Its going to be a challenge to try to forget its the only U.S. made spinning reel and be objective about it if the reel isn't good enough for the price. I think a little ruthless objectivity is what they need in order for them to develop the reel to be competitive in this price range. The reels from Daiwa, Shimano, Quantum, Okuma, Pflueger, and Penn in that price range are proven, sophisticated reels. Its going to take something special from Ardent to make it in that arena. Its going to take at least a couple months of use and realistically through this spring to really know if they got it right. I'm looking forward to giving the reel a workout.