as you can see, opinions vary on the same reel. I have a 400 that I use on a Loomis rod and love it for salmon both in the salt and in rivers....no problems at all. The wieght of the whole combo is so low that it makes fishing more fun. For rivers ist seems the Curado is pretty popular. Failures with reels seem to be similar to failures with outboard motors...all brands have problems here and there. I agree with the old Bantams...I have a Bantam 50 that is rugged for sure but a bit heavy. I also recently bought a few old Bantam 100s which are really smooth and very small. Most of what Shimano makes is great. All my rods have Shimano reels..from the Bantam 100 to the TLD 25 for tuna,marlin and halibut.