Of course daiwa or shimano won't be losing any sleep, they are highly established in the carp anglers market. But i don't get how so many users of the Penn' can be wrong in terms of their performance.

that handle is terrible its a stupid shape a simple t would have been better and a nice bit of wood would have made the reel something else Can't do links sorry but jrc shared it on fb earlier its called the affinity 2 custom carbon edition I think. someone once told me to put a small drop of gun oil regularly onto the line roller to help with this what u think I asked the same question when I got the mk2s for a mate from the shop I go.The rep would not go into too much detail about itSign of the times...Abu did the same but soon regretted it. The top end Penn reels are still US made. Been faultless, are a joy to use. In fact I'm thinking about getting two more to go on my River Rods

The drive gear looks to be made from titanium, the pinion gear made from brass, didn't go as far as taking out the oscillation gear, but it seems ok from what i could see. Worm shaft etc seems to be solid, bearings good quality. All in all they seem to be made to quite a high standard and hopefully longevity won't be an issue as this was the main thing on people's mind. Why do people bang on about Shimano and Daiwa as if they are the only manufacturers out there and all others are crap. You could also argue that as the likes of emblems, aerlex, baitrunner, etc have stood the test of time and cost pretty much half that of the penns; that penn themselves are overpricing these on the strength of aesthetics? I've been drawn into pointless arguments over these bloody reels before and the truth is I couldn't give a monkeys, my only intention was to point out that a reel can be found at little over half the price of the affinity so according to the 'they're all the same' argument means they should cost the same Designed for the angler who aspires towards incredible long range casting, this Affinity 8000 is a limited edition reel from Penn which can more than go the distance. This is one big pit that is perfect for any distance carp angler.and its by no means the worst handle ive seen, who on earth thought stainless or any metal would make a nice material for a handle is beyond me I messaged KP spares once as they usually cover the pure fishing stuff but they said they dont deal with reels....

Narrow, long spools will produce smaller coils that need less controlling that therefore leads to less friction. I wont rant about guide size or numbers in this post I've been watching the thread for a while, as I like the 'look' of these reels, although I have no personal experience of Penn reels. After sales service is second to none and Penn actually hold the record for the most reels sold for a particular model and the longest running model that remains unchanged. (The spinfisher, released in 1961 and still sold). Afterall you say yourself there's 'hardly any difference' between any reels. So why are they double the price of a reel renowned for longevity and faultless service?i cant wait to see those pics Jon ..............if it were me id put my faith in the shimano big blue I would say the 8000 penn would compare better to the 6000 tourny, imo the 7000 penn is a nice size general carp reel probably more comparable to a 5000 tourny size wise These are the cheapest reels I've brought ever and so far the best not sure how they will wear but time will tell.

A company renowned in the game fishing world for producing outstanding reels that can withstand the test of time, this is Penn’s first foray into the carp fishing arena. Penn has used all its game fishing experience to design this big pit distance casting machine. No matter what the magazines tell us (and some casters), big spools and 50mm guides are not the answer. Only thing I don't like about the affinity II's is the way the handle folds. Fine in the warmer months but it seizes up a bit in the winter.

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any chance of a couple of pics Fred, and of course a few of the boxes, if there is any literature that comes with them perhaps a couple of close ups of that too. Ive currently three aerlex gt 8000's of which two are goodish the third has been canabalised to keep the other two running when bushes and bearings have failed the two I still use have needed to be sprayed after the plastic started bubbling abroad.