Stay with Shimano....
I have'ny use the spinners, but I won a Heavy Duty Okuma, kinda like the size of a Penn 309 Levelwind, It was gonnaq be my sons reel, then caught a 150+ Bull shark on it and still haven't been able to find new drag washers, haven't looked too hard either..

Okumas are pretty cheep, on all aspects, Just My own Opinion

 

Like T.R. said, they are very cheaply maid. I own the bigger offshore ones, and they fell apart after one season. Shimano is good stuff.

 

stick with the shimanos, i own two okumas and have been happy (one spinning one levelwind) with them but have been happier with my shimanos and penns. but then again i have never landed anything bigger then red and black drum at the jetties on them.

 

(knock on wood) I haven`t had any problems out of my okuma spinning reel. Cuaght up to a 30# king , still working good

 

I had a couple on my boat for clients to use. They didn't last very long and when I took them to my reel guy he said it was the cheapest reel he'd ever worked on. Couldn't believe the bearing tolerances were so loose. He recommended I don't get anymore. I won't. I'll stick with the Shimano's.

 

I have two Okuma Epixor 30 spinning reels. Fishing out of a yak they have been dunked more than once and have held up fine. For $40 a pice, I'll stay with the Okumas.

 

as with Capt John,,i have also had several of them for use by my clients,and at one time i was part of there preferred angler program.i got them at a discounted price from the manufacturer ,,and they still were a waist of money.
they may hold up to occasional use , but in my humble opinion , they are absolute junk, Shimano also makes some low end spinning reels that are not much better when it comes to use in salt water, but dollar for dollar my money is on the Shimano, they will outlast the Okuma three to one,

 

What size/models are you looking at? I have 2 Okuma Alumia's that work well.Aluminum frame , good drag, handle big fish well.A great reel for the money,
yes, a shimano is a great reel ,but will cost 30%-60% more for a similar size reel.

 

I have four okuma spinners. I have waded with two for two years now and with a good rinse and a touch of lube they work like new.


D.

 

Epixor

Epixor is the only Okuma to use if you're going to use a spinning reel. I've had mine for about 3 years and really no problem. The outside started to corrode and it gets "sticky" at times, but for $40, it was worth the money. Besides a little shot of WD40 fixes everything right??? If you are looking for a reel to use and abuse and not really worry about it, go with the Okuma. If you are looking for quality and you're good of taking care of stuff (which I'm not!!!), then go with the high end Penn and/or Shimano.

Roy

 

I went with the guide and he had Okumas for his clients. They worked well and without any problems. However, I wouldn't know how they withstand a season or two of fishing. If you would rather spend $100 bucks for a couple of reels over the course of a few years or just spend the $100 from the onset; I guess its just a personal preference.

Without mentioning names, I will say that the guide was using Shimanos while we were stuck using the Okumas...LOL!

 

I have had a couple of the Okumas, and they are OK for the money. I tend to toss out the bad ones rather than repair, since they are cheap...