kschultz76

I hope for your sake you don't learn an expensive lesson...and I'm glad I will never be behind you on the freeway. I would not recommend this nor do the rack manufacturers.

Congrats it's a solid reel and a good investment. Start with the brakes turned up and adjust them down until you find your balance point between the brakes, spool tension, and your thumb. When you have time and can afford it have it professionally cleaned and properly lubed. That very simple process to get the bearings flushed and properly lubed will make a big difference in the ease of casting.

Not aluminum, but not plastic either. A so far undisclosed carbon composite. Supposedly more rigid then the CI4+ material.

That's promising and likely lower weights then I'd be trying to throw. From what I've read on the Curado:Scorp 70s they ship with all 4 brake shoes engaged. If that's the case I'd assume this one is the same. Hoping my 151HG is going to ride my Tour Versatile with 40-50lb braid.

You're equipment is clearly busted, send it out to some us to confirm. It will be a hardship for us but we'll bare it for you. Seriously that sucks, we all have those days. Me more often then not.

Thanks looking forward to your review. I read something on another forum that the brakes were seemingly finicky to adjust like on the Scorpion 70s and seem to require max braking to control the spool. That would be disappointing as on my CI4s I feel the brakes are very adjustable and the spool is well controlled without sacrificing accuracy or distance.

Glad it worked out and you got a good deal on a nice rod! Get out there and enjoy it!

I'd be careful about that. I've had magic eraser take the gloss finish off appliances. I'd start with something a lot more mild.

Here's a couple quick snaps

Well I have 3 of the CI4s currently, and I have an MGL on the way. But all of mine have been cleaned, lubed properly and tuned. Happy to share my thoughts once I get the new one. But won't be an out of the box stock comparison.

Yes they all have manual pull cords for armed inflation as well as tubes to allow fully manual inflation. Just pay attention to the weight and size requirements. These are not appropriate for children.

Just the guides used, the guide layout, and the grips. Those things can affect weight, balance, and performance. But you can't go wrong with either rod.

I have 2 of the next model down from when they went on sale for like 89 a couple years ago. I keep sealed rearm kits in the boat and don't worry about unintentional inflation. If it happens I can repack and rearm. Been in the rain with no issues. With these types of pfds there is frankly no reason to take them off on the boat, ever, no matter the heat or other conditions. I wear mine in my kayak as well no issues. As others have said this has to be the last thing you put on over top of all other layers. Do not wear it under rain gear. If accidental inflation is a concern spend the coin for a HIT version. Even those are cheap for the safety and peace of mind they provide.

Your unit should have come with a power cable and likely a fuse/fuse holder. When I set mine up for my kayak I had to make up a longer power harness to reach the rear of my kayak. So I shortened the stock wire, removing it's fuse holder. I set up a small locking Tupperware container with a rubber gasket as a battery box with a small hole and grommet to pass the wire through. I got a waterproof atc fuse holder and proper fuse. Then using 18ga 2 pair wire from West Marine I soldered in the fuse holder, crimped on ends for connecting the battery, and soldered on a 2 prong flat connector and left an 12" pigtail out of the box. I made a longer cable with two of the same connectors on each end soldered on, and solder one on the end of the stock power harness for my unit. This allows me to swap out a longer or shorter cable if needed. And my battery charger plugs right into the same connector out of my box. Keep in mind you want your fuse as close to the battery as possible. I solder and heat shrink wrap everything, and I heat shrink wrapped the crimp connectors for the battery. I got got most of the supplies from Amazon or Walmart other then then the wire. If if I get a minute I will post pictures.

Faster and/or more powerful.

No need to worry about the 15 yr warranty. You'll find any defects in the first year. 15 yrs is a long time for the service plan if you damage it accidentally. St Croix has some of the best service out there. If you're really worried about go with the original Avid instead of the Avid X, it still carries the lifetime plan.

