What would you do if you were me? (Shimano Reel Content)

[Jaderose]

22 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I'm saying after you hit a certain point, something might be three times as expensive, but only better in certain areas by a little bit, and those areas might not be anything you care about.  

My point wasn't/isn't to slag on anything or to question what people do with their money.  I KNOW the Stella would be a better reel.  I just have a hard time seeing how it could be THAT much better.  Especially in a spinning reel.  I mean, it's not like it's going to cast farther or anything.  I'm sure it's butter smooth and made with better materials and parts but at the end of the day, it's still a spinning reel.  Don't take any of this as me saying I don't want one.  Gear and bait monkeys bite me too! 

[Reel]

You asked for an opinion at the beginning.  If it were me, I would try to get the last generation Stradic Ci4+ 2500, if you can get one that is on sale, like someone else suggested.  They were a great value at regular price, even more so on sale.

If your mind is set on a Stella, buy a new one, the latest model.  That way it will be in top condition and you will really know what makes it different from a medium priced reel. 

[J Francho]

6 minutes ago, Jaderose said:

My point wasn't/isn't to slag on anything or to question what people do with their money.  I KNOW the Stella would be a better reel.  I just have a hard time seeing how it could be THAT much better.  Especially in a spinning reel.  I mean, it's not like it's cast farther or anything.  I'm sure it's butter smooth and made with better materials and parts but at the end of the day, it's still a spinning reel.  Don't take any of this as me saying I don't want one.  Gear and bait monkeys bite me too! 

It isn't that much better.  That's the point, it's a pointless, materialistic asset.  After working on several though, the construction is pretty amazing.  As Mike said, don't try it if you are inexperienced.  Most probably don't have the right tools to get it apart anyway.

 

 

As far as the the original question goes, I'd buy a new reel, with a warranty.

[Jaderose]

BTW...to the OP...sorry for the hijack

[Jaderose]

11 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

No one buys a luxury car to tow anything.  That is the opposite of luxury.  The high end spinning reels are smoother and more refined feeling (better ride?).  They are quieter (stereo?) and have gadgets like air carbon magic stealth rotors that rotate without inertia and are very light weight and rigid fancy pants bail mechanism with crisp actions that's makes your President feel like closing the door on an old shed in comparison.

 

Once you get you hands on on you will know.  Its the like the 1st time turning the handle on an Antares or even TD Zillion.  Suddenly everything you used before just became inferior and your understanding of "smooth, refined and nice" just hit a new level.  I don't recommend it.  Its kind of sad in a way having that "man, all my reels are crap now" moment.  

I didn't really mean "luxury" when I said towing.  I was talking about utility.  You can buy a base model F150 and get everything most people would ever need or you can buy a 350 with a towing package.  Both are trucks...one is just built for harder work

 

[iabass8]

[22RangerZ520R]

8 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

 

@Jaderose I'm not biting you and yep I love my four Stella 3000 FJ's and no I didn't pay full retail for em'  

 

And if you ever use a Stella, you'll want to use that trusty President of yours as a paper weight on your office desk............. 

 

[Eddie101]

2 hours ago, Jaderose said:

BTW...to the OP...sorry for the hijack

No worries. It was fun for awhile. LOL

[MountainMan83]

1 hour ago, iabass8 said:

[Tennessee Boy]

All of my spinning reels are Stradic Ci4+.  A couple of years ago I bought a $30 Shimano Syncopate just to see how it compared to the more expensive reels I have used for years.  It worked fine.  It was noticeably heavier but was not too heavy.  It was not as smooth but it was very easy to turn.  Looking at the reviews on amazon,  83% give the Stradic 5 stars compared to only 80% for the Syncopate.  I could switch to using Syncopate reels and catch just as many fish and enjoy fishing just as much.  If I'm honest I would say that only a fool would pay $230 for Stradic Ci4+ when you can get a Syncopate for $30.  

 

I AM AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE ONE OF THOSE FOOLS

 

but I'm not gonna try to tell you that you need to spend more to be happy with your equipment.  It's just not true.  It all comes down to what you give up when you choose to spend more money on a reel instead of the other priorities in you life.

[NOC 1]

On 7/17/2020 at 11:03 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

What makes a $235 hammer worth more than a $6 hammer?  The $235 hammer weights 6% less and impresses your friends.  The nails could care less. 

 

I, who am not a carpenter, posed this same question to my father, and my son who are carpenters and they both gave me the same answer. It did not agree with your take on it except that you are probably right that the nails don't care. (though a milled face is much better to the nails than is a forged face)

 

The carpenter is buying the hammer, the nails are not. According to the carpenters, using the cheap hammer all day will result in a numb hand, sore elbow joint and wrist joints and over time likely a bad case of carpal tunnel. Apparently the difference in the handle ergonomics and the vibration dampening of the materials makes a lot of difference to the guy who has to use one that much. The guy who uses one occasionally around the house (such as myself) might not appreciate the difference.

