Last year my season was cut short because two of the reels I was using had their buttons break off. (I know cheap Shakespeare synsteel 10's) This past January I picked up a Zebco 33 Gold to replace one of the synsteels.
This weekend I went out to fish the new rig and the brand new reel was hung up! Nearly took a pair of treble hooks to the face when the lure swung back at me.
I pulled the front cover off to discover that the line had worked its way between the frame and reel body and another loop was wrapped up in the spool release mechanism.
I unjammed as much line a could from the reel and put it to work casting. After less then 20 casts it jammed up on me again.
I took it home to see if I could fix it but it was beyond my skills to repair.
Fortunately, I kept the receipt and took it back to Dick's in Natick where they kindly replaced it with another Zebco 33 Gold. I usually don't bother getting the store warranty on items of this nature but this time I did, spent $3.99. I just hope the new one is better the one its replacing.
While I was at Dick's I also picked up a Eagle Claw water eagle spinning combo for $9.98 on sale. It's a 6'6" rod with a front drag spinning reel.
After spooling some new line onto the reel it seems like it will be a comfortable rig to fish. Now if I can find some time I might just get out there and actually catch something.