so what do you think.  This is one of those things that got me thinking.  Looking at reels the last week or so and I find it hard to believe that the extra bearings in the Tour Edition are worth the extra $$.  Anybody here own both?  Tell what you think.

I don't have either of those, but as a long time Energy PT user I'll give you my thoughts.

The extra two bearings are probably in the handle, and would account for at most, $10 of the difference. If you intend to use this for moving baits; cranks, spinnerbaits, etc, then the bearings in the handle are definitely worth a few bucks. I spent about $45 each for new handles for three of my Millionaire reels, just to get a smoother feel while cranking. It was worth it to me.

The Tour model has the vacuum deposition coating. That accounts for some of the price difference. I have three of last year's PT's, and the finish still looks like new after a lot of hard use. It is nearly indestructible. Worth a few bucks in my opinion.

The biggest cost differential has to be the carbon fiber handle. Look up ZPI or Bassart carbon fiber handles, and you'll see where the money went. Very pricey, and not, to my mind, worth the cost.

Just my fifith of a dimes worth.

Cheers,

GK

I own a few of both the energy and the tour from last years models.  They are both great reels and if money was no option I would own all Tours but it is an option so the Energy has my nod.  The tour is better but I do not think it is $100 better

I can only speak for last years tour editions and energies but in my experience with them I don't think the extra $100 is justifiable however, that didn't stop me from buying a few tour editions anyway. There is a definite increase in performance with the tour edition over the energy, even if its not $100 worth of an increase. The real question to ask yourself is whether or not the extra performance is worth the increased cost to you.