teton or tioga

[jo53mo]

What is a better reel Teton or Tioga?
Joe

[Ryder]

What is a better reel Teton or Tioga?
Joe
Hi:

I'm so new at this I've never even flew a fly and I'm giving advice!
Anyway, about 15 threads down you will see a thread on Teton reels.

Re "Better": guess that always depends on purpose, use, and financial condition.

The Teton is the top of line but the Tioga is very close but much less cash. (See thread below)

But apparently the company is in Chapter 11 so take that into consideration when you "reorganize" your tackle! Might be hard to service in the future.

Cheers
Craig Ryder

[mansfieldsign]

Hi guys,
My opinion only. I think that folks are getting too hung up on the Ch. 11 thing. Restructuring, after an economic decline ...no problem. Things change, this could make the company stronger, yes even in the design/product end. If the product is as good as I read here all the time, (New, new, new 9w ticr/tioga 10 for me) the product is going to be around or maybe the product line bought out and continued. Always maintain your equipment the best you ca. Parts will be around for along time. I think we'll be fine. :cool:
Now, go out and have some fun, that's why we're doing this, right ?

[masssalt]

The biggest difference is tha the Tetons are type III hardcoat anodized, which is the best coated anodizing available for salt water applications. This is the exact same process that is used on the thousand dollar reels, and my own experience is that the Teton is a first class reel and a good value.

The chapter 11 thing is merely a financial reorganizing and it would not prevent me from buying more Teton reels.

[Frisbie]

I just got off the phone with the guys over at teton. The chapter 11 thing...no worries (just nasty rumors). I just placed an order with them and they even gave me some parts for a older reel I have free of charge.

I hope this clears-up a lot of confusion...

[MatMet]

i have a tioga 10 La on order to match up on a g.loomis gl3 fr1178. talked to many people bout it. seems that noone is worried but the uninformed. I hope this true.

[Ryder]

...... seems that noone is worried but the uninformed. I hope this true.

Hi all:

hehe, seems I have been called uninformed. Not the first time!

As I said above, I know zilch about fly fishing, and appreciate this site and forum. I've spent a few hours with the search option and it is a real resource.

Thanks Again!

Chapter 11, on the other hand, I dealt with professionally for a number of years and am a little more familiar with. It is not a matter to be taken lightly. Little can be said if you are not REALLY familiar with the specific facts of the situation. The owners, unfortunately, are often the last to really know because they are often in a state of denial. If you make a call to them they are not likely to tell you the ugly story.

None of the above is aimed at the Teton folks. I simply can't know. (In fact, I think I am going to buy one of their reels) But it is most likely that others here do not know either. I've seen many good folks lose control of their business this way. The pattern is often similar. They are always really good people who love what they do, and are better at what they do (fishing, baking, audio, etc) than they are at the cold reality of business. They put too much into it because they love it, and more into it than they can possibly get out of it. This catches up to them. The answer is that often, the bean counters take control (instead of those who love fishing, bread, audio-music), and start "trimming" costs and with it the quality of the product changes.
The searches I have made suggest that their reels offered a big bang for the buck. Perhaps it was more bang than they could really afford to deliver? Perhaps their quality will go down or the prices up to make a profit (which they obviously need to do). In any event, it is likely that
the decisions re production will be made by bussiness folks instead of fishing folks. This usually makes a difference. On the other hand, maybe they had a single product that lost them tons of money, and they just need to dump it.

Cheers
Craig Ryder

[widdoes]

I've been fishing a Tioga 8, regular arbor, for bonefish, stripers and steelhead for 3 years with not a problem. My only advice for this reel is that it holds A LOT more backing than suggested. If you only put the recomended amount on, you'll have about 3/4 of an inch gap to your frame, which, when trying to recover line on a bonefish running at you, is a disadvantage.
Still, if you take care of them (ie. rinse well) I think the Tioga is a very good "buy".
-WJ

[bbanking]

What is a better reel Teton or Tioga?
Joe
The Teton is a J Ryall with a different name plate. They are not good Saltwater reels due to their design. I own a J Ryall Jr. and love it for fresh water but would not use a Teton, Tioga or Ryall for Saltwater.

[mdrew9]

Teton is a great reel for the salt, Tioga is much less expensive many, I know alot of guys who own more than one of these reels. I think Ray has a few of them, he is the one that recommended I get one, and I have been hooked ever since. Picked up a Teton 9-11 which retails $240 for ~$130 from MikeScottsFlyShop.
Mike

[Ray]

The Teton is a J Ryall with a different name plate. They are not good Saltwater reels due to their design. I own a J Ryall Jr. and love it for fresh water but would not use a Teton, Tioga or Ryall for Saltwater.

I have to strongly disagree with the statement about not using Teton or Tioga in saltwater. I have been using Tioga reels in saltwater for nearly 6 years without any problems what so ever. Like any piece of tackle, clean in when done and it will last a long time. I have been using the same #8 & #10 reel frames (and many various spools) for all of those 6 years averaging about 70 days per year. This time was spend wading and kayaking where the reel had extreme SW exposure.

Ray

[ikan besar]

After seeing Teton and Tioga reels that a guide friend in Placencia, Belize, uses, I would also disagree about their lack of suitability for saltwater: they seem to be holding up just fine after years of use (maybe even abuse).

As has been stated above, ALL reels need to be thoroughly rinsed after EVERY outing in saltwater, and the Teton/Tioga reels are no different.

I don't own any of them, but would not hesitate to use them based on what I have seen them endure and conditions I have seen them thrive under.