I've used one for three seasons now and love it. The drag is one of the best out there and the reel is tough as nails. Two drawbacks are: (1) weight, it's heavy and (2) spool changing, it's a big pain in the ass. I've gotten arounf the spool issue by using a loop-to-loop system where I have a loop formed w/ a bimini twist or spider loop in the backing and a small loop in the fly line made with 3 nail knots. Usually I avaoid changing lines altogether and just bring three or four differnt reels with me.