Does anyone know who makes the reels that Academy has their
name on ? they feel good and the gear ratio on them seem to
be OK but I can't find out who makes them and would like to know,
I am considering buying one and have asked the people in the
department including the manger but no one seems to know, any info on
this would be appreciated

I am confused now...
I "thought," but might be wrong, that H20 reels were an Academy brand, and they might be, or are you talking about a reel at Academy Sports that actually says, "Academy" on the reel? Photo?

I believe they are Diawa's reels.

I know that Diawa makes Cabelas as he Diawa name is on it. The Academy reels I am wondering about are the,Maniac, H20 Maxim and the Mettle

The Mettle is a nice reel for the money. I know the other models are differentiated by gear ratio but their ratings were different. I read one guy ran his over with a truck after a year or 2 and took the pieces in the box with the receipt back to the store and got another one without question. That kind of speaks for itself. Many people here in the forums use them and they are workhorses that keep on cranking. Someone ripped one apart and found that all the components and build architecture rivaled the big boys expensive reels. See here: http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-forum/index.php?topic=85681.0 That being said, I bought one as my first baitcast to see if I liked fishing bc and it's been great. No regrets whatsoever or desire to get an expensive reel. I did snag a BPS pro qualifier for 50 bucks a few weeks ago during the sale and the fit and finish is tighter/smoother than the Mettle it hurts my hand more somehow palming it, you can't flip the release button back up from the underside like the mettle, and it doesn't carry the kind of warranty the mettle does. I was stuck because I wanted to try a 7.1:1 ratio and the mettle is just 6.3. You're definitely not going to get hurt with the mettle though. Can't speak for the manic and the maxim though. I'm personally skeptical that the build is the same as the mettle with only different gear ratio. Could be psychological....

Okay, now that's cleared up...
H20 Xpress has a number of reels...as of today, I have the Mettle MT2 and Maxim, and I bought my Dad the Motive, all within this past Autumn. They seem to be very good reels, and I researched H20 first before buying. I have yet to really put them to the test, aside from practicing my casting and hitting a nice creek by my house, and also Crowley Park. I'm of the opinion that the H20 reels are very nice and offered at working-man prices!

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H20 Xpress

Addendum: The Mettle and Mettle M2 are two different reels, but similar in concept.

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So how does the H2O XPRESS� Manic compare to the Abu Garcia Revo S?

I have all Veritas rods and I like the White/black (matches my boat).

I don't think anyone, so far, has mentioned that he's used the Manic.

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They are made by Shimano.

Each individual model is made by the lowest bidder. I'd guess most of them are made by smaller Chinese builders.

SOME Cabela's reels are made by Diawa, but not all of them.

One of the largest OEM reel builders is Tica. Most people have never heard of them but they even have their own line of reels.

I got the black model manic last month when it was on sale for 27. It's pretty nice. I'm not sure what the difference between the mettle m2 and it. They look the same, just the manic has less bearings but cost more. I think it also has a different spool tension button and the drag star clicks. It casts really well after I got it dialed in. I was lobbing weighted horny toads across a creek with it. After I got it dialed in with 3 brakes in a Y it would actually hit the bank so i had to take a few steps back to get it to hit the waters edge.