Firstly I know what most of the posts in this thread will say. I am looking for people who have actually handled and/or used both reels. I'm using this reel for shakey head and weighted ribbontail worms. I also do not factor where a reel was made i.e self production vs Doyo outsourcing. With that said which one do you prefer and why did you pick one over the other?

I've owned both.  The Stradic Ci4+ feels solid, smooth, and light.  The Patriarch didn't. 

16 hours ago, offsidewing said:

I've owned both.  The Stradic Ci4+ feels solid, smooth, and light.  The Patriarch didn't. 

Thank you.

I've never used or owned either one because I don't see a need in a spinning reel that expensive. This is entirely unlike casting reels and rods, in my opinion. This isn't an opinion based solely on the price of a product in full context, and to each their own, buy what you like, and all that other stuff. 

 

I own the newest model Stradic Ci4+ and both the older and newer model Patriachs. With price similar, the Stradic is far superior to the Patriarchs in terms of build quality. The Patriarch is cool, and the older ones came with an additional spool, which was nice to keep on hand, but 1:1 if the price is the same I far prefer the Stradic. Weight for both is very light, and many rods may feel a little weird to balance with them. Drag for both is fantastic, but I think the Stradic does a bit better with braid + leader than the Patriarchs do. If you do decided on the Pflueger, look around, as there's often sales that you can snag them for up to half off asking price. 

 

Hope this helps! Whichever you decide, I'm sure you'll be happy with either. 

I have never owned a Stradic, but did own an older generation Pfluger Supreme XT.  I loved that reel, but the body, or shaft bent twice on me and that was with minimal use.  I'm not a Shimano guy anymore, but they do make quality reels.

 

Wdy

Out of the two I would suggest the Stradic Ci4+, it is a much smoother and more refined reel, also the drag is much better imo. (also this my patriarch xt had really bad line out of the box but shims solved that problem.)  Another option is the Daiwa Tatula LT it has become one of my favorite spinning reels over the past year. It is just as smooth, refined and light as the Stradic Ci4+ and feel as powerful. (and it is only $190 but can regularly be found for $150-$160)

If you pull open a Patriarch spinning reel, you'll find the same cheap main gear & bearing that you'll find in a $40 president. The patriarch gets you a light body, but the 'guts' of the reel are still quite low end. That's consistent with all of Pfluger's reels. 

 

On the other side the Stradic Ci4+ has some of the best gearing & bail line management in the market. It's really not even a question of which reel is better at the price point. Stradic all day. 

On 5/27/2019 at 7:49 PM, offsidewing said:

I've owned both.  The Stradic Ci4+ feels solid, smooth, and light.  The Patriarch didn't. 

While other than having a bail that doesn't give me enough room I think the Stradic Ci4+ is the better reel, the Patriach is lighter than the Stradic Ci4+ and without breaking it, I'm not exactly sure how the Patriarch didn't "feel" solid.

 

I just picked up a Daiwa Ballistic LT on ebay for less than I could find a Tatula LT for. That would be a decent cheaper alternative to the Stradic Ci4+.

4 hours ago, punch said:

If you pull open a Patriarch spinning reel, you'll find the same cheap main gear & bearing that you'll find in a $40 president. The patriarch gets you a light body, but the 'guts' of the reel are still quite low end. That's consistent with all of Pfluger's reels. 

 

On the other side the Stradic Ci4+ has some of the best gearing & bail line management in the market. It's really not even a question of which reel is better at the price point. Stradic all day. 

The gears are entirely different in the XT and the bearings are not the same size.....    

I've worked on both models.  I own four of the Shimano reels.  They're simply a better constructed reel.  That's not to say the XT is any slouch.  You'd probably be happy with either. 

The difference is how long will the reels perform at peak level without major maintenance.  Stractic reels rarely need parts replaced and have Shimano or after market performance parts available whenever needed.

Tom

I'm a big pflueger spinning reel fan but I've always stuck with the president's. Cant beat em for the money.  Of the 2 mentioned I'd be quite sure the stradic is the superior reel and would feel much better about its longevity.  50 for a reel is a throw away reel to me. Use it for 3 or 4 years and buy a new one. 200 for one is another story. I'd be hoping for 10 plus years. Good luck

9 hours ago, punch said:

If you pull open a Patriarch spinning reel, you'll find the same cheap main gear & bearing that you'll find in a $40 president. The patriarch gets you a light body, but the 'guts' of the reel are still quite low end. That's consistent with all of Pfluger's reels. 

 

On the other side the Stradic Ci4+ has some of the best gearing & bail line management in the market. It's really not even a question of which reel is better at the price point. Stradic all day. 

In one of his videos the Tackle Advisor comments on the cheap pot metal used in the Patriarch gears.

Thanks guys looks like I'm getting the Stradic.