Shimano Vanford reels

[BornToFish]

Greetings,

I stopped in a local sporting good store yesterday to have two spools filled for the upcoming ice fishing season. The shop was exceptionally quiet, so I took advantage of the time to chat with the store owner. He showed me a new reel from Shimano, called the Vanford. He handed me the only Vanford reel that he had at the moment. I was immediately favorably impressed with the extremely light weight of this 3000 series demonstration reel. The weight seemed comparable to earlier generation reels with a 1000 series frame. The Vanford was very smooth when operating the handle. The store owner said the Vanford series builds on the technology featured in the popular Stradic Ci4 series.

I suspect the reel will be priced in the neighborhood of $220 - certainly not inexpensive. I will wait to see the Vanford reel with a 1000 series frame before deciding on the reel. Nevertheless, I was favorably impressed by what I held in my hands!

Does anyone have experience with the Shimano Vanford reels? If so, what can you report?

Good fishing and tight lines!!

[Pickypickerel]

My Opinion is you cant beat the shimano sustain. Maybe the Stella can beat it but i refuse to pay $800 for a stella.

[andersaki]

I was at Cabela's in Rogers a few weeks ago. I've been thinking about a new jigging reel and wanted to look at the Vanfords if they had any yet. i spied a 2500 Vanford and picked it up. It felt very light and buttery smooth. Then I picked up a 2500 Shimano Ci4, it also felt light and smooth. Going from one to the other, I would say that the Vanford "felt" a little smoother and a tad lighter.

Looking at the specs, the Vanford is three tenths of an ounce lighter. Both are excellent reels, IMO and it's hard to believe that they could be improved on. of course, I said that about the Mitchell 301 that I bought in the early seventies and every new reel that I bought since.

Looking online, the best price I could find for the Vanford was $239 while the Ci4 was going for $199. Both could be had with free shipping. I would imagine that the Ci4's will go quickly. Either way, you can't go wrong.

Mark

[RJR]

Originally Posted by BornToFish

Greetings,

I stopped in a local sporting good store yesterday to have two spools filled for the upcoming ice fishing season. The shop was exceptionally quiet, so I took advantage of the time to chat with the store owner. He showed me a new reel from Shimano, called the Vanford. He handed me the only Vanford reel that he had at the moment. I was immediately favorably impressed with the extremely light weight of this 3000 series demonstration reel. The weight seemed comparable to earlier generation reels with a 1000 series frame. The Vanford was very smooth when operating the handle. The store owner said the Vanford series builds on the technology featured in the popular Stradic Ci4 series.

I suspect the reel will be priced in the neighborhood of $220 - certainly not inexpensive. I will wait to see the Vanford reel with a 1000 series frame before deciding on the reel. Nevertheless, I was favorably impressed by what I held in my hands!

Does anyone have experience with the Shimano Vanford reels? If so, what can you report?

Good fishing and tight lines!!

The Vanford looks phenomenal. I personally have not fished one yet, but I would say its likely the best reel you will see at that price. Essentially an updated version of the Ci4+. It has all of the same tech that the new Stradic FL has, plus the lighter rotor and lighter body. It's just a lighter overall package that is super refined, it has a ton of tech and parts that actually come down from the Sustain and Stella lines.


I don't know if Waxy has had a chance to use them yet (he is one of the Shimano guys on this site), but I'm sure he can give you a better explanation of the reel than I can! He is a great resource and awesome guy to deal with. He has helped me out a ton.


RJR

[Real1]

Originally Posted by BornToFish

Greetings,

I stopped in a local sporting good store yesterday to have two spools filled for the upcoming ice fishing season. The shop was exceptionally quiet, so I took advantage of the time to chat with the store owner. He showed me a new reel from Shimano, called the Vanford. He handed me the only Vanford reel that he had at the moment. I was immediately favorably impressed with the extremely light weight of this 3000 series demonstration reel. The weight seemed comparable to earlier generation reels with a 1000 series frame. The Vanford was very smooth when operating the handle. The store owner said the Vanford series builds on the technology featured in the popular Stradic Ci4 series.

