Hi all,

New to the forums. 2 years ago I bought the new U.S. Reel the spinning reel with the large spool and yes my casting distance was awesome. However light weight it was with the carbon fiber body etc. it turned out to be a truly "Light Weight" reel. I used it for my annual fishing trip to northern Michigan all of about 2 weeks and about 4 hours per day. That completely wore it out and the bearings, what there was of them, such as they were, completely cratered. As did the bushing material. My wife indicated we had no "fishing budget" to buy a new one last year.

For the second year I tried everything to resuscitate it to no avail and in the end returning it to the factory.  

I have not seen it yet, but they sent a replacement. Clearly the admonishments in the books by Grigsby and VanDam et al. hold up. Buy reels with quality bearings, don[ch8217]t look for bargains. Although on my meager budget $150 this was not a bargain reel, it turned out to be a true light weight. :-/

Now I am shopping for a new reel and will be looking for something that will last longer that the U.S. Reel. The Zebco spin casting reels form less than $30 lasted longer then the U.S. Reel.

There are several GOOD Shimano and Daiwa reels in that price range...  and if you want a lighter weight reel, the Stradic MG might be a fit for you.

buy a pflueger medalist at $79 or a pflueger supreme at $99.you'll be amazed at the quality you get.they are comparable to reels costing 3 times as much.

I did a shoot out that included that reel just before it was released to the public. It didn't fair too well. I wasn't impressed. The concept was good but the product they put together was not.

When Ray Scott introduced his new light weight rod and reel combination, the U.S. Reel was part of that package. I used in once, for a couple of hours...The reel was rough and sticky. I have since heard that those original reels were recalled and replaced, but I was never notified. Also, the new U.S. Reels are said to be significantly improved over their first model...I'll never know.

p.s. Shimano is about to introduce a new Stradic which I'm sure will be fantastic. So if you can wait, you can either buy the new "state of the art" Stradic or probably get the current 2500FH for a substantial discount. I feel that this is Shimano's "Best Value" and it fits the pricie range you are looking for.

p.s. Shimano is about to introduce a new Stradic which I'm sure will be fantastic. So if you can wait, you can either buy the new "state of the art" Stradic or probably get the current 2500FH for a substantial discount. I feel that this is Shimano's "Best Value" and it fits the pricie range you are looking for.

Sorry to threadjack, but any info as to what will be new or updated on the new Stradics?

A $150 spinning reel that basically fell apart in just 2 years?

Not good.  

Fell apart in two weeks of use! Not two years.  One week of use the first year then the second week the following year finished off.

Mine was rough (sticky spots) right out of the box. At the time of introduction the reel was about $120, the same as a Shimano Stradic. I don't think it's too much to ask that reels be "comparable" at the same pricing point. So, if you accept the comparison I will state infatically that there was NO comparison whats-so-ever!