I had already decided on the Dogfight but I wanted a smaller reel, and the sealing on the Van Stall VR was the reason I was going in for it. I have one of the older US made Van Stalls that is still in the box and never used. But I really liked the VR, I was doing my purchase on line, because the site said made in US, but I wrote to the vendor and he confirmed it was made in China, so I backed off. I have the 4500 Saltiga and the Daiwa Freams, one Japan and one Thailand that I use very frequently now. I have only one Chinese made reel its a very small Daiwa that I had bought for my son to learn on, I threw the rest out because they all gave me constant trouble and vowed never a Chinese made reel again, thought the Van Stall still tempts me like the devil whispering into my ear...

pssst may be it is good, buy it and test it out yourself...
I was watching several reel reviews on different channels and what for me was shocking is, now, a Good reel and all of these good reels were Chinese made reels, are expected to last 3 - 4 years!! This is what we have come to expect from our reels, it is like buying a smart phone or laptop...A good reel according to me is supposed to last a lifetime. That is why I would invest in a non Chinese made reel even if I have to pay 3 - 4 times more. Us anglers are the only ones to blame for killing the reel industry in other quality reel manufacturing countries, because like fish, we fell for flash and bought cheap Chinese stuff. Now a Good Chinese reel costs like $200 - 250, the damn Chinese Van Stall costs $450 - 500, you will spend $100 to overhaul it. We are all being screwed here and we just do not see it...we truly have become a disposable culture...so sad.
To put things into perspective the Freams reels I bought them perhaps 12 years ago. I paid $50 for the Thai reel it was smaller, and $150 for the Japanese reel. Taking Inflation into account a Chinese made reel like say the BG costs the same or is even more expensive now, have we not screwed our selves or what? The Japanese reel, on the first day I took it fishing it was late night, I was fixing my rod and kept it on top of an SUV rear end, my friend did not see it and swiped over it the reel flew off and fell on the bail arm (air bail), I bent slightly, I fixed it with plier and by hand and used it and have been doing so ever since, I have caught perhaps a load of good fish with it since and it have never been overhauled and is completely reliable. The smaller freams also works fine, one of the kids has dropped it into salt water but other than the wind gone slightly grainy it works just fine and I have caught a lot of fish with it, perhaps more than the larger one, but smaller in size.
Yes looking forward to the Tarpon trip, will post pictures if we get anything noteworthy...my brother was talking about going to a place called Tarpon gully..