I've always lived and died by the Tibor, so I'm going to have to throw that vote out there. The Everglades is heavy, but it's a tank, which I love. The Back Country isn't a bad choice either, especially if you're trying to build a "light" 8 weight. Abel is never a bad choice either, and I like the non-ported too. I don't mind heavier fly reels. Both company's reputations are pretty much flawless.
Old Florida seems to have come a long way. They've been blacklisted at the SWE for years after a bunch of original reels' anodizing failed and turned purple just weeks after customers bought them and in one case it took the company literally a year to replace a customer's reel. The company has changed hands since then but that experience left a scar and remains the benchmark of bad customer service by a fly reel company.
Judging by the overwhelming response in this thread though it might be time to give them another shot. |