I have been primarily a Lews guy for a couple of years now. I own all of their high end reels - Pro TI, Hypermag, Mag Pro, etc..
I also own some 13 Fishing reels including the Concept E, Concept TX, and Concept C.
The Mag Pro and the Concept E are two reels that were just put together right.

Now enter Kistler....
I have the 6.6:1, 7.3:1, and the 8.1:1 reels in the 100 size Series 1. The gloss black finish is thick and makes the reel feel solid.
The casting is smooth and easily adjusted to be backlash free. I let my brother in law fish with one and he doesn't fish bait casters. He didn't have a single backlash. Casting distance is on par with my other reels.
I like their braking system. Rather than slinging the brakes out to a ring, they pivot the brakes in toward a central cone. Seems to be smoother and less prone to warping and dirt.
The drag is a typical multi-washer setup and is smooth. There is a click when the drag is being pulled out. I have caught several large fish (over 5 lbs) and the drag was consistent. I usually loosen the drag on big fish when I get them close to the boat and this was accurate and smooth. I remember hearing the click but the line singing through the guides was louder telling me the fishing was pulling out line against the drag. I think the drag click would be more useful for large catfish or redfish since they tend to make long runs.
The handle is long and the knobs are comfortable, I really like the handle. My favorite knobs are the cork/EVA Lews knobs but these are close enough where I will not change them.

The spool is drilled for a line tie. I usually only tie off my braid but this one was easy to use so I tied off the Flouro as well. One the Series 1 there is a line size indicator on the handle. It's a little different from the Lews and is easier to get to and see. If you have a lot of reels and use different line sizes it's a handy feature. The spool will handle 170 yards of 12 lb, more than enough for most bass fisherman. I hope that one day Trey can offer a shallow spool option for flippers and punchers.

I just got in a 200 size 6.6:1 for crankbaits. The reel and spool is a bit wider with the line capacity upped to 200 yards of 12 lb. The weight increase was only .2 oz so still a very light reel.

So far I really like these reels - they have a permanent place on my deck. Time will tell how they will hold up but I am confident they will do just fine. They are Korean made with a quality look and feel.

Right now there are some killer deals on the reels on their website.

Two things they could add: 1. a shallow spool as an accessory 2. Kistler reel covers - ditch the bag included and instead put in a reel cover.