I agree with Shawn as to the longevity of the Shimanos. I have sold some of the Okumas and really like the way they are made and their pricing but they haven't been around long enough for me to see whether there are any long term problems. If they perform as good as they look and feel they should give Shimano a run for their money over time. FYI, one of my main gripes about reel manufacturers is their using the number of ball bearings as a selling point. There are only 3 major stress areas in a spinning reel. Ball bearings in these three places are necessary for true quality. Anything more than three in a reel is overkill. Sure, the reels with 9 or 10 BB's feel smoother and that's great but it doesn't add to the strength or performance enough to justify the rise in cost. Put in a thirty cent part and raise the cost by ten or twelve dollars and claim "ours is better than theirs". A reel made with quality materials, with a good ball bearing at each of the three major stress points, is optimal; more than that is advertising hype.
