Islander or kingpin?

[DEVIN]

Right now I have a Sheffield that works really nice. I picked it up from a fellow off memeber well I would like to Upgrade to either a kingpin or islander. Any suggestions are more than welcome and if you have any of these reels let me know how try are

Thanks

Dev

 

[FishingNoob]

Right now I have a Sheffield that works really nice. I picked it up from a fellow off memeber well I would like to Upgrade to either a kingpin or islander. Any suggestions are more than welcome and if you have any of these reels let me know how try are

Thanks

Dev

Is it a reel or a rod? Thanks.

 

[despotiko]

Right now I have a Sheffield that works really nice. I picked it up from a fellow off memeber well I would like to Upgrade to either a kingpin or islander. Any suggestions are more than welcome and if you have any of these reels let me know how try are

Thanks

Dev

Ill give you my kingpin and you can give me back my okuma plus cash lol. Seriously though everyone talks smack about okuma centerpins, they are great and dont need to be babied. I reccomend you spend the mponey you would on a new reel and get yourself a good rod or good waders or boots that can actually help you land more fish or make you more comfortable. At the end of the day a centerpin reel is nothing more than a spool with a couple ball bearings, nothing technical, but thats just my opinion. If you insist on getting a better reel then i highly reccomend a g.loomis or streamside, or even an adock stanton. You can find any of these used for a great price and they are smooth as silk and bomb proof. My 2 cents.

 

[jlisk]

That would be a reel (okuma) I beleive. I am new to this centerpin reel game so I can't really help you other then to say I will pick up that Sheffield off you if you end up replacing it.

XD

 

[rocheleauc]

Right now I have a Sheffield that works really nice. I picked it up from a fellow off memeber well I would like to Upgrade to either a kingpin or islander. Any suggestions are more than welcome and if you have any of these reels let me know how try are

Thanks

Dev

Honestly, If I had to pick between the two, I'd go with kingpin. Myself and a lot of the guys I fish with have imperials and have nothing bad to say. Some of the other guys have islanders and love them as well. It's all personal preference.

 

[staffman]

I have owned both and any Kingpin is better than an Islander any day of the week.IMHO

 

[float^drifter]

I have owned both and any Kingpin is better than an Islander any day of the week.IMHO

+1 own both as well, islander is a sweet reel i still use it from time to time. but once u go kingpin u do not go back :grin: . If u have the money why not? if u are tight on budget and u still want a kicks as reel and it does its job well then get an islander. u can get them used for 250$

 

[RiverNinja]

Agree with both CJR and float^drifter

 

[piju]

:angry:

 

[Klamp]

I have both the sheffield and the kingpin. From a newbie perspective i dont notice much difference. However when it comes to rods, its night and day.
I ABSOLUTELY notice the difference between my 100 dollar stick and a 300+ dollar stick.

Would love to hear what the difference in reels is, whether it be technical or just nuance.

 

[despotiko]

I have both the sheffield and the kingpin. From a newbie perspective i dont notice much difference. However when it comes to rods, its night and day.
I ABSOLUTELY notice the difference between my 100 dollar stick and a 300+ dollar stick.

Would love to hear what the difference in reels is, whether it be technical or just nuance.

It is technical in some sense, higher priced reels have tighter tolerances as most of them are machined from one piece of aluminum (this isnt always a good thing imo), they also have better bearings. If i had to choose between a high end rod or a high end reel, i'd take the rod hands down. If it were a reel with a drag and multiple parts or bearings i could understand the huge price differences. I do love my kingpin though, but i could make do and catch equally as many fish without it.

Oh and it spins forever

 

[Klamp]

Oh and it spins forever

Lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQsbuSXTik&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[despotiko]

^^^^
ROFL

 

[FrankTheRabbit]

You really can't go with either. Both are really well made reels that will last a long time with very little upkeep required. The KP does carry a higher price tag, so babying the condition of the reel will become routine. Over at floatfishing.net, there are constant For Sale ads on either reels. Like what was mentioned above, the Islander will carry a used price of $250 (I've seen one for $150 before as well, but VERY seldom). The KP reels will vary in price, depending on the model ($300-$450). Regarding the spin-test, you can't really determine a reel's performance on that alone. Sure, it's nice to look at, but the true performance will show on the rivers. If you have the extra cash, purchase both of them and they will bring you many years of fishing pleasure.

 

[DEVIN]

Wow thanks to all of you!! I now have a lot of thinking to do..lol I think the kp is a sexy reel(cjr). But the islander can go through a beating. I do enjoy my Sheffield very much (thanks despotiko) I am in dire need of a rod.. I purchased one from basspro when I started river fishing and it's a 10' browning.. ( i can just imagine you guys shaking your heads at me..). How ever I will be in the market very shortly.. Maybe next pay cheque.

 

[DEVIN]

Instead of having to create a new topic. Aside from the islander and kingpin reel.. What is a good rod,(3 piece) also waders.. I do not want to break the bank. Like I said ^^ my rod is not great but my waders.. Those things are over 20 years old.. And now started leaking. Once again I thank you all everybody's ideas help myself and others.

 

[float^drifter]

13'6 3 pc raven rv9 very good factory rod. u can use it for chinny's and steelhead

 

[ChaseChrome]

Yup:


ff.net posts a good number of KPs for sale. KP warranty rep. Bill Shearer often posts discontinued reels at a good price (tell him Cornelius sent you).

Have to say that spin is a red herring IMO--sure, it's great to have your reel set up with ABEC 7s but the critical issue here is startup. You've seen for yourself the great video posted by Klamp...nuff said. Indeed it comes down to preference...mmmmmm...what aluminum spool on an axle am I going to buy....one at say $300 or maybe an AS at $1200. (I've said before "you have to earn--before taxes--$2400"!!!!!!) Most of the reel clickers SUCK...read my entry on FROGWATER (Robb has designed what is likely the BEST clicker for a float reel)--custom made Canadian reel.

Best clear your brain...I'm for nationalism...BUY CANADIAN!!! ISLANDER

Good advice here...a good rod.
Rainshadow, CTS, Loomis, RV9...for the money you can't go wrong with the RV9...

End of the day it is really how well you read the conditions and water...location, location, location....

Good luck
CC

 

[ChaseChrome]

LOL...Float beat my RV suggestion...and he's right

 

[RiverNinja]

It is technical in some sense, higher priced reels have tighter tolerances as most of them are machined from one piece of aluminum (this isnt always a good thing imo), they also have better bearings. If i had to choose between a high end rod or a high end reel, i'd take the rod hands down. If it were a reel with a drag and multiple parts or bearings i could understand the huge price differences. I do love my kingpin though, but i could make do and catch equally as many fish without it.

Oh and it spins forever

+1
In the end it really comes down to how well it was designed and machined. When I tested the KP Imperial for the first time, I was amazed how well it was designed, solely from an engineering standpoint. That is what ultimately got me to open up my wallet and invest in something that I will likely use for 20 years.. IMO, that is well worth the initial "sticker-shock" investment.

For comparison, I fished my G Loomis CP for over 15 years and recently sold it for a decent penny.. It was also designed very well, but it paled in comparison to the KP IMP.