Lew’s is nothing cheap at all. I was at Bass Pro yesterday after I bought a brand new Abu Garcia REVO SX RK T and it works so good, I about bought another one. I’m going tomorrow, which is Thursday and buying the Shimano Caradu. I believe the casting is much longer, but I don’t see how, my Abu Garcia throws a country mile everytime. The rod and reel both are Abu Garcia, which they are a beast to have fishing. Good luck with the Lews, because the guy at Bass Pro kept showing me the Lews brand. Which I like them too and they too are far from being cheap. Again-good luck man on your new outfit.