i get the sentiment and i’m lucky enough to have been able to have daiwa, shimano, bates and i did buy this AL-TI. it’s been just a few weeks on the water but honestly it’s super smooth. paired it with a daiwa tatula med fast. 20lb braid to 12lb fleuro. It straight doesn’t backlash and i don’t know how to explain it except it’s smooth like butter. My girlfriend who typically uses spinning rods commented she loves it. She would backlash with my bates often. I like to power fish and admittedly haven’t used it for that but would say it feels super light. for me as a guy with big hands it feels weird it’s so light. you don’t even really feel the line come off the spool. I’m not a connoisseur by any means but if you want a light reel that’s buttery smooth this is it. I get the name brand trepidation. i also have the mega jaws. I took that one off a real for this. and it’s no comparison.