I loved standard arbor reels until I bought a large arbor. The increased line speed on retrieval especially while fighting fish is a drastic improvement.
the main thing you have to watch when using a large arbour is the line spooling up more to one side then the other. if you are not watching it can then jam up the reel just when you don't want it to.
i prefer the regular sized reels to the large arbour. had both a redington and an ukima (?) and hated both of them. the drag on both were horrible. bought a Lamson reel and it is the best reel i have ever used.
some people love the large arbours, myself i prefer the regular ones.
For me .. the large arbour has always been preferred! I find that you can catch up on fish running at you way easier than a normal reel. I find myself stripping in line less by hand although there are times particularly with tarpon and steelhead that there is no choice but to strip. It takes a little getting used to in in the beginning terms of line management to prevent line from binding up on one side but I never have a problem with that now. I have had the Sage 3400 and 3600 drag reels for years now and I have all the confidence in the world in them. In fact .. I sent them back to Sage for an adjustment to get the most out of the dial settings ... (before they would stop a truck at the lower settings). I now have better fine tune adjustment in the settings for lighter drag. If you like to fish big fish ... get a large arbor. If you are using a 0 to 3wt rod and reel go with normal for a lighter weight.
I have both and eh. I really like my mid-arbor reddington rise which is the same as orvis's mid-arbor. Best of both worlds and they have a built in clicker and a great drag system
Regular verus Large Arbor Reels
Linear Mode
