kage69
Lifer
- Jul 17, 2003
- 27,880
- 38,172
- 136
I can relate, lol. A few decades ago, I bought a new G. Loomis rod and Shimano spinning reel. The reel felt so smooth, I just wanted to play with it. Took it out in a field and cast a sinker around at least a few times before I ever went fishing, hehe.
Yeah. Tight tolerances and Japanese ceramic bearings have gotten me a little hot n bothered before too, no judgment here.
My dad was a Captain, a fishing guide in Florida and also Maine. Companies, particularly LLBean, would regulary send him stuff all the time to try out.
'Use it for a few months, then keep it in exchange for a quick 1 paragraph review. Don't hold your punches.' Fishing gear and fishing clothing mostly. One company would send a button up shirt and maybe a hat. Then their next arrival would be a Penn International or similar. Always cracked us up. Still have several great reels that were complete freebies, couple Shimanos, couple Diawas. At least one has never seen salt water, I guess it's a trophy.