jejenkyns

Heh, he probably purchased it on Dec 31, just didn't post right away.

Damnnnnn. Niiiice

How does this reel hold up to Shimano's newer offerings in your opinion? There is one for sale locally atm.

Still worth it next to their newer offerings? One has come up for sale locally. I'm considering.

safe to say they are equal in your eyes?

I'm not specifically asking about Stella or Exist per say, just the drag tech in generally that is shared between reels. Personally I can't say I've had any issues with the Cross Carbon drag, it just behaves differently than what I've had in the past. I don't have enough time or fish catches on the reel to make any judgements. I'm just curious about what people's experiences are. especially people with no skin in the game.

I recently watched a video by a certain tackle retailer on youtube comparing the Exist to the Stella. They mentioned in this video that the latest Cross Carbon drag system in Stella behaves strangely, whereby the drag never seems to behave in practice the same way that it feels when you just pull line. I've been having that experience with my Vanford. It's a bit confusing. I haven't spent enough time with the real to know if this is something I'll just get used to over time. What has been your experience? What is your experience with Daiwa's ATD? I'm considering another spinning reel at the moment and would appreciate some feedback. Thanks

I did not know that. I thought it was the new cross carbon. Is this true of all the smaller JDM models that read 4kg of drag? So Stella,, Vanquish, Twin Power?

I have a Vanford 2500S on mine it's a 175 grams I think, maybe 6.3oz? It doesn't feel super balanced but it is manageable. If the MGL rotor thing is important to you then it will be fine, you could even look into stepping it up a size. On the other hand if the MGL thing isn't important then get the Stradic and be done with it. 😃 Or be like me and struggle to make a decision LOL I can't decide. I'm going bowling today with my family, if I beat my 8 year old son fair and square I will buy the Vanquish, if he beats me I will buy the TP. If my 6 year old daughter wins I will buy the Stella. No mercy.

Thanks for your detailed reply. I'm not worried about putting a heavy reel on there, but I'm weary about the weight of the rotor and thus the added inertia.. I like the feel of my Vanford quite a bit, namely that the rotor doesn't want to keep moving once I stop reeling. To that end I guess I'm looking for a reel with low startup/stopping inertia, yet a higher overall weight to help balance the rod. The Sustain looks to fit the bill but I don't want or needs some 20lbs of drag, an old fashioned felt washer would be perfect! I've felt a Stella in store, and beyond it's aesthetics and rigidity I wasn't blown away by it in terms of it's smoothness or rotor inertia (or it's price) but it may be the perfect reel in that it has pretty good weight, pretty good rotor inertia and pretty good drag specs for my purposes. It seems to, at least, split the difference on all my requirements. My concern with the Twin Power (again, I've never used one) is that, with it's all aluminum construction it will have similar startup/stopping inertia to something like a Stradic. Again, just in terms of inertia. Feel is important to me. So I guess my ideal reel doesn't exist: heavy aluminum body, lightweight rotor, low inertia, felt drag. LOL

So the added rotor weight doesn't bother you? I've never used a TP but I find the added inertia of the Stradic bothersome next to the Vanford. I might just go with the Vanquish and take the hit on balance. I didn't find the inertia bothersome on the Stella when I handled one in store, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much, and there is tech on there I don't need, like the heat dissipative drag.

Option I hadn't thought of. Thanks.

Looking for a new reel to put on a Windbuster. The reel I have on it is 175 grams or thereabouts and it is pretty tip heavy. Originally I was thinking Vanquish, but now I'm reconsidering and potentially looking for more weight. In order to do so I'll have to abandon the MGL rotor or get something like a Sustain which has too much drag. So it seems my options are Stella or Twin Power, or I just get the Vanquish and deal with the imbalance. First world problems I know. Edit: maybe better questions would be : 1. If uou own a windbuster how many ounces is your preferred reel? 2. If you like MGL rotors does it bo5her you to fish reels with heavier rotos? THoughts?

Never used a 200 but from the specs on paper, and from first hand experience with the 150,which is absolutely fantastic for it's price point, I just don't see any advantage in the 200 unless you plan on fishing big fluoro 100% of the time. Even then, I still think there is a good case for the 150 and I'd be putting my money there still.

I've never used the previous gen Met but the current one is a an absolute gem of a reel for me and I absolutely love it. I also have a Curado 150mgl and it is great for what it is, like really great. It surpasses the Met in some areas. For one I find the breaking system in the C. more reliable and better developed, I think this is in part because of the 6 pins, but perhaps more so they have tuned the way the dial works. I feel on the Met even very small incremental movements on the dial have a massive effect on the breaking profile which leads to a very narrow range of useable adjustment. The Curado, on the other hand, allows for much more fine tuning and, overall, the breaking experience leads to some pretty long casting and a lot of fun when you want to dial it in for a "free spool" type of feel when chasing that last few percent of casting distance. I'm not often chasing that anymore, mind you, and so I find myself more than comfortable just setting and forgetting either reel and using it, within it's normal fishing parameters, to great effect and with long casts. non-magnetic breaks feel much more natural to me and I appreciate that I cannot feel the magnets pulling on the spool. Back to the current gen Met, it is a far better reel than the Curado in every other way. It is more solid feeling, rock solid gearing, smooth, and has a wonderful "resistance" that makes every turn feel identical, whether you are hopping a jig or winding a spinnerbait with alot of drag in the water. The Curado, by contrast, feels less natural doing just about everything. It doesn't feel like the reel is helping pull that big spinner or winding that big fish or what have you. It just doesn't feel "strong"? I'd choose the Curado 150 for jerkbait fishing every time. There is a feeling to this reel, that I get from alot of well made, more cost effective reels, that isn't quite a feeling of "smoothness" but a feeling of "nothingness". I like this feeling of "nothingness" very much when picking up slack with a jerkbait. I'm also getting better casting distance and a more reliable breaking profile as I desribed above. But for everything and anything else I'm choosing the current gen Met. I'm sorry this doesn't directly address your question, but I hope it helps none the less.