So I’ve never done it. But I have some reels I’m debating updating the drag washers in. Is it worth it? Is there an improvement? Smoothness? Also any help sourcing quality ones? The reels are:

Lews LFS speedspool gen 2

Lews LFS speed spool gen 3

Lews accel RX

3 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

So I’ve never done it. But I have some reels I’m debating updating the drag washers in. Is it worth it? Is there an improvement? Smoothness? Also any help sourcing quality ones? The reels are:

Lews LFS speedspool gen 2

Lews LFS speed spool gen 3

Lews accel RX

Look at Vican Bearings https://vicanbearings.com/search?q=drag+washers&filter.p.product_type=

I haven't found any variation in quality, and HPR Bearings (website and ebay store) pretty much covers every reel on Carbontex.

What you'll find with Carbontex in Lew's, you give up max drag in exchange for smoother (low-inertia) drag start.

Contact Dawn at Smooth Drag. You may need to measure what's already in there since she usually makes them for Abu, Daiwa, Penn, and Shimano, but she will most definitely have what you need. Give them a very light coat of grease and you are good to go. Being that Lew's reels are made by Doyo like Abu low profiles, chances are she already has what you need, just provide the measurements.

9 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

I haven't found any variation in quality, and HPR Bearings (website and ebay store) pretty much covers every reel on Carbontex.

What you'll find with Carbontex in Lew's, you give up max drag in exchange for smoother (low-inertia) drag start.

So I’d lose max drag and not improve it at all?

@Joedodge The Carbontex will be thicker than the stock drag washers, and may be overall larger surface area (see my photo), but the weave texture of Carbontex reduces the actual contact surface.

What you gain is more control over drag set, smoother drag - and nobody inshore ever needs double-digit drag.

I bought a sheet of drag material and cut my own. Many times cheaper than store bought.

39 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

@Joedodge The Carbontex will be thicker than the stock drag washers, and may be overall larger surface area (see my photo), but the weave texture of Carbontex reduces the actual contact surface.

What you gain is more control over drag set, smoother drag - and nobody inshore ever needs double-digit drag.

Thank you for the explanation that makes perfect sense

Bottom line is maximum. Drag is way over emphasized. The rule of thumb is 1/3 of line test so even 25 pound line only requires 8 pounds of Drag. If all you want is lockdown, there are lots of ways to achieve that I would never recommend it. I’ve never experienced a noticeable loss in Drag pressure by using Carbontex and yes, the main advantage is a smooth, consistent Drag, which is the most important thing

On 6/22/2026 at 9:44 AM, Alex from GA said:

I bought a sheet of drag material and cut my own. Many times cheaper than store bought.

That's a good idea.