I with Dick on this one. Absolutely. When I'm out for Marlin and big game, and have flown 1/2 around the globe hoping to catch the fish of a lifetime, the last thing I want to happen is to have a reel fail because I got cheap and wanted to save a few bucks on a reel. When I went shopping to buy a big game reel every shop I went to said the reel they were showing me "was just as good as an Abel" that was 6 years ago, the other reels I looked at are no longer being made(Orvis Vortex). Abels are the best reel on the market with the best drag system, period. You get what you pay for, when I'm fishing for 200lb fish you can bet there will be an Abel on my rod!