[alanw]

Originally Posted by lowprofile

#1 Is wrong. a 1:1 ratio puts more strain on the drag washer than a 6;1 ratio... think about it for a second. if I pull 12" of line off a spool with 1:1 ratio that spool and drag washer will rotate 2-3 times. if I pull 12" off a 6:1 ratio spool the drag washer will rotate maybe once. Therefore there is less strain on the drag and less friction created. Lever drags also do not always have more surface area than star drags. most lever drags have one carbon drag washer. although it is large, star drag reels have several drag washers and easily make up the difference and sometimes exceed the surface area of lever drag washers.

Think about it again. A 6:1 ratio is like being in 6th gear at the handle, but in reverse (fish pulling drag) it's like being in 1st gear at the spool. It's not about drag rotations, which of course is very low like you mentioned, but rather about pressure. On a 6:1 ratio star drag reel I would guess that the drag needs to be 6x tighter than on a 1:1 reel to have the same amount of drag pounds at the line. All this extra pressure on the drag washers causes extra friction. Am I wrong?