Thoughts on the new Tranx......

I ended up buying a Shimano Tranx last Friday and have made about 200 casts with it. I don't have a alot of time with the reel but have a good idea of its capabilities.

Advantages:
It is built to take punishment. The craftsmanship is second to none. The tolerances are tight and engaging the reel is crisp.
I purchased the faster model because I like speed. It moves small blades fast. I would not try to burn anything larger than magnum 8s with it. I like small bucktails and they produce some of my biggest fish every year.
The castability stands out from anything I have ever used. You will get your farthest casts ever with this reel. The Trinidads and Avets that I have used had power but didnt have the castability. The longer casts will help anglers encounter more fish on any given day.
A concern among many anglers is the possibility of the handle engaging. I didnt have this happen once. Maybe once parts start wearing this could be an issue but I doubt it.


Disadvantages:
The reel is heavy. Tipping the scales at 20ozs. This is 7.2ozs heavier than the Calcutta TE. It weighs one ounce less than the Abu Garcia 7000i but weight is the only thing comparable between the two reels.
It is a hard reel to attempt to palm especially if you have smaller hands.
It is hard to burn the 12s and 13s. I would purchase the slower model if that is your goal.
Shimano is making me use a right-handed reel and hopefully in the future they will come out with a left-hand version.
I would have liked to see the Tranx with manual engage instead of clicking over the handle. The possibility of the handle engaging would never happen under a manual engagement.
I am not a fan of the disengaging levelwind. I have heard that it isnt an issue since the spool is further back from the levelwind compared to other muskie reels.


Overall:
This reel will change the way people fish. You will be able to fish faster, longer, and more effective with this reel. It comes with a hefty pricetag ($500) but in my opinion it is worth it. People that had a hard time fishing blades for long periods of time will be surprised at the pulling ease when using the Tranx.

I haven't fished the tranx but did get to throw one a little bit a couple days ago. Very cool reel. Kevin covered it pretty well. I'll add a few things.
I fish a lot of differnt methods but burning ALWAYS puts a bunch of fish in my boat. It's a MUST DO method. Calcutta TE's are awesome but aren't fast enough for a a true "burner"- you can do it but it's not ideal. Trinidads are fast,powerful, and durable. I love mine but they don't have a levelwind which really makes them a one purpose tool and they're not much cheaper than a Tranx. The Diawa Saltist is a good high-speed reel for someone on a budget... nobody compares to Shimano durability but the Saltist has been pretty good to me.
The slower Tranx will do almost anything. I can see it becoming the most versatile, dependable reel on the market. It is big, but not as bad as the Abu 7000's so many guys have gotten used to, or the 700TE's. It'll do topwaters, cranks, blades etc and I think it will be an awesome rubber-bait reel. I love the fast pick-up for dawgs, medussas, etc. Might be a kick-ass live-bait reel too. It has so much power it pulls blades almost effortlessly! It slows down enough for night fishing too. But remember- "slower" is a relative term- it's still faster than most reels out there! Actually it burns pretty well- I'd say it's fast enough to trigger most burning bites, it's just that you'll be maxed out and will have nothing left to give if you want a sudden burst.
The faster version screams! I think (as Kevin said)it will cast small baits easier than the trinidad. Not that the trinidad casts poorly but they do seem to shorten your range somewhat. I like looong cast when burning, so that alone might make this reel worth the $$.
Again here, "power" is a relative term. This one has the spool and gears of the Trinidad 16... much more power than most reels. I've used trinidads a lot and don't think it will be any problem to burn 10 blades all day on the high speed tranx. Heck, I'd say I'll burn super-mods with it, maybe just not quite as fast as the smaller baits. Personally, I find that with a quality reel it's not my reeling hand that gets tired anyway. I can crank all day- it's my rod hand that gets tired when burning... the faster you go, the harder the bait pulls against your rod hand, and no reel can change that. I find the tranx comfortable to grip too, and will have no prob palming it... now I just need a bionic arm to hold it with!
A couple other points I agree with... I prefer the manual engage spool(like a trinidad or saltist). Seems most people want a regular casting button but I find the manual lever easier and more dependable after you get used to it. It also removes any chance of the spool slamming shut when you cast (caused by the big, heavy power handle turning) -although that hasn't seemed to occur with the tranx.
I also question the point of a disengaging levelwind, though the distance between the spool and levelwind on a tranx is longer than most, reducing the angle of the line... so it really doesn't seem to be an issue.
I'm the kind of guy who usually waits to see if a new product has any bugs, but this is a Shimano.... I have NO concerns!
There's a ton of hype, and debate over this reel, but I think anyone who can feasibly afford one will fall in love with it on the water.

I also wanted to emphasize that I talked strictly about using this reel with blades. One of the advantages to this reel that I didn't touch on is the diversity that it has. The levelwind creates a multi level platform never before seen on a power reel. You can cast nearly every bait with this reel and gain that sudden burst of speed, that Aaron was talking about, which triggers fish into biting.