I used to work in the reel repair shop of Cut-Rate, so I would say it all depends on how much you abuse your stuff. First of all, when rinsing reels use low water pressure or better yet wipe them off with a damp rag. Totally rebuild your reels twice a year if possible. Use grease(penn power greese) on gears and maybe clickers, oil on bearings and levelwinds. In the shop they use Reel Scrubber to spray the bearings clean, at home I use brake parts cleaner(a lot cheaper) and spin the bearing on the end of a pencil at the same time. Remington gun oil is great for small stuff but you want something heavier for an offshore reel. I personally use 3in1 oil, it may slow the reel up a bit but it runs smooth. I like Shimanos, but you have to take care of them, I have seen a lot of them that had to be trashed because of abuse. Their tolerances are higher and the drags are smooth. Penns senators on the other hand are pretty much bullet proof. A MAJOR consideration is parts availability. Penn and Shimano are great, as a side note I have been waiting 3 months for jigmaster conversion kits from Accurate. Fishing reels are one small facet of Accurate's business and they treat you like it. I don't believe I would ever buy their product line again because of problems you will encounter getting parts. I have inspected Okumas and they look like quality to me, definately a lot of bang for the buck, however, I am unfamiliar with their parts availability. I am also unfamiliar with Avets, since they have only come along very recently.