Here are some pics of the internals of the reel. The drag on this reel is pretty strong. I think the reel is good as the citca e. The bad thing about this reel is that it has too much plastic in the internals.

The reel does feel plasticy IMO when cranking it, the normal carbonlite feels much smoother, the only thing I prefer is the drag on the JM. Someone else took one apart and said it was good internally but I know nothing about reel breakdowns

Looks pretty much the same as other pq's internally as far as the plastic parts. The drag looks upgraded.

I broke one down and cleaned it. My biggest gripe are the two side cover screws that go into plastic instead of metal.

I broke one down and cleaned it. My biggest gripe are the two side cover screws that go into plastic instead of metal.

If these are the screws on the inside part of the reel (where the spool sits and under the bottom of the main gear side cover) then its pretty common with the pq line of reels. The one on the bottom is for quick access to lube the main gear instead of having to remove the whole side plate.

It has about the same amount of Plastic parts as my Curados or TPs

Are the drag washers carbon?

They don't look like carbon fiber washers from the picture.

I broke one down and cleaned it. My biggest gripe are the two side cover screws that go into plastic instead of metal.

i took my 7:1 apart yesterday to grease the main gear, and those screws i don't know about. the older cl and the pqts i have seemed to have sturdier screws. i was really scared i was going to strip these out because they're so small and they were really tight in there.

tore down, the new cl looks pretty much identical to the older model, as well as the 2 revos i have.

i've only got to fish these 2 new ones (7:1 & 5:1) but i really like them! the 5:1 is really smooth, but the 7:1 was a little rough. i got the gears greased up now and it seems to be much better. hopefully i'll get to fish this weekend and see.

If these are the screws on the inside part of the reel (where the spool sits and under the bottom of the main gear side cover) then its pretty common with the pq line of reels. The one on the bottom is for quick access to lube the main gear instead of having to remove the whole side plate.

I've just been spoiled by metal on metal when it comes to threaded connections Honestly unless the drag gets fouled with water or oil that side cover will stay put for a long time. The bearing on the brake side cover is also retained by three screws into plastic instead of a metal clip. The drag washers are carbon. My only complaint is the metal screws to plastic parts.

I also tore my 7:1 down saturday night. The only plastic stuff inside is the normal clutch/idler/yoke stuff most reels have. Make sure you have an exact match screw driver for the screw heads, they look to get buggered up really easy. I have never seen more grease inside of a reel. The handle sideplate literally had a spot with 1/8'' glob stuck to it lol.

I took it out yesterday on its first test run. For what its worth I was using a new to me flouro that has slinky handling characteristics, casting a light bait (RC .05) on a MH rod. So I didnt push it. None the less, I was very impressed. I own alot of reels and have fished this bait on all of them, casting distance was very very good. Once I get a line on it that behaves itself better, I think it'll really launch a light bait.

Alot of people griped about it being noisy in store. Part of that is the spool is ported so much that the spool bearings are not as sound insulated until you get line on it. Which does help. The bearings still are audible, but I think the mtl. its made out of is the cause of that. Either way no biggie for me.

EDIT* your right about the non handle side plate having the plastic piece, Brad. Forgo about that part.

Pretty technical reviews. GREAT job guys!

Screws threaded into plastic are a short cut I don't care for but as for the internals, I don't see any more plastic than in other reels based on that same platform (Pure Fishing).

One more thing I forgot to say. I backed off both brakes & the spool tension and timed the freespool a few times to get a good average. I did it again after flushing/oiling the spool bearings and a general cleaning. The time from start to stop after flicking the spool with my finger almost doubled. Lots of grease in those spool bearings.

Edit. I got the 5.4:1 so I'm thinking 7' MH Crucial crank rod with 10 lb fluoro. I still like my noodles for fishing in current but the bait monkey has been bugging me.

I haven't cracked mine open yet, but I like how the drag star is metal, unlike my Curado 51. Note - I fully agree there's no performance difference between a plastic/metal star, I just like the metal star better. Mine were a bit sticky but that was because there was no lube on the level-wind guide.

I'm not big on the EVA foam knobs, but I like them better than the ridged-rubber knobs on the Extremes. I greatly prefer the rubber knobs of the Curado the most.

I think the way they made the centrifugal braking adjustment external was clever. It limits you to changing by pairs, only, but you can fine tune with the mag brakes if desired.

Yeah I was kinda bummed about the centrifugals only being able to be used in pairs also. On my PQT I'll often use only one. You may be able to put a very tiny peice of tape or something over the disc to keep the 2nd brake from from coming out? Or even remove one pin altogether. I dunno I havent played with it much yet.

The lockwork is a bit different from the PQ and earlier CL and many parts will probably not interchange with the earlier models. On the "plastic" parts (are they really nylon or whatever?) it's interesting that some of them (like the pinion yoke) have been lightened by sorta honeycombing them - as compared to the solid parts on the PQ and earlier CL. Even on a part that light they were going for the weight savings.

On the screws going into plastic - not good...but at least repairable if you strip them out.

Yeah I was kinda bummed about the centrifugals only being able to be used in pairs also. On my PQT I'll often use only one. You may be able to put a very tiny peice of tape or something over the disc to keep the 2nd brake from from coming out? Or even remove one pin altogether. I dunno I havent played with it much yet.

I could have passed on the external adjustment for the centrifugals and would have preferred that they retained the DBS system of the earlier reels (RC, PL,PQ, CL). I can live with 2 but as with you, I occasionally only use 1 brake with some baits.

Agreed. I will say the new spool is lighter for what its worth. Maybe the new brake saves some spool weight.

So you guys that have one what you going to use it for mostly? Like have it set-up for jigs only spinnerbaits only tech specific or going to be multi-purpose? What rod & line you have in mind?

I've got two 6.4 ratio reels inbound. One will go on a jig rod with 15lb flouro; the other is a spare for right now until I think of something to do with it. If I wasn't running the durability test on one of my 6.4 ratio PQs, the 2nd JM-CL would probably take it's place on my lipless crank rod with 10lb YZ. Perhaps the 2nd reel will replace a CL (first model) that's on my worm rod and if so it would have 12lb flouro. Have to think about it since right now, i have more reels than rods.

i'm using a 7:1 with 15# fluoro on a 7' mh carbonlite micro for plastics. 5:1 with 12# fluoro on a 7' mh daiwa tds spinnerbait/crankbait rod for cranks.

the one thing i don't like as much on the new reels as the old ones are the handle knobs. the new ones are eva also, but they're more like the pq. i picked up a few of the older style handles last year from bps r&r repair, so i just swapped out the handles.

I picked 1 up and am going to use it for cranks, probably light/shallow ones on a 7'm crank rod with 12# Yo-Zuri.

Mines the 7.1 and is gonna be used for jigs, plastics, traps, squarebills, and buzzbaits.

The only plastic parts that concern me in this reel are the yolk posts. That clutch trip plate is a little iffy, but so are Daiwa's trip plates.