Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First let me start by declaring that I have not been bribed by this company to give a good review. I bought the product via Prime and am somewhat alarmed that Amazon is allowing vendors to bend reviews by giving product away for free or at a discount. I don't care that people claim to be giving a "fair and balanced" review, you still have to add an appropriate discount to their cheerleading. For reference, I have about 20 premium, moderate and inexpensive fly reels and bought this one (and a few others from China) out of curiosity. This reel is very well machined, especially when you factor in the cost. I worked in a machine shop a long time ago and have a critical eye for poorly machined metal. The job on this Sword reel (I have the green one) is better than good. I am not convinced that the Sword is hard anodized or that it has a cork disc drag, however, I think the finish will be durable enough and out of the box the drag feels smooth. My 2 caveats with this reel are based on the drag system. The drag adjustment dial is loosely threaded such that it spins easily and quickly goes from light to heavy. I would not want to be on a big steelhead and accidentally bump the dial or lock it down by mistake while adjusting it with a fish on. Secondly, there are no instructions on disassembling the complicated drag system to clean it and it is difficult to figure this out yourself. My experience with two other inexpensive Chinese fly reels is that the drag washers need to be periodically cleaned and lubed since the drag is not fully enclosed like more expensive reels. I occasionally use another one from Piscifun for trout fishing and if I don't clean the drag every few times, it will lock up due to the oxidation on the washers. To say that the Sword drag is as good as reels costing 5 times as much is ridiculous. If you buy a Lamson fly reel for example, you get an almost foolproof drag system that needs zero maintenance and can be counted on to work the same way every time. I also have an Okuma SLV reel that costs a few dollars more than the Sword, but has a better multi-disc drag system that is easy to disassemble and clean and has held up to big saltwater fish without a hiccup. The SLV isn't as pretty and has a little more play in the parts, but is rugged and proven to work under tough conditions. The Piscifun Sword is prettier with tighter tolerances and is cheaper, but with money on the line I'd rather use the Okuma. If you're not angling for fast running fish or are a casual fly fisherman this reel will look good on your rod and will probably do a decent job. If you're a serious fly fisherman I'd look elsewhere. Update: 05.29.16: I've used this 3 times for monster cutthroats (3-13lbs) at Pyramid Lake NV and have come to the conclusion that the drag sucks. It is inconsistent both in startup inertia and also spins with inconsistent tension when the fish runs. None of this caused me to lose any of the big cuts, however, I was using 12lb tippet and cutthroats are not big screamers. I've got this at the bottom of my reel drawer at this point.