Shimano Stella

[Mattblack]

Does anyone own a Shimano Stella and can tell me if they are worth the high price?
If you go by price (say a 4000 size), would it be 4 times better than a Stradic, or 15 times better than a Sienna?

[purple5ive]

your best bet is to go and try one for yourself and then make the judgement as to whether its worth forking out the extra 15x worth of $$$.

most flagship reels certainly are in a different class, but in saying that once you go past a certain $$$ / class of reel the differences are quite minimal, and for me personally thats where the $ stops.

[frozenpod]

I have not used a 4000 but I have used bigger Stella and Saltiga for casting poppers at GTs and I have used them for live baiting small marlin and salifish (better free spool than an overhead).

After using both the Stella and Saltiga for a few years now the Saltiga is a hands down winner (a little more expensive though).

To answer your question they are no where near 4 times the reel of a stradic. A better way to put it is a stradic is 90% of a stella at 25% of the price.

Another reel to add to the mix depending on the application is the okuma salina 3. Good price and a dam fine reel, (avoid the earlier ones I & II as the bodies had corrosion issues).

[Mattblack]

your best bet is to go and try one for yourself and then make the judgement as to whether its worth forking out the extra 15x worth of $$$.

most flagship reels certainly are in a different class, but in saying that once you go past a certain $$$ / class of reel the differences are quite minimal, and for me personally thats where the $ stops.

What's the best way to test a reel in the shop? I usually give it a spin, flick the bail and give the shop keeper a nod as if to say 'that's nice' when in reality I cant tell the difference. I'm a bit the same with rods....the guy tries to pull the tip to the ground whilst I'm awkwardly holding onto it hoping it doesn't break and whack one of us in the face. I really cant tell the difference until I'm actually out on the water using it.
Stella 4000 (11kg drag/380gms) = $1,000
Stradic 4000 (11kg/280gms) = $250
Sienna 400 (9kg/33gms) = $70

[purple5ive]

if you cant tell the difference between a stella and a sienna, then theres something wrong with you hahaha

i have a feeling you havent played around with a high end reel before, best way then is to actually try one. you will instantly notice differences between sienna and stella
but will be hard pressed to do so with a stradic and stella, the difference is still there between a stella and stradic, but not directly proportional to difference in price..

for example .
stella will wind like its on rails, while sienna will feel very sloppy
stella will be extremely smooth to wind, sienna will be quite rough/geary when compared
drag will be smooth on stella, sienna will stick when cranked up and will be rather inconsistent,
stella will freespin a lot more than sienna
stella will be a lot lighter than sienna in same size.

stradic will kinda be somewhere 70% between the 2 of these reels as a rough estimate



with rods.

for me i personally pay attention to how comfortable the grips are when holding a rod (i hate rods with exposed reel seat guides)

how lightweight it is

how thick or thin the grips are ( i have small hands so larger bulky grips instantly gets rejected)

how the rods feels when loaded up (prefer fast/xfast, aka first quarter of the rod tip bends most as opposed to rod starts bending from grip/halfway mark when loaded up, aka noodle rod)

how the rod feels like when i perform some twitches/shaking (prefer front/tip end to wobble as opposed to the whole whole blank wobbling, aka noodle rod)

and finally i take with me the reel i inted to use with it, and ask them store if i can try the reel on it. or if im buying both then ask them to use one from their store that i would be pairing it up with, sometimes this involves a few reels.

the sensitivity and ability to cast can only be determined after its bought unfortunately[/list][/list]

[cobby]

As said if you've got the cash to burn they're worth it. On price v performance scale, Stradic or Sustain hands down. It's 10% gain on a 100% higher outlay

[Millzee]

I personally feel that in a 4000 size real a Twin Power or Stradic will be more than enough. Stella's for the bigger stuff in my book.

[rb85]

Do people self pleasure themselves when they talk about, think about or look at their high end reels?

[bowl]

Do people self pleasure themselves when they talk about, think about or look at their high end reels?

:down:

[barra mick]

Do people self pleasure themselves when they talk about, think about or look at their high end reels?

:down:

tuna tube does with his handline collection