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Some of the newer Quantum reels are using an "advanced" ceramic/carbon drag stack. There are a lot of stories out there about these cracking and breaking apart, sometimes when the reel is being used locking up the reel. My bet is that this what you have here. If it were my reel, I would see if I could find a set of Carbontex washers that will fit this reel and replace the entire stack. That ceramic carbon thing not be a good idea.

Read closely. The excerpt you quoted here is referring to the term "Made in the USA as it applies to Government purchases". That is ALL that this will apply to. When parsing legal and technical documentation, one cannot extrapolate meaning except as it is specifically stated. So, unless you are reading a bid as a Federal Procurement agent, this doesn't apply to the Term Made in the USA. You might be correct with your point, but this reference isn't evidence of it..

Great answer! To add to the confusion, imagine that instead of 1 scale like "Brinell Hardness". Each maker can and does come up with their own way of describing their material. Is an IM 6 material equivalent to 30 tom fiber, 36 ton fiber..etc. Add to that that the fiber can be laid in 2,3,4,5, maybe more each of which might be in a coils, horizontal, helix, double helix, 45 degree or 85 degree helix or a combination, crosshatch , and other configurations. The scrim could be sheeted, coiled tape, basket weave, missing completely or even different combinations on different sections of the same blank. In spite of what some have said, there is a difference in the fiber material as well. The Toray fiber is not the same as the old graphite, and Mitsubishi fiber is different from the other brands etc. Now as if all that isn't enough, no one who is making blanks is telling exactly what their formula and techniques are. Then add to all that, that the exact shape of the mandrell that the carbon fiber is wound on can be almost any combination of shapes, transitions, size and whatever else. As others have said, there really is no pat answer, so the best you can do is see what you like and buy that. If a $100 rod feels great to you, then that is a great rod. For someone else that great rod might cost $800...but they are both great rods.

Impossible question. I usually do bring 5 or 6 set ups, but which 5 or 6 depends on what I am fishing for, where when and how. Crappie, hybrid stripers and white bass during the 1st shad spawn? Walleye in March down river from the dam? Crappie spawn, Trolling Stripers at 60 ft with Dipsy Divers?, Bottom Bouncing for Walleye?, Trolling White bass and Crappie across the flats in July? Maybe Fishing the Flat Head Catfish spawn in the spring. Vertical jigging for Stripers and Walleye in the summer? So many ways to fish and so many different fish to fish for. Maybe if I was just fishing for LMB I could have a 5 rig set up, but the way it is for me I have around 30 rigs and I use them all for one thing or another..I could list my 5 favorite combos maybe, but that would be an answer to a different question I think..

I have 3 reels for very lightweight casting. All three are Daiwa PX68's but each has a different spool. 2 of them are on 6'10" ML rods, XF tip. (ABU "Volatile" inshore rod) The one that casts the lightest lures the easiest has a "Rays Honeycomb BFS" spool which weighs in at about 8.9 grams. The other has an "I'ZE Finesse Special" spool weighing 8.8 grams. Both have Hedgehog Ceramic BFS bearings installed. One is spooled with 6Lb P-Line Flouroclear and the other with 8 lb. The 8 lb line is heavy enough and the spools light enough so that with all the brakes turned down, the weight of about 5 ft of bare line alone will spin the spool. I use them to throw little 1/8 oz. inline spinners like Vibrax and the like, and sometimes little tiny 1/16 oz glow skirt spin jigs. Both reels work well for that but there is no way I'm going to get 30 yards out of either 1/16oz or 1/8/oz lures and these rods have a very whippy tip too. 20 yards might be do-able with the 1/8 oz. But I can't really think of a case where I'd need to throw those baits 30 yards anyway. Heck the whole spool only holds about 40 yards of 6 lb. Maybe someone could do a bit better with an even lighter rod, but I've not tried it. The 3rd PX68 has a stock spool (about 14 gm.), the same HH Ceramic BFS bearings and is on an ABU Villain ML Fast rod. It will do 1/8oz OK but really shines with 3/16 - 3/8 oz. stuff. It has about 50 yards of the Flouroclear 10 lb. The only reels that I know of that will do much (if any) better might be the Daiwa SS Air, which is rated from the factory for 1/16 oz lures. But they are spendy, > $350. You can find used PX68-R's in Excellent or better condition for around $200 and for that money are hard to beat in my opinion.

Well that probably explains it then. All of mine are 103's. I put a ZPI "M" on one, a ZPI "PG" on one, an SS SV spool on another and left one stock just in case I ever get good enough to actually use it. Replacing the spools tames them.

I love STEEZ reels, but they might not be a great choice to learn on. They can go from amazingly wonderfull, to a birds nest that is unfix-able in about 1 second flat. But then mine are all the OG STEEZ and maybe the newer version is tamer? I know that putting SV spools on mine helped quite a bit. I mention it because if the OP is buying a STEEZ for $200-$300 it is probably going to be the original version (OG) and they are a pretty wild reel. I can vouch for the Tatula SV-TW. It's very easy to cast even for a beginner. It's very forgiving but still manages to do just about anything 1/4 and over very well.