Based on my personal experience there's a couple rods I can suggest. But there's a lot out there I haven't tried so my opinion isn't definitive. I'd also generally prefer a less moderate bit more powerful rod for lipless cranks, but I like that for squarebills in lots of wood too. Id look at the Kistler KLX crank, rip, twitch series in a MH power, length of your choice. I like the 6'9" for target casting. I'd go 7-7'3" for longer casts with the traps. A bit pricier I'd highly recommend the Megabass Orochi XX Diablo Spec R, it's very versatile for a lot of fast moving baits like traps and shallow squarebills, even fast enough for trigs and light jigs, and swim jigs, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits. A bit bit shorter and a bit, just a bit more moderate, is the Megabass Orochi XX Spinnerbait Special. Will do everything the Diablo will but won't handle trigs or jigs as well in my experience. But still has a lot of versatility. I have and have used St Croix MH/M rods, but they're for me too moderate for traps or squarebills in really heavy cover. My Dad has a 6'6" Avid in MH/M and it is actually feels a bit less moderate then my 7'2" Legend Extreme version(previous model with cork and recoils). Good on luck in your search. Lots of great options out there.

With the right line pairing you can throw anything you would throw on a spinning rod with that from weightless plastics to small trigs to top waters to jerkbaits even small shallow cranks and heavier drop shots. The only thing probably doesn't excel at is really light finesse stuff and really light drop shots where you want to reel set with light line, or really heavy trigs and jigs. You got a hell of a deal on a top notch high end rod. Go use it and find what works for you. Try a weightless 5" senko trigged!

Differs brand to brand. Most Shimanos only difference between a 2500 and 3000 size is the spool depth to accommodate more line capacity. The only weight difference between the two would be from the additional line on the spool and would be negligible. I prefer the 2500, the 3000 are just a waste of unused line to me.

The St Croix 6'8" M/XF is a great weightless senko, Jerkbait, topwater rod. I have a LBT casting version and a LE spinning. I've hauled 4.5lb fish out of submerged branches on 7lb Sniper on the spinning rod after skipping a senko back under a half down tree in high water. Despite all all the great casting rods I have if I'm honest I've landed more fish on that LE spinning rod then any other rod I've ever owned.

I looked the specs up on Yakimas website for the Q towers for a 2014 Dodge Charger. Stated clearly a 125lb limit. And you're right they absolutely vary by vehicle and what individual tower it uses. Even the old Yakima Lowriders were rated differently for my old Explorer vs my 4Runner. Ive spent a lot of years car topping multiple kayaks and using these rack systems. There is no one size fits all. Everyone situation has to be evaluated and I always do my homework before purchasing a new kayak to ensure I have the load capacity required. People often forgot that you're supposed to subtract the weight of your bars, towers, and any carriers from that weight. In my case using Thule Hullavatore the carriers weigh 40lbs for one set. While im sure there are safe tolerances involved and the manufacturers are conservative in their specs I'm not willing to take risks pushing those limits very far.

If you're using their Q towers you are on the ragged edge of their listed weight capacity for that vehicle. They state 125lbs. As long as you're strapping it down properly with bow and stern lines, and not putting any weight on the rack beyond the bare boat you may be ok. But you're supposed to subtract the weight of the cross bars from the 125lbs to determine your safe carrying limit. However I'd never advocate exceeding these limits.

The PQ sale at BPS is in stores only, you won't find it online. I don't think your point scale can properly work, there subjective as well as objective variables in this equation. And about the only people who can weigh in on qualitative analysis about bearing quality are the folks on this forum who make a living servicing reels or do it regularly. You also have reels all over the price spectrum, there are some subtle but significant differences between $100 and a $150 reel. From your list to stay close to $100 and get the most bang for your buck I'd start with a Tatula. But if you're just starting you should try a few brands and braking systems before investing too much in one brand or model.

For me the SV103 ergos were very different and not good for the size of my hand. Sat up higher off the reel seat and a bit wide on the palming side. Forced my grip into an comfortable position. I have medium to small hands so that could be the issue. Theyre a little backed up on reel servicing so as soon as it's done they'll ship it.