After one day of fishing, I have to say the jury is still out.  Very free spool, that much is certain.  The drag is just plain sick.  Even completely 'off', it is quite stout.  Even more so than a Revo S.

The mag brake is effective, but marginally so.  I turned if off for a while, there was a minute difference between 1/3 on and completely off.

The weight is the main selling point I guess.  It is certainly light, almost too light IMO.

The strange thing to me is that when it comes to wholesale prices, the Premier is only $16 more than the STX.  :-/

I think you hit all the salient points.  I owned a Premier for two days, then returned it for an STX.  

I agree with everything you said.  The part I particularly agree with is the weight part.  It was super light - more so than I liked.  This is precisely the reason I never bought a Shimano Chonarch 50Mg.  I must be the only one in the world that appreciates a little heft.  

I also thought the spool looked flimsy - though I'm sure it's quite adequate.  The spool was drilled more than the STX's spool, and the the internal reinforcements definately looked less beefy than on the STX.

Premier is a fine reel, but I knew I was in for a love/hate relationship with it, when I knew I already loved the STX.  So decided to stay with what I knew.

It'll sing to ya when you cast it.  But you have to hold and rub it just right.  

It'll sing to ya when you cast it. But you have to hold and rub it just right.

 

Burleyman, whenever you want to get rid of it, I have a home for it.

It'll sing to ya when you cast it.  But you have to hold and rub it just right.  

 

Had two that sang like Fran Drescher after partying too hard in a smoked filled room!  Replaced with a Curado 100  

Suggestion for Garcia.

Redo the mag braking system or scape it in favor of the centrifugal on the S.  I've got SC's and an SX and adjusting that brake seems to effect little.    

I too have the Premier and I have been debating on taking it back.  It makes a grinding noise towards the end of the cast.  I put a drop of oil on the spool spool shaft, one on the break side of the spool, and I then wiped the spool with a lint free cloth.  The noise is gone but now it will backlash frequently and the breaks seem to make little difference.  I also noticed that the drag is not all it is made up to be.  It works well for the small ones but I hooked a 5lb+ LM earlier this week and it seemed rough on the retrieve.  

With all the bad said, it casts well and feels smooth and light as a feather.  

If I take it back I might end up with the Core or another Daiwa Zillion.  I'm not sure what to do just yet.  I might fish it another week and see what happens.

I hated the first STX I bought for almost  two days. I now own five. Take the time to get used to them. They will be worth the early cussings you give them.

Intead of the core u should get the metainum mg7 ;D. lighter more bearings and cast awsome

I too have the Premier and I have been debating on taking it back. It makes a grinding noise towards the end of the cast. I put a drop of oil on the spool spool shaft, one on the break side of the spool, and I then wiped the spool with a lint free cloth. The noise is gone but now it will backlash frequently and the breaks seem to make little difference. I also noticed that the drag is not all it is made up to be. It works well for the small ones but I hooked a 5lb+ LM earlier this week and it seemed rough on the retrieve.

With all the bad said, it casts well and feels smooth and light as a feather.

If I take it back I might end up with the Core or another Daiwa Zillion. I'm not sure what to do just yet. I might fish it another week and see what happens.

I'm not the most proficient baitcaster but I was emptying the spool on my stx all morning.

I'm not the most proficient baitcaster but I was emptying the spool on my stx all morning.

Is that because it casts great or were you picking and pulling out backlashes and over-runs?

I think the Premier and STX are both great and  I fish them both side by side and can't really complain about either.  My Premier coupled with my Carrot Stix make for an unbelievably light duo that I can cast all day.  My Premier is just as smooth in reeling and casting as my two STXs.