD-40 or something similar to corroded areas.
Use fresh "Superlube" oil to lube any moving parts and to coat springs and pivot points.
Apply "Superlube" oil sparingly to clutch cork surface. The cork should be wet but not dripping wet.
Apply "Superlube" grease to clutch teeth and bearing seal recesses and also to drag knob washer and spindle threads.
Removal of the reel from the rod during extended periods of non-use will lead to longer life for the reel foot.
Relaxing the monofilament line and backing on the reel once in a while can prevent the spool from being damaged due to continuous stretching and tightening of the monofilament line.
Islander does recommend that at least one third to one half of the ARMR2 and MR2 spool be filled with dacron or some similar backing before spooling on the monofilament to capacity. This is not necessary on the MR3 but is still an option.

 

[mikep]

Not really any other factors involved except super lube on the cork disc and lots of drops on the rigger. Out of the 50 MR2s we had at the lodge i'd say 75% are showing loss on the finish that is directly exposed to the cork friction disc. I am just reporting what I have seen, I should have the photos of the MR3s in a day or two.

 

[DHA]

Cool, I am just very curious, because I have never seen or experienced that with any of the Islanders that I have owned over the years. My first two MR2's, both referb'd lodge reels and neither had the wear that you are suggesting. I wonder if the could have been an issue with the anodizing? Just curious to see, that's all.

DHA.

 

[rook 2]

islander reels

yes you did get it right island girl,,,i do fish with my 4000gts also,,i love it,,had it for 3 years now ,and i fish every weekend,,never have even touched that reel,

 

[searun]

Have to agree with Islander on that DHA. If you don't crack them at least once every week or so and clean them as noted you will start experiencing issues with the drag. This is especially true if they get wet. Bearings can also be a problem if not oiled. Mind you, I fish em hard every day so the average weekend use probably would not need this level of cleaning. The Trend sounds impressive, but as you say needs to be fished hard and put away wet to surface any issues. We didn't start seeing issues with the spring on the NC-1 for quite some time, so the more road miles you can put on her the better.

 

[Derby]

Fish my solid back MR-3 an average of 30 plus days a year...never open them up during the season ...just service them at when the season is over....never had a problem yet.... I do make sure all the reels have the drags backed off at the end of the day when they are not being used... my 2 bits ...

 

[Fins -n- Skins]

Just got back from dropping my MR-2 off at Islander. Front bearing is blown after ten years and over 30 trips a year. Also took my Steelheader in as it was not casting as smooth. They said a bearing replacement is in order. Islander reels are close to bullet proof but not quite. What i like is that they are local and if i have a problem which is rare they are close by. my 2 cents !!

 

[scott craven]

$600 for a piece of machined aluminum weighing less than 1lb is pretty much a ripoff .
I have used them, they are nice but not without issues.
Seems to me the "Islander" name comes at a premium.
just my opinion

 

[Whole in the Water]

Here is a review of the MR3 that some may find interesting.

http://www.ramblingfisherman.com/2011/10/islander-reels-mr3-product-review/

While I like my MR3 reel very much (bought it slighty used for $400) I agree with all the points made in this review as I have experienced them all myself ( line creep, no free spool, etc.) and I don't fish as much as a guide does. IMO for $600 this reel should not have any of these issues. So I think it is time that Islander fixed these problems by redesigning the reel.

I may check out this new 2012 Okuma reel in the spring when it is available....http://www.okumafishingteam.com/2012_Okuma_Catalog_FB/loader.swf found on page 128 in the 2012 catalog

​

 

[wildthing]

Hi folks been following this thread with interest from the start

and i my self is looking at an alternative to the islander

i have two MR3's that i inherited from my older brother who used shimano's for years.

for a few who would like to experiment or try out, as stated look at some of the LA flyreels

have found a few on the net that may or not work

but i have not got a bottom-less pocket to try them all out.....lol

i do like the look of the Trend reel though
but looks like i will keep with the Shimano's and MR3's

one question i'll ask is anyone running braid on the reel thought it would work well for guides
then having a weaker mono bottom end.
you would if a break off occurred you only loose the bottom end .
not some where along 200+ yds of 20-30lb mono mainline.

plus it would give you quicker bite detection admit you have to have a longer or older style mooching rod.



tight lines all

 

[Derby]

Ran 60lb braid all season last year with a 40ft top shot of 30lb mono on my MR-3...... worked well & will continue to fish this system...

 

[DHA]

I use braid on all of my Islanders, my centre pin's and my calcutta casting reels. I love braid, my dad got me onto it when he started loading his 7000 ABU with tuff-line and a top shot of 50lb mono around 2004 for down rigging. The TREND reel that I am trying to break is loaded with mono at the moment, but we will be moving it into braid in a few months once our main testing phase is completed. The main reason for a top shot of mono, is so that the clip sticks. Braid, as we all know is very slippery and slips out of most release clips very easily, where the mono does not. The TREND reel is a very nice reel so far, we have removed the OEM lubes and applied super lube to the reel. It is now a dream to fish with. I will be doing dunk tests next week which will also include a 24hr soak and splash tests.

DHA.

 

[Seafever]

Just a thought.......could instances of "line creep" be due to a "glaze" building up on the corks?
Or is that a non-issue.......

 

[DHA]

Just a thought.......could instances of "line creep" be due to a "glaze" building up on the corks?
Or is that a non-issue.......

It can be caused by a myriad of things, but most likely over oiled cork, or grease on cork, or wrong lube. Best to strip the glazing...I sparingly use lighter fluid or white gas, but that may not be the best thing to use. It works for me so far, then rub in the new lube. Lately I have been using super lube gel. It seems to work well.

DHA.

 

[wildthing]

DHA does the white grease work ??

and if the cork is an issue after time why does Islander not go over to a carbon washer drag like on the baitcasters
then as it wears out just replace? all depend's on usage i suppose.
in respect its just a case of leaning to look after your Islanders and they will look after you....lol

but the thing that stands out is learning to back off the drag so not to leave the cork compressed at the end of the day and giving then a rise down to get the salt off

 

[DHA]

White lithium grease can be used on the clicker pawls and springs, as well as the shaft tension spring, but not on the cork. The best lube for the cork is super lube oil, but I have been trying the gel and it seems to be fine. Don't over lube the cork, but you don't want it dry either. Just play around, you can't hurt it.

DHA.