Penn Battle 2 Review – Spinning Fishing Reel Worth Depending?

The Penn Battle 2 can be considered as the next step up when it comes to the Penn series. The Battle 2 takes the best performance features of the Pursuit 2, and expands upon them to make them even better. This reel is going to cost you a little more than the Pursuit 2, but you are going to get what you are paying for.

This particular reel has added corrosion resistance, an upgraded ball bearing design, enhanced drag pressure control and washers to increase the drag along with all of the other great features that you love about Penn fishing reels.

Corrosion Resistance

One of the biggest setbacks that you see with a lot of reels is that they use high-quality materials, but they don’t use anything to protect it. What’s the point of getting a high-quality reel if it isn’t going to last for more than a year or two? That investment that you made can easily deteriorate from regular use and exposure to saltwater and the elements.

What we love about this particular reel is that it uses a similar coating as the pursuit, so that you can have the maximum amount of protection for your reel. The coating process takes the sturdy metal that makes up the body of this reel and reinforces it weather, water and damage resistant coat that will keep your reel in peak-performance shape for the longest time period possible.

Ball Bearings

Ball bearings are one of the most important factors in determining the overall performance of your reel. To give you a rule of thumb, the more ball bearings that you have the higher quality of the ball bearings that your reel uses, the smoother and easier it will be to use that reel. If you are using a reel with fewer bearings that are lower quality, using your reel can feel stiff and unnatural.

Thankfully, Penn designed the Battle with 2 with five ball bearings for the performance and enjoyment of your reel. What’s interesting is that the Battle 2 actually uses one less ball bearing than the previous model. Many fishing experts agree that when you start adding any more than five bearings to a reel, that it doesn’t make that much of a difference. These are premium, sealed ball bearings that are weather resistant and perfect for saltwater fishing.

Drag Pressure

As you already may know, drag and drag pressure are both incredibly important in terms of the kind of reel that you are using. With the Battle 2, Penn was able to achieve even better drag pressure in this model by using the same system as last season’s Penn Conflict Reel.

What they added to the Battle 2 is higher quality washers. This gives the reel the ability to achieve increased drag pressure when fishing.

The H-100 drag washers that were added to this reel significantly increased the amount of drag that this already powerful reel can produce. They are able to achieve that with this model by using the H-100 washers on either side of the spool. That simple addition to this reel results in a 20% increase of the max drag on this reel. You don’t always need the maximum amount of drag that your reel can produce for every situation when you are fishing. Though, the H-100 washers are a nice addition because they give you the option for more drag, which you didn’t have access to with previous models of this reel.

Anti Reverse System

The anti-reverse handle is similar to the handle that we just observed on the Pursuit 2, with some slight additions for a higher quality handle. What we really appreciate about this particular handle is that it isn’t just set for right or left handed fisherman. You can easily adjust this reel to be used for right or left-handed use.

The anti-reverse reel system is ideal for keeping your line sturdy and intact, while you are wrestling and reeling in your latest catch. The anti-reverse system that this reel uses keeps your fish from running away with your bait and the line and is perfect for saltwater fishing.

Line Capacity Rings

We are thrilled that Penn decided to keep this feature for both the Pursuit 2 and the Battle 2. Just in case you missed this in our review of the Pursuit 2, the Battle 2 uses the same line ring capacity indicator.

This reel has lines traced into the spool so that you always know how many lines that you have left. With many other reels, you have the ability to see your line around the reel, but it can often be difficult to tell how many lines you have left on your reel before you run out. This can lead to some minor disasters in fishing and ultimately losing your fish.

With this model, you can always get an accurate idea of how many lines you have left on your spool so that you can adjust your technique accordingly.

Things We Liked

• One of the first aspects of this reel that we appreciated was the anti-reverse reel system. It is ideal for fishing in general, especially in saltwater fishing scenarios.
• The updates that they made to this model’s drag system shows a significant improvement in performance of this reel. The H-100 washers make a huge difference when it comes to casting and reeling.
• The line capacity rings are always a nice touch on Penn reels. With indicators that always show you the amount of line that you have left, you will never have to guess what your remaining line supply is. This is particularly handy when reeling in a big catch.
• The five sealed ball bearings make for a smoother feel for this reel. The added bearings make it easier to use without having to get acquainted with the feel of it.
• With any saltwater reel, you have to have corrosion resistance. The Battle 2 has a corrosion resistant coating that will stand up to the elements, water and keep your reel in optimum condition for a long time.

Things We Didn’t Like

• This reel is pretty heavy, which can be tough to get used to
• The drag on this reel isn’t as impressive or different as you may think

FAQ’s: Some Questions and Answers

Question: What is the difference in the number of bearings between this model and the previous model?
Answer: This model actually uses one less bearing, but has better performance.

Question: Is this reel right handed?
Answer: This reel is also ambidextrous and can be adjusted for right or left-handed users.

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• Penn Pursuit 2 Review
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