paul.kenny Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Hi Raiders, My Shimano Symetre died during my last Barra trip in January so I am looking for a replacement. I am looking at spending about $250 so I am looking at either the Daiwa TD SOL 3000, Diawa Freams 4000, Shimano Stradic FJ 4000, Shimano Stradic Ci4 ST4000 or the Abu Soron STX60. I currently have a Shimano Stradic Ci4 for my bream gear and I am very impressed with it. I would appreciate advice from anyone who has owned one of the other reels. cheers Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 G'day Paul, My mate Dene has an annual trip each year chasing the Barra. He uses his Daiwa Sol 3000 and has nothing but praise for the reel. I have some of the reels you mention (Sol, Ci4, and Stradic FJ) and would probably rate them in the order I have written them. Good luck with your purchase mate. I think you'll be happy with any one of the reels you have listed. Cheers Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked-Up Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 i have sol 3000 i put some carbontex drag washers in it and use it as my light kingfish reel for stickbaits etc, great reels, awesome with the drag upgrade smooth as to about 6kg on scales, should be great for barra id think, havent tried the other reels mate so cant comment on them. oh its about 3 years old now and still going strong after plenty of drag burning action. i think youll like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdoordan Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 3000 SOL out of the reels you listed. But my personal preferance would be for a new 3000 Caldia, they are a bit more expensive but alot more reel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.kenny Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 G'day Paul, My mate Dene has an annual trip each year chasing the Barra. He uses his Daiwa Sol 3000 and has nothing but praise for the reel. I have some of the reels you mention (Sol, Ci4, and Stradic FJ) and would probably rate them in the order I have written them. Good luck with your purchase mate. I think you'll be happy with any one of the reels you have listed. Cheers Ian Ian, thanks for the advice. I will have a closer look at the Daiwa Sol 3000. i have sol 3000 i put some carbontex drag washers in it and use it as my light kingfish reel for stickbaits etc, great reels, awesome with the drag upgrade smooth as to about 6kg on scales, should be great for barra id think, havent tried the other reels mate so cant comment on them. oh its about 3 years old now and still going strong after plenty of drag burning action. i think youll like it. Thanks Hooked Up great advice.....where did you get the carbontex drag washers for the Sol? 3000 SOL out of the reels you listed. But my personal preferance would be for a new 3000 Caldia, they are a bit more expensive but alot more reel. Thanks Dan, I had a quick look at the Caldia but it was outside of my price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooked-Up Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 can buy it by the sheet and cut your own (what i did) heaps cheaper, $20 for 3 reels worth, also run it wet for extra smoothness (cals drag grease is great just a light coating needed) il pm you. only thing to note is it will raise the drag adjusting knob a couple of mm as the carbon washers are slightly thicker than standard but i havent really noticed a down side to this so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.kenny Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 can buy it by the sheet and cut your own (what i did) heaps cheaper, $20 for 3 reels worth, also run it wet for extra smoothness (cals drag grease is great just a light coating needed) il pm you. only thing to note is it will raise the drag adjusting knob a couple of mm as the carbon washers are slightly thicker than standard but i havent really noticed a down side to this so far. Thanks Hooked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Hey buddy, check out the Daiwa Ballistic, I have the 2000 and mate what a top little reel it is, have a look at the 3000-4000 size.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I'd go for either the Sol or the Soron STX. I upgraded the drags on my own Sols (2000s) and as said before, it turns an already great reel into a beast. The Sorons come with a better drag as standard. The 2 reels feel quite different in the hand... The Sol feels more 'buttery smooth' but a little less solid (Sorons are quite heavy). IMHO the engineering in the Soron is more robust and tough but the Sol is more 'high-tech' and sophisticated. Its even reflected in how they look... the Soron looks like a 4WD, the Sol like a Japanese sports car. I have a personal preference for the former (that's probably because I service a lot of reels so I prefer reels that are less 'high-strung') but both are brilliant reels. I recently sold my Sols but own 5 Soron STXs (one of each size in the range)... but it's only on personal preference. Pick them both up and buy the one that feels nicer to you and that you like the look of more (they both have quite a distinctive look) Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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