Curado I

[matuka]

Please forgive but I couldn't find any other posts on this but they are likely there. Anyway I wanted to know if anyone else is a little underwhelmed with the Curado I.

[Jrob78]

Not me, I like the I very much.

[Crappiebasser]

What don't you like about it? I have 4 and they are the best reel at the price point IMO.

[F14A-B]

Love mine! Solid performer, great reel, great price!

[bigturtle]

Curado I are very solid reels, no matter how you look at it. I personally dont own one and will never buy one, but thats simply because I like my Daiwa reels a bit too much. I have used one, and they are very very good reels for their price.

 

Being underwhelmed simply means your expectations were too high. This could be a number of reason, but the 3 most common are either:

a ) used to much higher end reels
b ) marketing got you nice and good
c ) people who are used to lower end equipment, and expect too much out of a higher end one.

Just remember that price of fishing equipment rise almost exponentially in relation to gain in performance. At higher prices, say $500+, you have to pay a lot more, often $200+ just for a very small gain in performance, yet in cheaper equipment, say $30-70, you can simply pay $50 or so and get much better piece of gear.

[Mike L]

Underwelmed?

No, not at all...not even close.

Mike

[ccr425]

Mine all work great. Love the SVS Infinity brakes and being able to adjust them without opening the side plate. Best reel in its price range, IMHO.

[matuka]

Overall I like the design, I've seen the manufacturing detail, I get it. What I don't like is I don't think it casts as well as I expected. With two brakes up and a half ounce well balanced jerkbait I have to really heave it to get decent distance. I get more for less effort with my E's, Tatula etc. I could knock it down to one brake I suppose but from what I gather, it seems most folks were using two as their "base". What really annoys me is have to lube the brake drum, at all, much less every outing as per the manufacturer. I've been using this reel for almost a month now and it doesn't seem to cast as well at the end of the day as in the beginning. Other than that, I like the drag a lot and it seems well built. And BTW, it sells at  the price point of all my other reels as well.

[Poolshark]

To me the curado isn't a line of reels that I ever found to the absolute Best performance wise. There are much more expensive reels for that. They have always been very good though and they last a long time. For that reason, I consider them to be one the best value reel for the balance of price, reliability and decent performance. The new I series doesn't WOW me, but it should give me what I would expect from it.

[Poolshark]

Something that I missed on the new curado the first few trips out is that there is another dial at the bottom of the reel to tweak for casting distance. Once I found mine, I was able to cast a little easier. You might have caught that, but I didn't at first.

[Cgrinder]

That thing about the brake drum is a mistranslation from the Japanese manual iirc. Don't worry bout it.

Also two SVS brakes seems like a lot. Try one and mess with the dial. Also check the bearings. Lots of bros were reporting over greased bearings from the factory.

I was also underwhelmed but that's not a fair statement because I fish Conquests and some pretty wild stuff.

[JDJ]

I have two of these reels. I like them a lot, but I do think the SVS infinity brakes suffer from marketing hype. A good design in theory, but I don't find much (if any) difference in casting with different adjustments.

On a pickier note, I wish the spool tension knob had a clicker adjustment like many other reels at a similiar price point.

[matuka]

That thing about the brake drum is a mistranslation from the Japanese manual iirc. Don't worry bout it.

Also two SVS brakes seems like a lot. Try one and mess with the dial. Also check the bearings. Lots of bros were reporting over greased bearings from the factory.

I was also underwhelmed but that's not a fair statement because I fish Conquests and some pretty wild stuff.

Yes, I also had to take grease, yes grease off the spool shaft, and it was spilling off the gear where the shaft inserts into the handle side bearing. I wonder if there is grease on that bearing. I cleaned up as much grease of the worm gear also. Man, Those guys like grease!  I don't feel like I can ignore that drum suggestion, as there is a clear performance difference, bummer. And BTW, I'm not even sure what a Conquest is, LOL. I use workhorse stuff.   

[HookdUP]

I love mine have had no issues with it .. Will be buying another and I have never lubed my break drum ..

[Bluebasser86]

Mine are some of the furthest casting and smoothest stock reels I own. 

[bootytrain]

Yes, I also had to take grease, yes grease off the spool shaft, and it was spilling off the gear where the shaft inserts into the handle side bearing. I wonder if there is grease on that bearing. I cleaned up as much grease of the worm gear also. Man, Those guys like grease!  I don't feel like I can ignore that drum suggestion, as there is a clear performance difference, bummer. And BTW, I'm not even sure what a Conquest is, LOL. I use workhorse stuff.

You only need to put 1 drop of oil on the brake drum only if the brakes make a whirring sound on the tail end of the cast. Its not like its hard to do.

[roadwarrior]

Mine are some of the furthest casting and smoothest stock reels I own. 

 

That's what other friends have reported to me, too.

 

 

 

[ibobpeb]

I was able to get one for $100 so it's solid. Don't think I would at $179 though. I like some of the Lew's reels alot better at that price point. 

[curtis9]

It's a nice reel, but I didn't find it very comfortable to use. I still prefer the 50 sized e series reels

[robster80]

my fav reel

[F14A-B]

Hmm, never worry about excess grease, never, ever had a shimano reel of ANY, model Not, bomb baits. Never received a faulty Shimano reel either, my Curado I's can pitch 4" and 5" senkos 120 to 140 feet, measured. #15 CX line.. I can throw 1/2 oz Xcalibur square bills. darn near spooling my reel... These reels are solid, sound and up graded from past curados. I too have much more expensive reels. This reel can & does compete with those as well. The Reel ( Curado I ) just may not be to your liking, I can respect that. There are many reels on the

market at the price point that you may like better, none will out perform The Curado I though...

[a1712]

I fished a new rod all day today(3/2/15) changing back and forth between a Curado 1 and a Core 100. Both reals are brand new and do not belong to me. My impression is, the Core is a casting machine but felt disconnected and not as solid as the Curado. The Curado wasn't a slouch in the casting department either and felt more solid and connected. I was using 12lb. CX on both and throwing 5/16-1/2oz. spinnerbaits. Just my opinion. Brian.

[matuka]

Best reel I have ever used. I tore mine down and a performed a complete cleaning flushing all bearings and degreasing it. Quick flick of the wrist and I can cast to any target I wish with very little effort. (Unless I screw up and miss my target).

I did the same thing on mine. Pulled the bearings, and I did find grease in the spool tension side bearing. It also seeped back onto the spool shaft I had cleaned up last week. After thorough cleaning of the grease, and everything else bearing to bearing, I gave it a try on the lake this am. NOW it performs like a new reel should. Casting was clean and smooth with impressive distance. Backlash into the wind was managed well with the new brake system. I'm happy! I don't know if the manufacturer has human hands greasing these things or if it is done robotically, but one of them needs a talking to.

[bass1980]

Yours might be one of those rare ones that have too much grease and probably grease got in the wrong areas. I bet if you did a deep cleaning and relube you'll be amazed or send it to a pro and let them do it. I guess at the same time why should you have to if it's a new reel right?

With that said I own Metanium, Steez, MB, core, and ci4+, and I honestly feel like the curado is the best bargain of them all. If I wasn't so into high end gears I could easily fish with all curado I's and a few 50 series. I definitely like the I better than the 200E's. There must be something wrong with your reel as I was bombing hollow body frogs with mine.

[*Hootie]

I would hate if every time I bought a new car, the first thing I would have to do is tear it down and rebuild it.

Hootie