Lews tournament laser mg reel

These are new reels in the lews line of baitcasters and are regularly priced at 119.99 at academy but they are on sale for 69.99 for 3 more days only. I bought one this evening and spooled it up, put it on a rod and tied a 5/16 finesse jig on it and practiced flippin with it. It seems to be an awesome reel and well worth the money.

I picked up two of these myself. I have a few speed spools and I like them quite a bit. I assume the same performance and feel to what I already have.

Gonna take it out later today and try it out if the rain will stop lol. The lake I fish is good with the cold and cloudy conditions.

Only negative I've heard on the laser is the frame is composite plastic and it will flex and cause binding and gear grinding ... Spend a little extra and get the $99 speed spool at minimum

I tried to find them elsewhere and no luck. Close, but not an exact match by model number. I wonder if it's a special run for Academy only?

It has a graphite frame not a plastic frame but yes Graphite is prone to flexing under pressure. Id stick with aluminum frame reels personally.

I can't find any other info on this reel. It must be a Laser MG with all of the bearings and upgrades of a Tournament MG.
I took it out today and gave it a try. I was running a Livingston Lipless CB on a Pinnacle Perfecta Squarebill rod.
The reel was very smooth. Caught a few fish on it including a very lively 3 pounder. I own numerous Speed Spools already. This one is about the same. I didn't notice any flexing. The reel was rock solid to me. No bad habits.
I guess I didn't have enough pressure on it to create any flexing. I think for rattle traps, squarebills and small spinner baits it should be fine. With a 7.1:1 ratio I won't use it with anything larger.
For $69 it seems like a winner to me. I bought two and might buy two more.
I also bought a couple of the Mettles for $29. This is a very nice reel for $59 and a steal for $29. Out of the box if feels nice but not quite as tight and smooth as the Lews but much better than any other reel in this price range.

http://m.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_903544_-1__true?N=274871093 this reel? How is it compared tithe speed spool?

I put it through its paces again yesterday with a Squarebill. Very smooth right out of the box. The performance is about the same as the Speed Spool.
I wonder what the difference is. When looking at the web site it is difficult to get through the marketing hype to see the differences.
As mentioned this one does have the graphite frame like the Laser MG. The SS is aluminum as is the Tournament MG.
The difference will be how smooth it is after a few thousand casts.
My Speed Spools are still great and I know I have put a few thousand casts on them over the spring and summer. I regularly grease and oil.

It also has dual cast control (magnetic and centrifugal) which I think is another "tournament" upgrade over the Laser MG.

I took mine out yesterday and it casts great but it does have a lot of flex in the reelfoot. I am taking it back this week sometime and add some money to it and get a lews bb1 or tournament speed spool.

What were you throwing with it?
What kind of rod?
Just curious as I didn't feel flexing throwing squarebills or rattle traps.
The flexing must be why they don't offer it any more. I'm sure the Tournament MG would be good as well.

Took it out and worked it hard yesterday. Hooked up a few nice red fish and a few trout. Its got some flex in the frame for sure under heavy drag. Its still a great reel and should last a long time.