I bought an Eon 5601 when they first came out about a year and a half ago because I like trying new fishing gear. I also own a couple Curados. I use the Curados and the Eon stays home except when it's needed for a spare or someone wants to barrow it. It's not that bad of a reel, but I would never buy it over a Curado. The main thing I don't like is the drag. It feels to me the same as the C3 5601, it starts and stops kind of jerky, it's not as smooth as the Curado. Another negative is the thumb release. It feels like it goes through two or three steps to disengage. Same with turning the handle to engage the spool. If you do both functions fast it works o.k., it just takes some getting used to after using Curados. The Curado has a better friction breaking system. To get the casting distance of the Curado you have to adjust the Eon to where you are right at the edge of a having a backlash. One feature the Eon has that I like is the level wind guide disengages when the spool is in free spool. I think this helps with casting distance. Anyway I would take the Curado over the Eon. Maybe the newer Eons are better than the one I have.