What are your thoughts about the new curado I?  

I like all mine. They feel very solid and smooth. No complaints especially since you can find them pretty easily for 100-120 gently used right now. 

I really enjoy my I's. Can't really say anything negative about them. 

I like the I series but I still don't like the 200 size so I let mine go. A curado/Scorpion 71 is in my future. 

I really like mine. I use it on my spinnerbait/chatterbait combo with 12# Yo Zuri and won't be changing. I have 2 brakes on and the dial on 2 and unless I throw into a stiff wind, don't pay attention or don't adjust, it just won't backlash on me. 

However, I don't cast with an over the shoulder bomb cast either. Most of my casting with those baits are target orientated where I use an underhand roll cast the majority of the time. 

 

Mike

 

My curado I has been a let down i own chronarch E series and even citica e series that are much further casting smoother reels

I love them . In my opinion it's the best curado yet. I love the E's but the I is a much smoother reel.

I like them. So far so good. The only thing i personally dislike about them is the way the sideplate is opened. But Im sure that probably doesnt matter to most people. Im really having a hard time refraining myself from getting a 70 series hg. 

Some guys still like the E's, and I don't blame them. They are fantastic reels, but the I's are better. Not necessarily smoother, but they're better casters in my hands, have more cranking power, and seem more solidly built. I also really like the knobs they use on the Curado I's. I wish Shimano would use those with all their reels.

I consider myself an enthusiast, so I own reels from most manufacturers from the highest end to around the $100 price point. For my money the Citica/Curado I's are one of the best values you can find.

On the 70 Curado, I don't see any real difference in performance between them and the 200's. I think for a smaller, lighter profile they're nice, but not necessarily a better reel. There's definitely not as much difference between the 70i's and 200i's as there was between the 50e's and 200e's to me. Part of that is all the aftermarket support the e's had, and that's probably coming for the i's, so I may change my mind later. It would be great to see what a 70 could do as a finesse platform with a shallower, lighter spool.

All in all though, buy one if you don't have one. They're fantastic reels for their price point.

9 hours ago, bassbassontherange said:

Some guys still like the E's, and I don't blame them. They are fantastic reels, but the I's are better. Not necessarily smoother, but they're better casters in my hands, have more cranking power, and seem more solidly built. I also really like the knobs they use on the Curado I's. I wish Shimano would use those with all their reels.

I consider myself an enthusiast, so I own reels from most manufacturers from the highest end to around the $100 price point. For my money the Citica/Curado I's are one of the best values you can find.

On the 70 Curado, I don't see any real difference in performance between them and the 200's. I think for a smaller, lighter profile they're nice, but not necessarily a better reel. There's definitely not as much difference between the 70i's and 200i's as there was between the 50e's and 200e's to me. Part of that is all the aftermarket support the e's had, and that's probably coming for the i's, so I may change my mind later. It would be great to see what a 70 could do as a finesse platform with a shallower, lighter spool.

All in all though, buy one if you don't have one. They're fantastic reels for their price point.

You seem to know a lot about reels as far as shimano goes.  But do you know anything about the new Abu revo sx ? I was looking at them the other day

I have all curado I's, at one point I bought a revo sx from a guy I knew that was sponsored by Abu. I tried my best to like it but I never could, the reel just didn't appeal to me.

18 hours ago, Backwoods bassin said:

You seem to know a lot about reels as far as shimano goes.  But do you know anything about the new Abu revo sx ? I was looking at them the other day

I haven't owned an sx, but I hear they're pretty decent reels. I've owned a couple MGX's and I really enjoy them. I think if DVT were to chime in he'd probably tell you they're pretty decent reels, and that they're very similar to the reels at similar price points from many other popular manufacturers not named Shimano or Daiwa. That's because Lew's, Abu, Quantum, some BPS stuff among others all fall under the Doyo umbrella... same parts, similar schematics, same factory and assembly lines. That's not to say they're bad reels, just similar. 

I'll say based on my own personal experiences I really like some of the high end reels from Doyo manufacturers (like the MGX) and I like a couple one offs like the Tournament MB from Lew's. Also based on my experiences, I think Shimano and Daiwa are pretty much guaranteed to give you excellent long term performance. I'm not sure about how the other brands will hold up in comparison, but so far so good on some of the newer stuff. Older reels, like 1st generation revo's, have poor reputations depending on who you talk to.

I find myself trying everything I can, and usually sticking with Shimano in the end for almost every single price point. Daiwa is very good as well, I just prefer Shimano. Just one man's opinion.