First Van Stall and I'm not disappointed. Perfect for my uses. I pair it up with with a 10'6 St croix. Balance is great. Could see it being good on a 9' as well.

I'm buying a vr175 gen 1 to get a free spool but tackle direct send me a vr175 gen2 with gen 1 spool witch is not fit I don't want to return it but I'm stuck with a useless spool

Excellent reel

This thing is beautiful

Very nice looking reel, smooth, well build, got it on sell with extra spool

A very well made reel, I appreciate the solid feel and strong gearing. I look forward to many years of service.

The dream was fulfilled when I saw the TackleDirect sale. Headed to FL to try her on some Tarpon.

Nice and smooth. Everything you would expect from Van Staal.

I was skeptical when I got this reel because of all the hype, boy was I wrong. It's my go to reel for everything now, I use it for lakes, ponds, surf fishing and deep sea fishing. While it may not be as smooth as a Shimano or Diawa, I haven't screwed it up by dropping it in the surf or getting dunked in the waves while standing in the surf fishing. I have destroyed the others doing that. It just happens when you fish. I'm not willing to try that with a Stella or Saltiga for twice the price. Still feels brand new 4 years later, no failures.

It's a fantastic reel.

I own a VR50 and VR200. Both were excellent out of the box. Extremely light and smooth, both the drag as well as when cranking. Within a month though, the handle had torn off the VR50. Within 4 months, the line roller broke, the main gear failed due to a shimming issue and saltwater had gotten into the VR200. The good news is that VS quickly addressed all issues. The bad news is that these reels don’t yet perform long term as marketed in the surf. VS has improved the seals on the VR200 but now those reels are noticeably harder to crank out of the box. I hope they continue to improve the execution on this particular line.

This is a great reel. It’s very dependable when ur pulling in a trophy fish. Drag system is great and a very smooth reel.

Matched this up with a 9 foot ODM bay rod, great combo for all the scoolie bass we had this past fall!

Absolutely waterproof . quality is top notch, Bailess conversion makes it even better

Was originally hesitant to buy a VR after some feedback on early models and problems seen with friends. However as of this review it appears Van Staal has made quite a few changes and improvements. The Reel is smooth out of box especially for a sealed reel, feels substantial in the hand without being heavy and looks great.