You give up a lot of torque to gain that 6:1 retrieve. Definitely look into getting the power handles for those reels. The longer lever on the power handle will help you re-gain the lost torque without significantly sacrificing the speed.

It was my 7001 Big Game that is not made in Sweden. That's the last new Abu Garcia reel I've purchased, so I thought that that was a trend for them. glad to hear my assumptions were wrong.

My wife found me a nice 1980 black 6500 "Striper Drag" reel the other day at the thrift store, in the original box with papers. It had been fished, but it's in great mechanical condition w/ no pitting on the chrome. John's Sporting Goods serviced it and now it's Better than new. This is the only older garcia I've fished with, and while it feels heavier, it's very solid and a pleasure to use.

Keep in mind that G.I. Joe's has a nasty little habit of purchasing "refurbished" reels and selling them at a great price. I know, I worked for them for three years. These reels are the defective ones that the fectory tore apart and fixed. Some times they are ok but many times they where not.

I hope they are all sound reels, or GIJoe will keep in mind that I can get a bit testy when I think I have been shafted...

The salesman explained the sale as closing out this old model which has been replaced by the 6600 c4, which is equipped with a thumb-bar and a new drag.

all the C3 and C4 series have been "updated" for '06, i know there are no longer any C4s with the regular freespool button(e.g. the 6500). i think the C3 series can still be had without the thumb release.

for the most part they look the same internally, biggest changes look to be the spools.

as the old saying goes...you get what you pay for