Just picked up this reel for $39 ( original list price was $89.99 but often on sale for around $70.00. Kasking has discontinued this particular model but it is brand new in the box. I have not fished with it yet...ad won't be able to for a few more months as I live in New York State, and the river is full of ice and will be for a couple more months. However, I am very impressed with the reel build quality. It is an aluminum frame 7.2 to 1, 9+1 bearing reel with magnetic brake. Holds 110 yards of 12 lbs mono, so it is a perfect size for the way I fish. Because it is a full aluminum frame reel it is not the lightest reel I own, but it is not the heaviest either. The reel feels incredibly solid and super smooth. The drag is very smooth and surprisingly powerful at around 17 lbs at full set. I spooled it with 12 lbs Excell mono and slapped it on my 7" Daiwa Arid X rod and made some casts in the back yard. the reel was very easy to "tune" for my use. It casts very well with minimum effort. It definitely outcasts any other reel I own. So far I am very pleased. I don't know how it will hold up over time, but at least it is starting out great. Does anyone else have one of these reels, and if so what is your impression of it after extended use?

I purchased the Crixus combo a while ago and noticed some issues. It started extremely smooth and worked just fine, but after a few months of light use, it felt grainy and cheap. I fugured id just use it as long as it would last. Eventually, the drag completely gave out and broke, making the handle spin backwards from pulling on a snag. I know this isnt the exact reel you purchased, but I thought this might help. Hopefully, you don't experience the same things.

5 hours ago, Flukeflicker said:

I purchased the Crixus combo a while ago and noticed some issues. It started extremely smooth and worked just fine, but after a few months of light use, it felt grainy and cheap. I fugured id just use it as long as it would last. Eventually, the drag completely gave out and broke, making the handle spin backwards from pulling on a snag. I know this isnt the exact reel you purchased, but I thought this might help. Hopefully, you don't experience the same things.

Thank you. On of the reasons I purchased the older Crixus Armor X is that it felt more "heavy duty" to me than the new(er) Crixus. Of course, the price I payed had a lot to do with it also. For what I paid, if I get a year or two of service out of it I will be happy.

I picked up a couple of these reels a month ago. I haven't fished with mine either but the few casts I've done in the yard impressed me. Smooth and casts easily. Probably won't hold up a well as my Shimano SLX but for a backup reel, I think they'll do fine.

Also picked up two of the armor x reels for the 38 dollar sale price. From what I understand these are much heavier duty built than the standard crixus reels. I would go as far as saying a different reel completely since the gearing and fram are different between the armor x and regular crixus. Very please so far. I let someone on my boat use one the other day and they threw a final copy with it. No issues at all.