[alantani]

so follow me on this one.

first generation reel - an old penn long beach 68, holds 300 yards of 30# dacron, small drags that deliver 7-8#'s of drag at most.

second generation reel - an old penn long beach 60, holds 300 yards of 30# mono and delivers 7-8#'s of drag at most.

third generation reel - a penn torque 200, holds 300 yards of 30# mono and delivers 25#'s of drag, well suited for almost 400 yards of 65# spectra and a 30, 40 or 50# topshot. this is an example of a TRUE third generation reel.

so what is a jx? it holds 280 yards of 30# mono and can deliver ONLY 15#'s of drag at strike before losing freespool. is this reel truely worthy of third generation status? well, in a word, no. berkeley high test breakes at 80% over it's stated line rating. consider a jx loaded with 65# spectra and a high test topshot of 20# mono. i would be looking at a 50% drag setting of 20#'s at strike and maybe 30#'s at full. the jx can simply not deliver. many star drag reels in this size class can deliver this level of performance. only one lever drag reel can. right, the accurate.

so then let's call the avet jx a "second generation" reel suitable for 280 yards of straight 30# mono and a strike drag setting of 7.5 to 15#. at the risk of sounding harsh, let's call the avet jx unworthy of spectra. it is possible that avet may have bought into the idea that they might loose drag range if they grease the drag washer. this might then explain their reluctance to grease the drag washer. the drag range is weak enough as is and they might not want to risk losing any more. no longer is a large spool capacity considered an advantage. properly set up, how many of us would actually run the risk of getting spooled with 300 yards of line? i would think very few.

and as far as drag grease goes, i think that they are trying keep the drag grease as far away from their reels as possible. once they crack open that door, they will never be able to close it.