I suspect the reel will be priced in the neighborhood of $220 - certainly not inexpensive. I will wait to see the Vanford reel with a 1000 series frame before deciding on the reel. Nevertheless, I was favorably impressed by what I held in my hands!

Does anyone have experience with the Shimano Vanford reels? If so, what can you report?

Good fishing and tight lines!!

There is a 2000 version of the Shimano Vanford that looks very interesting. It has the body of a series 1000 with a bigger spool. Really nice for walleye fishing.

[BornToFish]

Greetings,

Guys: Many sincere thanks for your thoughts about the Vanford reels. My local sporting goods store will likely receive some reels in January or so. I will check out the Vanford 1000 and 2000 series reels as I was clearly impressed by the 3000 series reel that I inspected a few days ago. I'm guessing that they will be in-stock for a while, and then when they are gone they will be gone for quite some time.

I'm thinking that I will likely pick up two when they are in-stock. My wife's standard response when I tell her that I am thinking about getting something for fishing is "might as well just get two right away".

Good fishing and tight lines!!

[clawman]

Originally Posted by Pickypickerel

My Opinion is you cant beat the shimano sustain. Maybe the Stella can beat it but i refuse to pay $800 for a stella.

NOT- I've fished the CI4's through several improvements over a number of years. Last year I sucked into the "its more expensive, it must be better" mentality and bought 2 Sustains. They are not as free spinning as the CI4 by a long shot.

I will buy some Vanfords when available, Shimano warehouse shelves are bare, so if you see a Shimano reel on a retailers shelf that you like buy it because it will be a while before there are more.

[Ozark Bob]

Many of the new reels are lighter and looser than the Sustain. I have had them for many years. Bulletproof and smooth. Freer is good, but rock solid and smooth is "my" better. I like the feel of many of the $200 reels out of the box. If my Sustain ever wears out. Bob

[andersaki]

Originally Posted by BornToFish

Greetings,

Guys: Many sincere thanks for your thoughts about the Vanford reels. My local sporting goods store will likely receive some reels in January or so. I will check out the Vanford 1000 and 2000 series reels as I was clearly impressed by the 3000 series reel that I inspected a few days ago. I'm guessing that they will be in-stock for a while, and then when they are gone they will be gone for quite some time.

I'm thinking that I will likely pick up two when they are in-stock. My wife's standard response when I tell her that I am thinking about getting something for fishing is "might as well just get two right away".

Good fishing and tight lines!!

If it makes a difference to you, the Vanford 1000 and 2000 have a max drag of 7 lb.'s, whereas the 2500 and 3000 have 20 lb.'s max drag.

Mark

[Waxy]

I've had my hands on a Vanford 2500 at the tackle store, and loved it, but I haven't been lucky enough to actually use one yet or to get my hands on any of the other sizes.

I'm very curious to see and feel the difference between the 1000 and 2000 sizes. I'll definitely be adding a couple of one or both of those sizes to my rigging/jigging rods for next year.

The new Vanford and Stradic FL are pretty amazing reels. The tech that's in the new Vanford reels was pioneered in the Stella only a few short years ago, and the build quality is getting close. I own a few Sustains, and they're awesome reels, but I'll be buying the Stradic/Vanford for my next reels. The improvements in design and gear technology make for a better spinning reel than the current Sustain IMHO, and when you factor in the cost/value, the choice is even easier. I'd guess the Sustain will be next for a refresh. If they make it in a 1000/2000 size this time, I'd consider it again, but for now, I'm all in on the Vanford.

As for lbs of drag, I know it likely is a factor for some, but I can honestly say I've never wanted or needed more drag force out of one of my 1000 size Shimano reels. I only use them on lighter finesse setups, so my drag is generally set pretty light. For walleye fishing and the occasional big pike, the drag on the Stradics has been flawless for me.

Waxy