 

As that applies to fishing, I hear people saying the same kind of thing. "Why buy expensive gear, the cheap stuff catches as many fish and the fish don't care". We buy nicer gear because it is all about the fisherman.

 

If you get more pleasure in fishing from knowing that you saved a few bucks...great, I guess money is your pleasure. Some others of us take more pleasure from using nicer gear when we fish than we do from money. I don't ever recall thinking about money when I'm fishing.

 

To each their own for sure...but you can't say that it doesn't matter, that one is as good as the other, you could say that money is the higher priority for some.

[NOC 1]

On 7/17/2020 at 11:44 AM, J Francho said:

I'm saying after you hit a certain point, something might be three times as expensive, but only better in certain areas by a little bit, and those areas might not be anything you care about.  

Anyone who is familiar with Continuous Improvement processes in industry can tell you that the first 80% of something is relatively easy to attain. Most benchmarks fall in the 80% range. To get to around 90-98% costs about double. After that each 1% or fraction of it can again double the cost.

 

Applied to a fishing reel, if $100 gets you to 80% of the theoretical perfect reel, then spending $200 will get you a significantly better 98% reel. A 99% reel will cost $400 a 99.5% will cost $800. As there is no actually perfect you can continue to improve things by increasingly smaller increments by paying more into infinity.

There is definitely a diminishing return of improvement over cost as the quality goes up.

 

What matters is where you feel like that cost is more than what you are willing to pay for the improvement. Some folks are fine with 80% reel. Many others will choose to pay $200 for a reel 18% better. A few are even willing to pay $1600 for a reel that is about 1% better than that.

 

It's all up to you.

22 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

but I'm not gonna try to tell you that you need to spend more to be happy with your equipment.  It's just not true.  It all comes down to what you give up when you choose to spend more money on a reel instead of the other priorities in you life.

THIS!

[J Francho]

None of that matters if I have a $200 budget and buy a $200 reel, because that’s what I wanted. My three OG CI4 reels are at least half a decade old, work as new, are smooth like butter, required very little maintenance, are light, and I have caught hundreds of fish with them. Money well spent in my book. I don’t think it was a foolish purchase. The debate over what someone spends on their gear, or wants to spend, or whether it’s worth it is so tired. Stick to pros and cons of comparing reels to each other.  That’s a much more valuable discussion. Oh yeah, it helps if you actually own one. You know, credibility and all. 
 

what was this thread about again?

 

oh yeah, I still recommend you buy a new reel with a warranty.  There’s great deals out there for used, but until you know what to look for, be careful. 

[Eddie101]

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

None of that matters if I have a $200 budget and buy a $200 reel, because that’s what I wanted. My three OG CI4 reels are at least half a decade old, work as new, are smooth like butter, required very little maintenance, are light....

Well, and far from a soda can! LOL!

 

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

, and I have caught hundreds of fish with them.

That's the bottom line, isn't it? 

 

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

 

 

oh yeah, I still recommend you buy a new reel with a warranty.  There’s great deals out there for used, but until you know what to look for, be careful. 

I'm leaning THAT way myself since I'm - again - far from being an expert. Much obliged!

[RoLo]

 

I own Stellas and Stradics (No, I don't own a Vanford ?) 

and my recommendation is Stradic. 

 

Roger

 

[Eddie101]

28 minutes ago, RoLo said:

 

I own Stellas and Stradics (No, I don't own a Vanford ?) 

and my recommendation is Stradic. 

 

Roger

 

Really? Why is that, if I may ask?

[J Francho]

My first decent bit of gear was an OG Stradic with a wood handle. I think it was around $100, which was an obscene amount for a reel in the early 90s. If I hadn’t dropped it in the drink, I’d probably still be using it now. I have a couple from different generations since, and they are a solid buy. That’s why they get recommended so often. 

[Guitarfish]

I still have 7 of the original Stradics with the rosewood handles, of various sizes.  They all still work great.  I remember thinking I was spending my kids college money when I was buying them, lol.

 

I will never spend the money for a Stella.  Just the way it is.  I buy 'good enough' to get the job done, plus a little.  But I was raised by folks that knew the depression.  The 'maintain it' mentality is just ingrained so deep it defines me.  I fix everything myself, cars, boats, the garden, sheetrock, my roof....

 

So OP, I vote Stradic.  And take care of it.   Or do what you want to do and be done with it.

[Randy Price]

I've never had a Stella but I have 4 Ci4+ and 3 older Stradic's (all 2500-3000 size).  Several years ago I bought a new Sustain and I really couldn't tell the difference between it and the Stradic's so I sold it.

[MickD]

On 7/17/2020 at 12:03 PM, Tennessee Boy said:

What makes a $235 hammer worth more than a $6 hammer?  The $235 hammer weights 6% less and impresses your friends.  The nails could care less. 

 

the Stilletto is a government hammer, right?

[stk44]

If it were me, I would wait for a stradic sale since they are being discontinued and then compare that deal to the Stella. BPS has a sale right now, but they aren’t in stock. I’m sure pricing will drop soon at other retailers.