I think that for my money it's hard to beat the Daiwa PX68-R for small baits. I have several and can say that they are top notch reels. I have 1 with a very light Ray's Studio honeycomb spool that will do 1/8 without any trouble. 1 of them is fitted with a Daiwa Finesse spool and it will do 1/8 but seems better at 3/16-1/4. The third and 4th are stock and while they will do 1/8 they don't work nearly as well as the ones with lighter spools. But they do really well with anything from 3/16 to 1/2 Oz. I see them used in EXC condition on E-bay fairly often at from $170-$250. You pretty much have to find them in Japan, but to me they are worth the trouble. Anything under 1/8 oz. I usually switch to Light and Ultra Light Moderate action spinning gear. Like you said, light baits on bait casters isn't as easy as you'd think, and I'm just not good enough to pull it off under 1/8 oz. Probably the best light lure reel going right now that I know of personally is the Daiwa SS Air, it is rated to 1/16 oz. but those are a bit above your budget I think. Most of them I see are around $370 give or take. The Alderbaran that NEW2BC4BASS suggested may be as good or even better, but I can't really say never having used one. Try looking in Japan. It seems like there, the 1 piece rods are the uncommon ones. There are tons of good Japanese rods in the $100-$200 range. MajorCraft and Tailwalk have already been mentioned. You can still find tons of the 2 piece Mega Bass HYUGA rods as well. Some of the JDM ABU stuff looks good as well as the Canadian Rapala rods. There is whole lot of stuff out there that you won't see at Bass Pro.

I don't have any experience with the Okuma, but the Daiwa is outstanding for the price. You can also look at the Pflueger President series as well. Very nice reel for around $50 as well as the Pflueger Trion for about $20 cheaper. I have a bout 6 of each and they just keep on ticking. I don't have the Fenwick Eagle M that you are looking at, but I do have a pair of 8' UL Eagles that I use for tossing small jig heads across rocky shallows on a river below the dam looking for early spring Walleye. I like them very much. They fish a lot nicer than they cost in my opinion. I don't know why by they feel a lot better than the Fenwick HMG or HMX which are almost double the price. For the record I have those fitted with Pflueger Presidents in the 20 size. At the price range you are considering, an extra $20-30 will indeed make a big difference. Probably a much bigger difference than that between $250 and $400 reels. Given the choice I would go with Daiwa over Okuma every single time...no exceptions.

"Possibly acceptable"? ..."crosses the line"? Maybe if we are talking about a public online discussion I'd agree, but if this is about a private conversation overheard in a store; don't you think that judgement is more appropriately made by the person or persons who are involved in the conversation? This is the whole point I'm trying to make here. It is no business of yours or anyone else's what my sons and I for example say to each other, and you have no right to pass judgement on the manner in which we relate. ...period. The same goes for any other people engaged in a consensual conversation regardless of whether you, I or the others like it or not. It just isn't any of our business. The find the idea of people using choices in fishing gear as a vehicle for actual bullying to be ridiculous.

My opinion is similar to yours with the exception that I do see a big performance of split grips and full grips. Not in the sense that one is always superior to the other but in the way that a given rod balances. In my opinion a long heavier rod is much better with a full cork grip because I might not have to use such a heavy reel to balance it. But on the other hand a light 6'6" rod let's say, might be better with split grip if I want to mount something other that a STEEZ or the like. I know that you can add weight to any rod to balance it, but it's kind of nice not having to. My experience is that if the cork is a good grade of cork, without cracks and filler, if you treat the cork with something like U-40, and then keep it clean, cork will stay looking good for many decades. The foam on the other hand will most likely become brittle and turn to powder. You have to start with good cork though.

I hope the OP is not simply insisting on the politically correct here. If those young guys were strangers to the kid buying the Quantum or bullying him that's one thing, but bashing each other over gear choices is a much honored tradition among normal men. It's what we do for camaraderie. Some of the best times I ever have is going at it with my two grown sons over their fishing gear choices. And if the poster who says that he would have to intervene if he saw that kind of stuff would try to do so when we are doing that....let's just say it would not be his best day. I guess I'm saying that true bullying is not to be done, but I have a hard time imagining that making fun of a kid in a tackle shop would be any kind of true bullying. LOL...pretty nerdy bullies I'd say. I would suggest that you guys who are getting so fired up over this never go to a construction site or machine shop. If bashing a fishing pole upsets you so this much, you'd no doubt be absolutely agog over what those guys bash each other over.

i have a few Legend T SC rods but mostly ABU and a few Megabass. i am just now getting to like the SC rods. Compared to the ABU Villains and the Orochi's I'm used to, the SC always feel heavy, out of balance and just sort of all around clumsy so I never actually used them much at all. But this spring I took the Steez reels off, bought a couple of Tatula SV TW reels and put them on. Seems a much better match for the somewhat tip heavy SC rods. They balanced much better. So, I started taking them out last May and by September I was really starting to like them. Thinking about trying one of the Legend X's. It just goes to show that you can't really tell how a rod fishes without...well, actually fishing with it. As far as your wall goes, it's very nice...for some reason I thought that it was two distinct people posting those 2 shots. I figured that maybe you and your Dad, pal or son were both showing off gear.

Strange, you seem to have the same wall and at least one same rod as the fellow that posted a few posts before.

I think that buying more cheap gear just to get the count up is a mistake (ask me how I know?). If you have $100 to spend, you would be better off picking out the best rod that you currently have and upgrading the reel to something a little better or upgrading the best reel you have with a better rod. Or buy a rod that covers a different need. Buy a ML rod, or a crank bait rod instead of the typical MH fast all-rounder. 6 Combos are enough to cover just about anything you want to do...as long as they aren't just the same setup x 6. (and when you are buying $100 combos they are probably very similar) I have at least 35 combos in my racks, but when I go out I never take more than 8 and usually 5 of them are the same every time with one or two different ones thrown in..Oh for the record 10 of my 35 combos are $100 combos that I would sell if I could. I bought them before I realized that better quality gear is way more valuable and useful than is a mountain of cheap equipment. I wish I had that money back or would have spent it on 2 or 3 decent rigs instead.. It's not too late for you. For the price of six $100 combos you could have two $300 combos that would be very nice. Nice enough that you would still be appreciative of them years from now. I promise that you would get more enjoyment from those 2 than you would from 12 cheap combos.