the torium would most likely cast further they would crank the same the penn you can change the gears to i think 4-1 for bait im not shur but the penn i think has bigger drags but if you want a good caster go with a newell if you want a power reel the saltiga or 545gs with lower gears high performance trinidad or accurate. good casting lever drag for 20 go with avet mx or jx. if you want to stay basic a sealine or jigmaster would work.if you want a good all around american made reel go with a 545 this is all my opinion on different reels and it is not bad talking any reels it is saying some reels are for one kind of fishing and others are for a differnt kind of fishing and some are to catch somones eye