i think i have narowed down my next reel to a shimano curado i or a lews bb1 pro. has anyone played with both and wich one do you prefere

i have both. I am switching all of my reels over to Lews. they are way smoother and cast farther

The lews have smother bearings.

I have both what are you using it for

I have a Shimano 200i and love it. Like it better than the E series

Used both have Lews, friend has the Shimano he says Lews is much smoother.

I prefer the curado!

Lews

I have both. Use them on a 7'M H20 Express for chatterbaits, weightless swimbaits and topwater. You probably wont be disappointed with either reel. My Lews did seem to cast a bit further but it is the wide spool version. I just put some Boca bearings on my Curado. Once I get it dialed in and used to the better bearings I think the Curado will outcast the Lews by a longshot.

+1

If you keep the reel for more than 3-5 years, the Shimano starts to be the better buy IMO. If you're going to change your reels out before that time, It's totally personal preference, as both are good reels.

Hard to beat shimano's dependability, but that Doyo design (lews share a platform with Abu, Pflueger and several brands making reels in Korea), is solid, but starts to run into more problems than I've heard out of shimano reels.