I have the new Stradic, nothing wrong or great about it. I've had Sustains n Stella's but this is going on one of my tournament co-angler rods which get too beat up. Never had the Daiwa in my hand but leaning towards it unless I get an overwhelming response to stay w a Stradic. Thanks

I love the CI4+ (which is the one I assume you meant, not the older

CI4). But I also have serious respect for Daiwa having owned some

of their "mid"-range Lexas, and handled other models in-store. I'd 

definitely consider the Ballistic LT. 

 

FWIW, this was a topic back in November, too:

 

Both are excellent reels in their own right. I went with the Ballistic LT and to date I'm really happy with it. The CI4+ has no manual anti reverse. With that said, if I was in your position, I would purchase the Fuego LT as your " co-angler " set up.  Save a bunch a money and get great performance for less. 

1 hour ago, Darren. said:

I love the CI4+ (which is the one I assume you meant, not the older

CI4). But I also have serious respect for Daiwa having owned some

of their "mid"-range Lexas, and handled other models in-store. I'd 

definitely consider the Ballistic LT. 

 

FWIW, this was a topic back in November, too:

 

Thanks for the post I searched in this forum w 0 results.

I have a friend who has the ballistic and loves it. my only gripe with it is that they no longer have a ball bearing in the line roller, and I believe tackletours review stated that it wasn't great at preventing line twist (which the old twist buster diawas were great at )

 

is it because they took the ball bearing out of the line roller??

 

I have a stradic 3000Fk and love it but its not a ci4

11 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

Both are excellent reels in their own right. I went with the Ballistic LT and to date I'm really happy with it. The CI4+ has no manual anti reverse. With that said, if I was in your position, I would purchase the Fuego LT as your " co-angler " set up.  Save a bunch a money and get great performance for less. 

I bought a Fuego LT as a sort of "beater" last summer and I can't feel much difference over my Stradics.  

12 hours ago, TxHawgs said:

Thanks for the post I searched in this forum w 0 results.

I have found the best way to search the forum is through Google. Just type in the topic and the bassresource at the end and bam you'll find topics related to your search from 15 years ago.

 

Back on topic. My biggest gripe and is defiantly a first world problem was the CI4+ was too light. I could never find a rod in my price range that would balance with it. I have now bought a Helium 3 and also a E6X that balance pretty well with it. I had the Ballistic LT for a short while and thought it was "OK" I felt like it was missing something for a reel at that price point. I ended up selling to a friend who used it and fell in love with it. I know have a total 4 CI4+ and 3 of the new Okuma Helios SX reels which are truly underrated and at a cheaper price point.

This is goin on a Alpha Angler Wrench rod which is plenty light enough.

I fished a friends Ballistic LT for 6 hours and it's a very nice reel. But my 2500 ci4+ almost reels itself. My next 2 or 10 reels will be ci4+.

I bought a Ballistic LT and used it for a day and returned it.  IMO it is no where near what a Ci4+ is.  I paid the extra $ and bought another Ci4+.

I own several Ci4, stradics, and LT tatulas. If I buy another it would be Stradic hands down. Sure the Daiwa is light but not near as refined. My opinion anyways....

Check out Tackle Advisors on YT. There's an excellent vid on the Daiwa Ballistic LT as well as a comparison vid to the Stradic Ci4, Sustain, others. Worth a watch. Sounds like you can't go wrong either way

I’ve fished both and the Ci4+ in my opinion just feels smoother and more refined than the LT series. Having fished with several LT reels I’d say the best bang for your buck is the Fuego, I couldn’t notice any differences between it and the Tatula LT in my limited time using them both. I’d go with a Fuego if I were going to let a Co-Angler be using it.

I have 2 Fuego LTs a 2500 and 3000.  Both are excellent.  I am super happy with them.  Can't beat $75.

I have both reels and really do not notice much difference between them. I have sent several stradics back for repairs in the past.....

What did you go with OP? This post is 8 months old. I too have a AA Wrench and paired it with the CI4+. I love it for skipping!

I would take the CI4+