I have five long rods outfitted with line counter reels. Some are Okuma 15's & some are Shakespeare ATS 15 reels, the Okuma's being bought used & the ATS reels bought new .... and they both function very well. They're only slightly larger/heavier than the baitcast reels they replaced, but once you fish with them awhile you don't pay that much attention to all that.
I chose these particular models because both brands have the double flat paddle grip handles, and not the single handle with the big oval grip.