I am going to buy one of these reels in the 2500 size but I do not know which one to buy. They appear similar but the stradic is 40$ more expensive. What accounts for the price differnce. Anyone who uses these reels have any suggestions.

The drag is different. Thats about it. That Symetry is the best reel made for the dollar, but not the best reel there is.

The stradic has a different finish made to withstand salt.

The reason I bought stradic(s) is that the drag washer is like 30% bigger. Maybe I'm a bit off on size, but it is definitely a better drag...

When I bought mine, I thought they were top of the line. Turns out a guy could spend $500 bucks on a shimano spinning reel in that same size. I forget the name of that one. No Thanks!!

The symetre has superstopper, right?

Thank you chrome/22 for the instant message.

That would be Stella and I have a couple.. they are pure butter. Problem is when I use them I am all freaked out about banging them up so I don't take them out much ( how pussy is that) I'll bring one to SolFly and you guys can play with it. Sustains are freaking nice as well. Thats the reel I have been using alot the last couple of years.

I gotta get out of this house.. its way cold here and I am supposed to be getting ready to go shoot some geese this evening, showed the gun to the dog and he want back into the dog house.. thats not a good sign

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

Shawn -

Do yourself a HUGE favor and pay the extra 40 for the Stradic. I have used both and now own 2 2500 Stradics, a 4000 Stradic, and no Symetres. That should tell you soemthing. The Stradics are smoother and are just a plain pleasure to fish with. I also heard that the Stardic system is totally enclosed, while the Symetre is not, which is good for corrosion protection, etc., but I am not sure on that. Perhaps someone can expand. Bottom line, the Symetre is a great reel, but if it is not a matter of saving the 40 bucks, definitely go with the Stradic. Hope that helps. NCD.

Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing. I talked to a local retailer who indicated the Symetre was upgraded this year to have all the same features as the Stradic, except for the white surface finish. He's usually been right on things in the past, but I have a tough time proving it.

Looking at their website, the only differential considerations are that the Stradic has:

Rubber handle
Power roller III (instead of II; ?)
S-guard and S-rotor (which don't sound like much)

http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/...Catalog.pdf.pdf

More questions remain than answers I guess. I have a fleet of Stradics that have been really resilient for me, but maybe I'll take a Symetre out for a stroll on my next purchase,

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Get the Stradic 2500....& enjoy.

C/22

Have three of the symetre's. Good bang for the buck! I've given them a good workout over the years and don't have one complaint.

I've got 5 Stradic 4000's, 2 FE's, 1 FG, and 2 FH's. The FH's are sweet. The Sustains are even nicer but twice the price of the Stradic. If you had the $20 Cabelas coupon you could get an XML 10 ft rod and 4000 Stradic FH combo for $209. Considering the 4000 Stradic is $139 that is $70 for a nice graphite XML rod.

Stradic, have many of the "lower priced" Shimano reels but this is the one I enjoy using.

Check EBAY, my Stradic 2500 mgfg cost me $114.00 "Buy it Now", and the seller paid the shipping.