2 low end reels that aren't designed for saltwater didn't hold up when fished in saltwater? Go figure.

The president is a good performing freshwater reel, it isn't meant to be fished in saltwater.  The reel in the picture appears to be quite excessive.  I see lots of people using gear not designed for salt, true these reels become coffee grinders in time but this is not your sophisticated fisherman.  These are people going out there with a chicken rig looking to catch a few blue runners for dinner, can't tell ya how many of them have the tips missing from there rods too.

Your angler that is basically a cast and retrieve fisherman will be using reels made for the salt.  Even an inexpensive Penn Fierce should not deteriorate like the reel in the pictures with just minimal attention.  On average my salt reels are 150-$200, occasional corrosion is the nature of the beast, constant...........no!  A salt water reel does not have to be over babied.

2 low end reels that aren't designed for saltwater didn't hold up when fished in saltwater? Go figure.

Yeah but the material used and the coating on it is the same as the upper end models.  It might have gone thru the back door marked BPS but it came out of the same assembly line as the ones marked lew's or revo.  The only difference is the color of chromified paint on the bling bits and the number of bb's.  They paint it with titanium colored coloring and call it inshore and theres just not a real difference.

I do not know about revo...... but I know my two quantum accurists from the same year are very different. The pts has a beefier spool and drag and handle. It also had stainless bearings ( like the Boca reels) that appear to be incapsulated or shielded in some way. This is very deifferent from the accurist pt- which btw if you look back at advertising for the reel at the time, was ok'd by quantum for saltwater also. The regular pt has regular bearings and such that you find in most reels.

Ymmv

I do not know about revo...... but I know my two quantum accurists from the same year are very different. The pts has a beefier spool and drag and handle. It also had stainless bearings ( like the Boca reels) that appear to be incapsulated or shielded in some way. This is very deifferent from the accurist pt- which btw if you look back at advertising for the reel at the time, was ok'd by quantum for saltwater also. The regular pt has regular bearings and such that you find in most reels.

Ymmv

Yeah I've never really had a problem with Quantums inshore stuff except the finish seems to chip off even when using reel covers. Internally they have been tough for me.

^ agreed. Their finish is always the first to go. Buy mechanically mine keep on trucking.

It may be too early to tell, my new style Cabo shows no signs of any wear on the finish.  The reel is about 9 months old I use it 3-4 times a week, always in my hand and never placed down on the ground or used in boats.  That definitely helps in it's preservation. 

This is a 30-35 year old Calcutta CT100A, it has been in salt or brackish water since day one. I rinse it after every trip & break it down once or twice a year.