I think we should try out each others reels or what intrest us all before we buy a a reel,would and can we make this work .this is how we do it .start out by saying,,,i wanna try ( reel) then anyone that has one and willing to let someone use it message them.

Or just use T.ackle Warehouse's Reel Demo program...

Yea, good luck with that....

TW has a something similar , sorta of...

I don't see that working out very well here on earth.

 

A-Jay

That will work great, right up until someone walks off with your $700 Stella.

Would you like to try out my Shimano Antares?

Id let someone local try my stuff out, but I wouldn't ship it anywhere.

I have to agree with A-Jay. I am fairly particular, OK really particular about my equipment. Some of it I have had for years, caught many fish on, have many memories attached to. My wife will occasionally pick up one of my rigs, I grit my teeth and tolerate it (she has her own gear and is picky, too) but anyone else, I don't think so. As far as sending one off somewhere out of my immediate sight? No thanks.

I'll go first, who wants to lend me there zonda ...

I have 2 hooligan you can borrow..i think maybe this idea is kinda 1940ish lol. Brainfart

Not likely to happen.

Mmmmmm.....................no thanks !!

 

Boat, truck and tackle are not lendable.

May as well ask me to attend your party and place my keys in the punch bowl! Ha!

Terrible idea. Just do what each and everyone of us does. Interested in a reel? Go put your hands on it in the store, and use your best judgement. You think it's a good fit for you, take a shot and spend the money, or call twh and demo a few reels. If you buy a decent reel with good reviews and you don't like it, you can easily get rid of it in the classifieds here or locally.

I have spend some time accumulating an arsenal of "borrower gear" so that I don't have to lend out any rods & reels from my starting line up.  The notion of lending out one of my "starters" gives me the willies and I wouldn't do it.

A nice idea if we could trust everyone on the internet, but that's unfortunately not the case. It's probably better for my bank account anyways. Trying a Stella or a zonda... I'm sure I'd try buying one of I got to fish with one

Anyone have an ito I can try? I'll send you my steez.

Not a cool idea at all.. No way in lending $150-200+ reels to anyone. LOL

Touch my reels and.....well, just don't touch my stuff.

Hootie

Lots of good answers and some had me smiling.    I'd let a friend try one of mine (and have) only if I knew he (she?) was use to handling a baitcast reel.  I did let a stranger try my 50th Anniversary Zillion while I was standing there using another outfit.  Told me he seldom used his because he'd make 3 or 4 good casts and then backlash it on the next cast.  After using my Zillion for a while he said he guessed he had bought the wrong reel.  He didn't backlash it once.

 

No thanks to sending anyone a reel of mine that isn't a respected mechanic-reel.  Did it once to an Online friend I had talked to several times over the phone for a half hour or more on each call.  Seemed like a real nice guy.   Gave me very helpful information via emails.   I wound up having to buy a replacement Gigas spool for my Type R reel.  He kept the original, and replaced it with one from a Zillion.  Too many crooks in the world except for you and me, and sometimes I have my doubts about you. 

I would let any of my family and close friends use anything I own, my generosity stops right there.  Shipping out of town there is a risk of rod breakage or a lost reel, replacement enters the equation.  Not only do we rely on the integrity of the other party to ship back but his/her integrity taking in responsibility if an equipment mishap were to take place.  

Don't think swapping gear with a stranger is a very good idea.

My fishing club regularly has an event called "Cast and Compare" It's set up mostly for fly fishermen but we work with a couple of fly shops and their suppliers who bring an assortment of fly rods, reels and fly line to the event for our members to, cast and compare. It gives guys who could not spend one or two thousand dollars on a fly rod a chance to see and feel what top end equipment feels like. Or it gives them the opportunity to try out a particular rod they've seen and are interested in buying. Members will also bring equipment for others to share.  

We do a similar event we call "float your boat" so guys can try out canoes and kayaks, some provided by a local dealer, some that belong to other members.

Yeah...no.