I used to disagree with Ron on this. I could always come up with excuses on why others were comparable. I ended up buying a couple of reels through Delco/rahsco/powerwash.com and I could not be happier.
Here is what I noticed:
1. The guage of the metal seems to be heavier. We all know what that does, it just makes something a bit stronger.
2. The hub appears to be stainless steel. We all know that a reel will wear the paint off after a while. I have noticed that the hub appears to be shiny, and not rust, like stainless.
3. The bearings don't fail like other reels. Some of the other brands are nylon bushed, others use pillow blocks. The Hannay bearings are more of a unitized type bearing that doesn't come apart.
4. The structure of the reel stand is much more sturdy. They use little metal work tricks to make the reel stand stronger, like embossing the steel to make it more rigid.
5. They come standard with super swivels. They are without a doubt, in my mind, the best swivels. Others cost the same, or more, but they are nowhere near the quality.
These are just some of my off the cuff observations.