At the end of the day u get what u pay for,some people are shimano supporters and some are daiwa,what ever one u like is ur own choice,but I like this reel!my old dogfight was the same design for over 10 years,that's a good thing,so can only put the cash down on this one and see if it can do it again!I think the 6500zh underdog punched well above its weight!

Just curious here...are you saying the stellas are sticky drags straight out the box? Most sticky drags i have come across happen over time as the washers wear out or dry out....The washers on my sw 10,000 didnt get sticky but i have heard a stella 10,000 when they do and they dont sound nice....I have also heard that the stella washers are not up to standard but that was an issue with the ocea jiggers too....Once you put some quality washers on board= problem solved(that is what i have just done with my worn out stella washers) but i agree...They should be good in the first place...especially for a grand + reel...Some better quality carbon washers(heavy duty)...something shimano should sort out right now.

So basically if i want a dog fight i am either looking at the old 6500 which is around the size of the stella 18k or the next dog fight coming out which is obviously the 7000 and not quite as big as the 20k? So as i am wanting a 10k sized stella then i am basically stuck with the Stella? For me i dont mind going either way as they are both great pieces of tolls.

KingySlayer wrote: So basically if i want a dog fight i am either looking at the old 6500 which is around the size of the stella 18k or the next dog fight coming out which is obviously the 7000 and not quite as big as the 20k? So as i am wanting a 10k sized stella then i am basically stuck with the Stella? For me i dont mind going either way as they are both great pieces of tolls.

What a load of crap this thread has turned into, someone posts about a new product in the market which people may be interested in and all of a sudden it's hijacked and turned into a Stella ad.

ReelAppealLures wrote: laidbackdood wrote: Just curious here...are you saying the stellas are sticky drags straight out the box? Most sticky drags i have come across happen over time as the washers wear out or dry out....The washers on my sw 10,000 didnt get sticky but i have heard a stella 10,000 when they do and they dont sound nice....I have also heard that the stella washers are not up to standard but that was an issue with the ocea jiggers too....Once you put some quality washers on board= problem solved(that is what i have just done with my worn out stella washers) but i agree...They should be good in the first place...especially for a grand + reel...Some better quality carbon washers(heavy duty)...something shimano should sort out right now. I think you are misunderstooddood ... Ben meant the sticky drags on the Daiwa. Do you really think Shimano would use "washers are not up to standard" kit in their flagship model? This kind of "I heard" information is rubbish, Shimano has their drag sorted on the Stella period, service the reel accordingly and you have the best reel on the market.