Good evening All. I have heard about the Okuma Azores and got one on my bench so let's look at this reel. For those who have not seen it in detail here is an opportinuty to see what it is about. Anglers look at different things to what we reel techies do, we look at build and quality, also with this comes reliability and value for money. This is a new reel this client bought and after the 3rd outing swimming he encountered an issue when rolling in. The owner fishers competitively so they wade when fishing as most will know. What I found was that water and silt had entered the reel from doing just this and was the cause of oscillation and gearing binding as a result. Why has this happened, this specific reel is not sealed to retard water ingress and sand also enters from the drag washer at the base of the spool and water where the bearings seat. The bottom carbon washer drag plate is held in place by a circlip not sealed like the higher end shimano, daiwa and penn reels which are to help aid against water and sand ingress when guys swim. I found some corrosion had started behind the planetary gear and on another 2 places also. The pictures taken on stripping will confirm this. The top 3 drag washers are made of felt, the housing, spool, frame and rotor are alloy, as are the gears also. The bearing sizes are decent, the roller bearing, pinion bearing and main gear bearings sit in graphite housings which will help against galvanic corrosion, main shaft diameter is also good. When you wade with any reel, only the best greases and oils will help prevent damage and prolong fishing before servicing is required. The handle shaft had developed some play where the pin connect the two parts, the older shimano ultegra type reels suffer the same fate here as the design is very similar. When you swim and dunk any reel irrespective of make , regular and correct cleaning and servicing is the only thing that will ensure 1 reliability and longigivity. Enjoy the pictures.
Okuma azure
- Thread starter old salt
- Start date
