Hey B- Run I was the same way with my stella's when I first got them but then I figured why spend that much on a reel if I am gonna be afraid to use it. I use a stella 2500 on one of my glx 1141's but have stradics on the other 2 and though the Stella's drag is sweeter and the retrieve is smoother the stradics perform excellently as well. The stradics, sustains, and stellas are some of shimanos best spinning reels. The super stopper feature is included on the stadics as well.-T