Quantum Smoke S3 Inshore - Mine has a flaw - anyone else?

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fishing_tx
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Quantum Smoke S3 Inshore - Mine has a flaw - anyone else?

Post by fishing_tx » Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:23 pm

So, I have a Quantum Smoke S3 Inshore 40 (SSM40XPT), and it is a big upgrade from the prior Smoke Inshore spinners. First, the aluminum drive and oscillation gear finally put this into the category of actually being a saltwater reel vs. a freshwater reel. I took it apart and am happy with most everything (amazed at the amount of grease for a factory reel). The body being one-piece for holding the drivetrain is really cool, but then the gotcha.

There's only one piece to remove to get to the gear-train, the rear cap, and it's keyed to the body so there's really no way to install it incorrectly. I noticed first that there is absolutely no seal around this piece so I decided to grease the interface with the body to provide a greater level of splash protection.

Well, when I installed the rear cap, it left an OPEN GAP ON THE MAIN BODY OF THE REEL! Damn.

As this reel will be mostly used on a boat, I was able to push grease into that area to close the gap and expect no problem, but will I run this on my kayak? Not likely. Will I surf fish with this anymore? Not likely. That's a shame.

I ran this reel in the surf for several hours (chest deep, but taking care not to dunk the reel) and did not have any problems, so maybe they greased that gap at the factory, but I did not see it. The gap exists in the area forward of the handle between the body and the rear cap. If anyone else sees this, I'd love to hear about it. Just hold your reel up to a bright light and look through it from the side to see if you see the same.
Transducers are great for finding fish; when torn off the transom, it's shallow enough.

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