I am looking for a new spinning reel under 100 dollars. I have a plfueger president and Iknow its an awesome reel but I was wondering if there were any other good ones. I was also wondering if anyone had any experience with the quantum energy ptic ? Thx

Pflueger makes a good reel, no doubt. I really like Shimano and the new Daiwa Lexa spinning reels (ebay for around $100) for their smoothness.

 

Shimano makes fantastic reels under $100, the Sahara, and Symetre are hard to beat.

 

Make sure you can get to a store and "feel" each reel. That'll tell you a lot about what YOU like.

I would look at the Pinnacle Producer XT or Performa XT.

 

The Performa XT got a great review on BR from J Francho:  Pinnacle Performa XT

 

Also Shimano and Daiwa as well as Pflueger all make great spinning reels in that price range.

I have been very pleased with the Abu Garcia Orra S20 I bought a couple months ago. My Shimano Sonora's and Sedona's have been trouble free with several years of use as well.

I would go with a Finor 200s is about $79 to $99, or a okuma exiptor around $59, You can get a cheaper okuma for $32.

I had to twist my frugal son's arm to get a finor. Now a decade later he loves it.

A saros would be an excellent choice but it's just out of your range.

I do have a bnib orra s20 for sale that would leave you with cash for tackle.

If your budget is really tight, consider an Abu Cardinal 101 Spinning reel. Great drag on these reels too. Have 2 of them filled with PP braid and am very pleased. 3rd. season with these reels. Very cost effective!

I am glad to see Crestliner and bigbill offering choices other than Shimano and Pflueger! 

I am looking for a new spinning reel under 100 dollars. I have a plfueger president and Iknow its an awesome reel but I was wondering if there were any other good ones. I was also wondering if anyone had any experience with the quantum energy ptic ? Thx

 

That Quantum is on sale as close out and I read some decent reviews on it. You can get them for around 100 bucks, I just picked up an Energy bait caster myself for that price. Or check out the new mitchell 300 pros they have a write up on tackletour. They go for 70 bucks and look sweet, supposed to perform sweet too.

I picked up 4 different models of Daiwa spinning reels of which only the SS1300 is still in production.  Two of the other 3 models were top-of-the-line (or nearly so) in their day.  I don't think I paid $100 for any of them.  All were used but one, and it was on sale.  New is nice.  Good price on a quality used reel in good shape is better. 

The Performa XT got a great review on BR from J Francho:

I have a friend who got an abu garcia cardinal S which is very cheap and put it on a black magic carrot stick which isn't as cheap. I thought that the inexpensive thing would break but after months the setup has held its ground and has brought many over 4lbs into the boat with ease. The setup is very well balanced and seems to have a way better value than what the price tag may suggest.

Abu Garcia Orra SX. I bought one because my buddy has one and told me to. I paid $100 I think and my buddy has caught over 15 fish that are double digits using it since spawn this year! That convinced me that it's a good reel for the price