Great info, one of the reasons I was interested was for use with braid and frog fishing during the summer. To this point everyone seems to like them and they seem to work well and last.

I have 2 supper dutys that are my frog rods and swimjig love the big handle on them and the fact that they have brass gearing

I have a Superduty, 2 speed spools, and a TP.

Great reels. Don't discount Diawas newer offerings, have a couple of Tatulas and just bought a Tatula CT. Love that reel.

Buy Shimano once or buy Lew's every few years. I have never seen a reel that holds up like Shimano.

I switched from Shimano to Lew's.

I have 3 of the Tournament Pro G reels

3 of the BB1 Pros

then 2 of the regular speed spools just to throw crazy stuff on.

I love all of them, and have never had an issue. Yes they come heavily greased from the factory, but that's better than not having enough.

I also really like how the newer reels include a lube port where you can service almost the entire reel without pulling the handle/spool tension cover. As well as a line indicator so you can remember which line you have rigged up, and a swing out hook keeper (only on the Tournament Pros and Magnesium reels). I wouldn't use anything else.

Edit: I just read the post above mine, I've stripped several Shimano reels, so buying them "once" isn't realistic, but I also fish at least 4 days a week, so that's lots of wear and tear. I have not experienced a mechanical failure with a Lew's reel, and I service them myself once a month.

I've drug in fish through brush and even WITH brush on a cheap $60 dollar Lew's speed spool, and my brother still uses that reel to this day with no problems.

It's a Ford vs Chevy deal here in case you haven't noticed, just giving you some of my personal experiences.

Any reel will do as long as it's a Shimano.

I try not put my opinions on equipment here on the forum..so I won't say which one I like.

I have tourneys and a BB1, and really like them all. I picked up a super-duty for frogs and flipping with braid. It's a tad bit heavier, but it really is a workhorse. I also just ordered one of the new wide spool super dutys to upgrade my swimbait setup.

i started off with lews, mg series and loved them, wanting venture out and used shimano citca/curado/chronarch ci4/ mentanium and they are were nice reels no complaints except for the curados i series i had more of those they worked fine until 2 or 3 weeks into fishing em and started grinding, replaced them with newer ones same thing, rick from anglers ended up mentioning that shimano doesn't lube them all the way or not at all, so I'm sure that caused but he didn't tell me that until after i switched to lews, witch i love tremendously!!! lews team tournament lite, and bb1PRO! BEST BRAKES HANDS DOWN

Lew's

I used to have a wide assortment of higher end reels and they all seemed to hold up well for a weekend fisherman. When I started fishing every day most of them failed to hold up very long. It didn't take long to figure out Shimano's were the only ones that held up for me being used every day. I still have some original Calais and Chronarchs that are 15yrs old and still work well today. I still use mostly Shimano but in the last year or so i've bought some Lew's that I really like. Time will tell how they hold up. For me, Shimano's are as solid as you can buy and the Lew's are nice but the verdict is still out on them.

Shimano for me.

They are more picky about braking set up than shimano I might add.

I bought one Calcutta and didn't like it. It sounded like it was coming apart when I threw it.
A good friend told me that they used to be made in Japan but are now made in the Philippines.
and quality has gone down. I don't really know for sure but the BB-1's are my go to reels. I also have the Revo Winches and Premiums. They are good reels.
I just purchased two of the smaller Diawa Tatula reels from APT. I love them. Casts a mile with few backaches.
Almost like throwing a spinning reel. We'll see how they hold up. So far, I still go to the BB-1's for most of my fishing.

When Shimano started outsourcing to Malaysia quality went south.