The Mid-Arbor was my first quality reel. I've dropped it, dragged it, drowned it, and it still works perfectly. I love my Lamson, but it could never stand up to this, its been lightened to within an inch of its life. In my opinion, the anodizing on the Mid-Arbor is more durable than the Lamson Hard-Alox. The Orvis is good bang for your buck, and if you throw some more bucks in, the new large-arbor Battenkill looks nice a winner too.