Curious if anyone has experience with the new lews paramag brakes in either the RX or ITB varieties. Looking at the custom gen 3 (all black) and the custom pro (gold).

Looking for an easy and free casting reel, with brakes that offer the best combo of control and distance. While also offering build quality and smoothness. Prefer smaller reels and lightweight.

I have experience with numerous Shimano (svs infinity), Daiwa (SV and magforce z), and Lews (LFS 2nd gen magnetic brakes and a BPS reel with both magnetic and centrifical brakes). Been looking hard at the Metanium and Zillion as well, but they don't check every box for me.

Thanks in advance.

34-mm Daiwa floating spool is last word for me. It also seems to be for everyone who continues to copy the function.

Out of your list, Lew's LFS mag is also the last word for me. I sold two reels with their centrifugal, and gave away a dual brake.

I do not have experience with either braking system you mentioned. But, I am definitely not a fan of the mag trax brakes. The new paramag should be better, but for pure distance I think svs infinity will still be on top. Between a daiwa 34mm floating spool like the zillion and svs inifinity I think you just have to choose which one you prefer. Both are great in my opinion.

The ITB is basically a copy of Daiwa's magforce z while the regular paramag is a copy of Daiwa's standard magforce. Both braking systems seem ok but I'm not sure I love the direction they seem to be heading in which is putting magnetic brakes in every reel and their current ACB system is preferable for me with some models like the BB1. I even like their old dual magnetic centrifugal system that they had in the previous gen KVD and custom reels and feel like they could have at least put that in the new Speed Spool for the price increase they put on it.

I'm also a bit weary of new tech right when it comes out as some things like that tend to take a generation or two to get really dialed in. So all that said Lew's is actually one of my favorite reel companies and as an example I have a BB1 on a GLX 844 MBR that's pretty much my favorite combo right now but I'm starting to worry a bit about some of the decisions they seem to be making and the direction they appear to be going in.

Generally speaking I personally like mag brakes for lighter stuff but for heavier stuff I like centrifugal brakes in a lot of cases. On another note that Johnny Morris Carbonlite reel at Bass Pro is very comparable to a speed spool but the brakes in that one are dual brakes and there are times when you can find that one for $100. For some combos that's all I really need but there are others where I might want something a little higher end and the current Tournament Pro, Super Duty LFS and BB1 models have filled that gap nicely. Really hoping they don't come out with new ones and put mag only brakes in them and increase the price.

I also have not seen much of an explanation on the actual difference between these two and see a lot of people just say stuff like 'this has that new Paramag braking system' and it seems like they might not realize there's two versions of it or really understand what they're actually getting.

I do like magforce z style brakes for my Dobyns crankbait rods and have been happy with the Tatula 100 and Tatula 150 for those. Doesn't really make sense to me to pay twice as much for the Lew's counterpart in that ugly yellow color they went with and both Tatulas have the magforce z which is Diawa's version of the Paramag ITB and aside from costing less my guess is it's a bit more refined at this point.

So in summary I would say I'm cautiously optimistic about the new braking system at the moment. And on another note I'm not sure there's a better reel to pair with a GLX 844 MBR than the BB1 they match perfectly and the balance with that setup is amazing. Completely get that some people love $500 casting reels but for me the ones in this range have been the best bang for the buck IMHO and I'm hoping I'm not watching a good thing get ruined which seems to be happening a bit lately.