Penn Squall Lever Drag 2-Speed Reels Review

Fishing Critic Score

Popularity: 2340
MSRP:
$279.95
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Brand Penn
Category Reels

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Penn Squall Lever Drag 2-Speed Reels Reviews

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Failed after 1 year

Jon
4 years ago

Looks like a good reel when new but the Handle arm is made out of some cheap pot metal that reacts with salt water. 1 year old and washed religiously after each use and the handle Arm has almost disintegrated. It appears to be able to penetrate at the joint where it meets the handle, i can see my other newer squalls starting to do it

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0 Comments Write a Comment

Impressive reel!

DJ A.
4 years ago

I fish with squall 16vsw and 30vsw for my trolling spread out of Ponce Inlet,Fl. These are great reels! No torqueing issues whatsoever! I have 6 16vsw and 2 30vsw. They have never ever failed me. There is nothing out there that I'd be worried about hooking up with offshore with these great reels. Same internals as the famed penn internationals. Buy with the confidence knowing you read more are buying a reel that is going to last many years.
Fish on!

Rock Solid

Christian
4 years ago

For the money, you can't beat the squall 50w if you're in the market for a 50w. It has handled everything I've thrown at it with ease, including a hoss of a tiger shark and several big wahoo

Solid reel

Jon
4 years ago

Purchased two of the 30s for offshore trolling. Paired with Penn's ally rod, 50-100 lb class. Clicker is very loud and reel seems smooth out of the box.

Packs a Punch

Tom
4 years ago

Been using these primarily for mahi and light mid shore trolling and they've been great so far!

Worth every penny

Marc
4 years ago

Love this real, put it on a 130 class rod loaded up with 1500 of 80 pp and I top shot of 100. Caught a 350ish lbs Goliath on it and didn’t let me down at all even at full drag

Tough and lasts

John
4 years ago

Bought about five years ago and have caught many smoker kings on it. Drag is smooth and real still works great as it did the day I bought it. Largest fish was 65lbs. No Problem.

Nicely priced for 30's and 50's

William
5 years ago

but i don't trust the graphite frames or especially the reel foot. Have heard that they break off often, and are one of the most structurally weak points on Graphite frames. The other bad thing i have heard is that they do flex when fighting big fish, which can throw gears out of alignment and cause damage to them pretty quick if there cheaply made. At least they went with stainless read more gears on these instead of cheapo chinese alloys

Well built, solid reel. Excellent!

DJ A.
5 years ago

I fish eight of the 30vsw in my trolling spread. I've never ever had an issue with the graphite stretching. There is simply not enough drag available ( there is plenty of drag for fishing!) to effect the graphite that is rumored to occur. The low gear is amazing and I think would crank in a tank! Spooled with 80lb spider wire braid. From wahoo to grouper, nothing stands a chance read more once I'm hooked up. These reels do the work of reels priced twice as much. Thank you Penn!

Great reel

Zach
5 years ago

I've had this reel for a couple years now and love it!

Not the biggest fan of graphite reels

Allan
6 years ago

You probably won't be able to see it, but graphite reels do flex, and every time it does it throws the gears out of alignment slightly, causing them to wear faster. A graphite reel will break before a machined aluminum one will for sure. I know graphite is extremely strong, but not in this case because graphite flexes just like in poles. Aluminum reels and even graphite fishing read more reels and rods generally last a while, but i would put my money on them. Having cousins with graphite reels complaining how when the caught a fish big enough, that the reel seized because of gears being out of place and eventually needed new internals quite fast.. This all being out of a few years use, but Nonetheless, much earlier problems than with an aluminum reel.

Massive

Santiago
7 years ago

My fishing buddies and I gave this reel the nickname "Lucille" Its a big massive beast thats ready to take on anything. It also looks so beautiful on the back of the boat.

Great product

Devin
8 years ago

One of the best reels I have ever used. I would prefer a little bit more drag but over its a good reel.

Great deal

Matt
8 years ago

Haven't used it yet but it's a great reel for the price

Penn Squall Lever Drag 2-Speed Reels Questions and Answers

Ask a Question

Asked by Jake 5 years ago

How much 80lb braid does the 16 hold?

Bernie De Graaf 5 years ago

That will hold roughly 720 yards of 80#

Asked by Tom 5 years ago

How would this reel do for Pacific Halibut off the northern California coast. We have caught halibut from 30-70 pounds. Wondering if this is too much reel or just right. What rod would it pair best with. I also sometimes fish for tuna out of San Di

Bernie 5 years ago

The squall 30 or 50 would handle the pound class Halibut as well as albacore off the north coast.

Asked by Justin s 2 years ago

I just got a squall 50vsw and I'm looking for a surf rod to pair with it. Looking for a 5.5 to 6ft heavy rod preferably with eyelets instead of rollers. Any suggestions? 

Brendan - TackleDirect Customer Service 2 years ago

<span>Hi Justin, For your fishing application I would recommend the TackleDirect TDSSUT601HSB Silver Hook Series Conventional Stand Up Rod. </span><a>https://www.tackledirect.com/tackledirect-tdssut601hsb-custom-saltwater-conventional-rod.html</a><span> T

Asked by roy mcchristian 2 years ago

is this a good choise for a eat my tavkle 60-80 lb blue marlin 

Brendan - TackleDirect Customer Service 2 years ago

<span>Hi Roy, You can definitely use a Penn Squall Lever Drag 2-Speed Reel for 60-80lb Blue Marlin. I would recommend the Penn SQL50VSW Squall Lever Drag 2-Speed Reel for trolling lures. https://www.tackledirect.com/penn-sql50vsw-squall-lever-drag-2-speed

Asked by Chris M 4 years ago

I have a SQL30VSW reel.  Is there a downside if I put it on a <span style="white-space: normal; caret-color: rgb(30, 29, 25); color: rgb(30, 29, 25); font-family: "Open Sans", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">ALLBW50100C60RS rod?</span>

Sydney 4 years ago

Absolutely not. That rod is super versatile and will make a great fit for the rod. 

Asked by Dave 6 years ago

Could you please recommend a rod for the 30VSW? Thank you.

John 6 years ago

Penn ALLBW3080C60RS

Asked by Robert Robinson 9 years ago

Hello, I am considering the squall 2 Speed 50vsw for land based shark fishing in Galveston TX. I would like to grab one of these reels and spool it with approximately 500 yds of 100lb braid and top-shot with 50-80lb mono. I'm targeting sharks within the

David 9 years ago

The reel should be able to handle that, but as you know high drag settings like that will put wear on any reel. The reel should be fine to handle the sharks, but I doubt that it would last forever. Until you get something like a VSW, I think that this wou

Asked by francois 9 years ago

left handed is available?

Customer Service 9 years ago

Penn does not offer this reel in a left handed model.

Asked by Pete B 9 years ago

What does the W stand for in the model numbers?

Customer Service 9 years ago

The "W" Stand for wide. While these reels are not offered in a narrow version they add the "W" to show that they are the same body size as a Penn International series 30VSW and 50VSW.