You know what is Sad?

Living so long that a Ross Gunnison G1 reel I bought has been re-issued as a "Heritage" reel at twice, or more, than I paid many years ago.
I like it. But not twice as much!

Just started looking for another reel option and found, to my dismay, that the Ross Gunnison "Heritage" is cheap compared to the options.  Guess I will try and find a new spool and use my "Old" Gunnison G1.

See, that's how you know you're getting old, everything seems more expensive than it should be!

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I was wondering how it could be sad to live long enough to be the original owner of an antique fly reel?  If that's what has you feeling sad, you've lived a blessed life.   

Tinker - This post in mostly tongue in cheek.  Though I still find it hard to fathom why a 4 weight reel needs to be $250-$500.  It's not going to battle a blue-fin tuna! Not a whole lot of engineering goes into a reel and the large arbor ones don't have much material.  So why so expensive?

miknurb1,   

I don't know anything about the specific reel your talking about but I can tell you what I have personally found out. There are different ways reels are made. Some are cast and cost less, while others are milled from solid bar stock and cost more. I own some of both types. Either type will, for the most part, do the job for salmon, trout, steelhead. Blue water flyfishing will separate the two. I had one of the less expensive cast models litterally explode into pieces on the deck of a boat during the run of a large fish. It was quite the sight watching the spool dance around on the deck until the backing  broke. All that being said you might also take a good close look at the pieces they are made from, the materials use, and the fit and finish. You may see they are as much of a work of art as a fishing reel. Sometimes you do get what you pay for.

Ok my $0.02 rant not being over 50 but ........ let's just keep raising minimum wage so the un-ambitious Joe at that wage can have more money to pay for there basic necessities....... GREAT F#€KING IDEA...... except now the cost of a gallon of milk goes up along with everything else and who gets screwed when that happens those that are on a fixed income from retirement or injury.

   The cost of the same rod and reel is double now what it use to be because everyone involved with manufacturing to selling and between now pays over double what they use to. If you gotta pay someone more to make your product your going to charge more so you don't loose profit if your a business owner.

Tinker - This post in mostly tongue in cheek.  Though I still find it hard to fathom why a 4 weight reel needs to be $250-$500.  It's not going to battle a blue-fin tuna! Not a whole lot of engineering goes into a reel and the large arbor ones don't have much material.  So why so expensive?

And my tongue was firmly in my cheek, too, but we don't have an emoji for that.  I agree that no 4wt reel needs to cost that much.  I often look at my fly reels and wonder why I paid for the entire 5-pound block of ultra high tech aerospace aluminum, milled on computerized lathes and put together on assembly lines, if all I'm getting is 6 ounces of it.

And like you, I can find no rhyme or reason to it.

Oh, and Mojo, they tell me that the de-caffeinated stuff is just as tasty as regular.  Just saying...   

Mike,
Penn did the same thing with their Senator series.... which drove the prices of vintage ones steeply upward.

Pflueger , the company that got many young fly anglers started, went downhill after management and ownership changes... now, they're mostly considered bargain basement junk.

Oh, and Mojo, they tell me that the de-caffeinated stuff is just as tasty as regular.  Just saying...   

BUT WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT!!!!!

Ok my $0.02 rant not being over 50 but ........ let's just keep raising minimum wage so the un-ambitious Joe at that wage can have more money to pay for there basic necessities....... GREAT F#€KING IDEA...... except now the cost of a gallon of milk goes up along with everything else and who gets screwed when that happens those that are on a fixed income from retirement or injury.

   The cost of the same rod and reel is double now what it use to be because everyone involved with manufacturing to selling and between now pays over double what they use to. If you gotta pay someone more to make your product your going to charge more so you don't loose profit if your a business owner.

Shannon, let me assure you that you are fully prepared for (and mentally may already be) your fifties and beyond.

All that was missing was a "Get off my lawn!" at the end.

But yeah, the problem is that the buying power of minimum wage will always be the buying power. You could tack a zero on the end of everything and it would remain true, except during the time between the price raise and everyone else's COLA catches up, the buying power of the greater-than-minimum wage effectively goes down. So yeah.

SSSHH!  Don't encourage him!

Mojo, put the phone down and step away...

Well after all this, I bought a new Vosseler RC 2 L 4 weight yesterday.  Wasn't easy.  This is a German reel and they seemed to be available, on-line, only through Vosseler's website.  Tried to order it, but the Euro thing got in the way.  After several failed attempts, another search engine found the Angler Sport Group website.  Placed my order and now for the wait.  FYI, paid 190.99.  Still less that a Ross Gunnison G-1.  May be even a better made reel.  I own a Vosseler DC4 8 weight which is a beautiful reel and am hoping the RC 2 L is made as well. 

Ok my $0.02 rant not being over 50 but ........ let's just keep raising minimum wage so the un-ambitious Joe at that wage can have more money to pay for there basic necessities....... GREAT F#€KING IDEA...... except now the cost of a gallon of milk goes up along with everything else and who gets screwed when that happens those that are on a fixed income from retirement or injury.

   The cost of the same rod and reel is double now what it use to be because everyone involved with manufacturing to selling and between now pays over double what they use to. If you gotta pay someone more to make your product your going to charge more so you don't loose profit if your a business owner.

Shannon, let me assure you that you are fully prepared for (and mentally may already be) your fifties and beyond.

All that was missing was a "Get off my lawn!" at the end.

But yeah, the problem is that the buying power of minimum wage will always be the buying power. You could tack a zero on the end of everything and it would remain true, except during the time between the price raise and everyone else's COLA catches up, the buying power of the greater-than-minimum wage effectively goes down. So yeah.

So what did you do?  Did you break down and buy the new Gunnison?

Is it possible that the new spools fit the older frames?  I thought I read somewhere that they do, but darned if I can find it again.