Two things that bother me about the 2025 Stella 14000XG

Two things about the 2025 Stella 14000XG caught my attention personally.

First: why is the bail black? Second: the retrieve feels heavy—even heavier to me than Magsealed reels. I wondered whether it was only the initial resistance, but it remains heavy once it is turning.

My 2018 Stella winds so freely. I had expected something similar. Unfortunately, it feels different, and I am disappointed. Updates we cannot see are welcome, but these two changes do not particularly please me.

To my eye, the black bail looks cheap. This is not a bargain-shop reel—if such a thing existed there. I suspect other people may be disappointed too, although those with a commercial connection to Shimano may not mention it.

The heavy retrieve is more troublesome. To me, the 2025 Stella 14000XG does not feel suited to working a jig. The lower-geared 10000 PG might turn a little more easily, but at the time of writing the 14000 was available only as an XG.

So I tried changing the handle knob. Fitting a LIVRE TB-1 made it feel considerably easier to turn. That should make working a surface plug manageable.

I decided to compromise there and make use of what it does well: line release that I expect to feel very good. I have not tested that yet; it is a prediction.