Like many of you guys, i have fished a lot of different brands of reels. I don't like the fact that some manufacturers press the anti-reverse bearing into the side plate. It's harder to find a side plate than it is another anti-reverse bearing if the reel is older. Do any of you consider this when buying a certain brand? Are hard hook sets the reason for these bearing failures or is it a combination of a hard hook set and the angler putting pressure on the handle at the same time? Just some thoughts. Would like your opinions. Thanks. 

Back when I was servicing a lot of reels, I only replaced a few arb's. Most failed for a lack of regular maintenance. A few were damaged by over tightening the drag.

 

They are not hard to press out. Just takes a bench vise and a socket of the correct size.

I agree, neglect is the is the number one cause failures with locked down drags in a distant second. IMO it's a non issue in buying decisions.