Casting & Pitching: One area of improvement over the former model we can most certainly identify is the casting and pitching performance of our 2005 Metanium XT. Finally, Shimano delivers performance worthy of this reel's classification as their middle-high end offering. With pitching and casting smoothness rivaling that of the Antares AR, we were quite impressed with the ease by which we were able to present our baits. As with the majority of their reels, the smooth, flawless casting performance is thanks, in part, to Shimano's familiar variable brake system (SVS) which uses a set of six centrifugal weights to aid the angler in controlling the spool during each cast. Unfortunately, the angler still needs to open the sideplate to access these brakes and adjust their settings. Both good and bad, is the new, simple to use and access locking lever to open the sideplate. Good because there are no more struggles with the flip out, locking handle and worries about overtightening the sideplate. Bad because the sideplate is not quite as secure as with previous models - more on that later.

A small and pleasant surprise we discovered on this reel is the use of a micro-click adjustable cast control cap. This seemingly innocuous feature is a great aid allowing for precise and accurate adjustments both while casting and, more importantly, pitching. With the advent of this clicking adjustment, anglers can alleviate fears of setting the tension too loose and eventually, losing the cap accidentally. Until now, this bonus was only available on Shimano Japan's top end Conquest and Antares reels.
 

Retrieve: Another welcome improvement over previous model years is the stock 84mm handle. This handle delivers a copious amount of leverage making full use of the over sized, high efficiency gearing. Signature Shimano smoothness can be felt through the handle and into the gears as we retrieved our baits with what we measured to be an impressive 25 inches of line recovery per turn of the handle. Indeed, retrieving some crankbaits we used quite regularly with our old Metanium models proved difficult at best with the '05 as the speed was just a little too much for some of the cranks to handle.

Drag: Shimano again ups the ante in this Metanium XT with a robust 7lbs of maximum drag pressure measured in our lab. With previous models, we were only able to achieve 5lbs of pressure on a full spool. Throw, on top of that, Shimano's Dartanium drag system and the precision and reassurance of a micro-click adjustable drag, and you have performance nearing nirvana. As one would expect, on the water operation in our test model was flawless.