ShyBass

Since no one's mentioned it, daiwa samurai j fluoro is great. Made the switch from abraz x and haven't looked back.

Thanks for this clarity. I own a couple pre-P2 lew's and a custom lite myself and this makes the difference clearer, although my pre-P2 lew's didn't come with the bushing. I do like my shimanos/daiwas better, but it's not like I dislike the lew's/doyos that I own. I just wish they came with another support bearing like the x ship shimanos. I appreciate you taking the time to entertain my thoughts. Perhaps. I just like to go down the rabbit hole sometimes. Also as @PhishLI said, contributing to the subject will only clarify questions for future users, which is one of the reasons I decided to start contributing instead of speculating.

I stand corrected; doyo pinions are dual supported in some manner, just not by two bearings sitting directly on the OD of the pinion. I am not contending that the spool shaft, which is itself fitted with a bearing, does not support the pinion. In that case, any reel with a long spool shaft and a spool bearing would have a pinion that is "dually supported by bearings." AFAIK, the general connotations of "dual supported pinion" and certainly "dual bearing-supported pinion" mean a pinion that is directly supported by two bearings on the pinion's OD, one on each side of the pinion. That's what shimano means regarding "dual pinion support," per their x ship technology, and that's the definition of that I've come accustomed to. Not merely one bearing support + the support from the long spool shaft. If you're counting reels with a long spool shaft and a spool shaft bearing as being reels with "dual supported pinions," then shimano pinions with x ship are triple-bearing supported (one handle sideplate bearing + one bearing where the bushing on the lew's exists + the long spool shaft/spool bearing support you talk of). I have taken apart my lew's custom lite right alongside my metanium and the lew's clearly lacks the second, OD pinion support bearing that is known as "x ship" on shimano reels. Instead of using a bearing in that location, doyo uses a bushing. Whether doyos are dual supported by a particular standard (if counting the spool shaft bearing as a second bearing support), a "dual bearing supported pinion" connotes a pinion that is supported by two bearings that sit directly on the OD of the pinion, one on each side of the pinion. Doyos clearly lack that second pinion-support bearing.

Correct me if I'm wrong. But I think you are misconstruing the second spool bearing as a second pinion bearing. I don't see how the second bearing is "shared" with the pinion because spool bearings do not contact the pinion and only help with free spool. Shimano's x ship technology actually does support the the pinion on both sides, with one bearing on each side. With lew's P2 pinion, the support bushing sits in the same exact location that the second bearing on shimano's x ship sits. Thus, lew's pinions are double supported, but by one bearing and one bushing, not two bearings.

Looks cool, but I'll be interested in a Lew's flagship when they finally add a bottom pinion support bearing in their reels, as shimano and daiwa have done for 10+ years to make retrieve smoother under load. Even Lew's new $499 flagship still comes with a bushing, not a bearing, for a second pinion support. And for those reasons, I'm out. ?

I don't personally own one, but my buddy uses his for smaller swimbaits. S waver 168s, gantarel jr., etc. It seemed to have a soft tip from what I can remember.

Is this something you have experienced while using the new svs brakes? When I use both my bantams and metaniums, sometimes using 3 brake blocks will actually give me more casting distance than when making micro adjustments on the 2 or 4 block settings. With no noticeable difference in the consistency or temperament of the braking if dialed in correctly. Doing that on my old citica makes it erratic, but I haven’t seen the same negative impact on the new svs brakes.

Gears don't engage on a free spool so it sounds like a problem with bearings, specifically the spool bearings. Oil the problematic bearings if you can locate which bearings are the problem. If not, you can always send the reel to a tech. But it would be much quicker if you ordered new bearings and installed them yourself if you can diagnose the problem on your own.

I use 20lb CXX for 1-4oz baits and 25lb for anything above that. Can probably get away with 20lb on the heavier stuff too but I make bomb casts and it gives me extra reassurance. I'll also use 68lb braid for soft baits.

I prefer to have an even number of internal brakes activated as well. That being said, I have yet to see any "imbalance" or inconsistencies when using 1 or 3 brakes, and I do it quite often. One shouldn't have any problems running any combination of internal/external brakes.

You shouldn't need to. I own two JDM models and haven't had any problems thus far. I set them both to 2 or 3 on the internal brakes and 4-6 on the external dial. It can be temperamental/sensitive, but I wouldn't say the metanium requires more thumbing than any other shimano I've owned once dialed in. Whether bombing or making short pitches.

Go on eBay and find yourself a used reel for a good price. Shimano 18 bantam mgl's can be had for $150 right now which is a steal. You can also find 16 metanium mgl's in pretty good condition for cheaper than that. If you want something brand new, both the shimano scorpion mgl (basically a curado 200k with an mgl spool) and daiwa tatula sv103 are great options. Both are $170-175 brand new from digitaka.

I own two 18 bantams and two 20 metaniums. I normally have two or three of the internal brakes turned on and sit around 4-6 on the external dial whether I'm pitching or bomb casting.

Shimano and Daiwa are my go to but I also own lews, okuma, and 13 fishing

I’ve been looking at Power Tackle rods on and off for a while now, but haven’t pulled the trigger on one as I’ve found little information about them. Does anyone out there have experience with these rods? And feedback would be greatly appreciated.