[bryson]

Yep, that's the reel. I found a good deal on a Sage 586 DS (5/6wt), so I wanted a reel to go with it. I looked at the local Craigslist, and a guy was selling a near-new Alutecnos for a bargain as well. I recognized the name from offshore stuff and couldn't find anything bad on their fly reels, so I rolled the dice and picked it up.

The reel feels heavy, but well built. Drag adjustment is confident, and the reel spins nicely. Turning the spool against the drag by hand is a bit interesting -- the "clicks" take slightly more effort than I would expect, even with the drag completely backed off. This might not be noticeable when fishing, though. Also, I've only handled a few different types of reels, so this might not be anything to worry about. It also might feel different if I change from the cork drag to the carbon drag.

 

[bryson]

Wow, that is a blatant Tibor knock off.

Possibly, but Alutecnos definitely isn't known as a "knock-off" company. They have a very good reputation for their offshore reels -- just had no idea they made fly reels.

 

[bryson]

According to the website, they are located in Monselice. I'm not sure if that's where the actual manufacturing is done, though.

I talked to a local shop that sold them for a few years (didn't do well with the fly reels, I think they were too heavy at that price point), and they said that the factory that does the machining is the same factory that does the machine work for Ferrari. Not that it really means a whole lot in terms of quality, but it's a cool tidbit.

I would definitely be interested to learn more about the design. They use an anti-reverse bearing rather than dogs like Tibor. I don't know if that will help or hurt (or have any effect at all on) reliability, but it is pretty cool how there is no play at all when starting to turning the reel backwards. It's also kind of cool that to change the retrieve side, you just flip the drag over.