The problem with almost all of the plastic reels occur while they are being used with mono or weed whacker line. The mono line stretches while in use but once back on the reel it tries to go back to its original form squeezing the reel and sometimes the stress that the line applies cracks the plastic. If you spend a little more on the line most all of those problems are avoided. 500lb braid will eliminate the squeezing effect that mono and weed whacker line applies to the reel as the braid has little to no stretch so the squeezing effect is reduced or eliminated. Another plus is that if you brake your board line and lose 8 or 10 releases the braid soon pays for itself. That is if you purchase your releases and don't make your own. But you should definitely use a quality snubber when using braid because the no or little stretch in the braid needs dampened or softened to relieve some of the stress on your mast.