In regard to the Brawn or at least the 8000 JIG model (one of the first 70 or so)...I have one
I was interested to see the reel myself so purchased one earlier in the year when they were released. There are many posts about this on another site and I wont go back over that now, but in short there were a number of issues with the design of that particular model.
The main issues
1) Angle of the line roller in relation to the line exiting the spool; it caused the line to slide across the roller and placed the line perilously close to the bail arm.
2) Bail arm did not clear the spool when the spool was at its highest point (due to an additional washer used in the spool to create more drag)
3) Bail wire was a straight design with no bend which meant the bail arm was relatively close to the spool when open for casting
4) Significant angle on the reel stem compared to known brands (reducing the space between the rod and the bail arm)
5) Bushes used in the line roller as opposed to bearings - no rotor brake - tolerance of the handle housing relative to the shaft (under pressure the housing touched the side plate)
There were a number of other points discussed...
I fished the reel in Musandam a couple of times, really to see if it would function correctly, It actually cast as well as anything I had cast before (despite the points above)...the reel used a loco styled oscillation (similar to Saragosa etc)
Retrieve was ok but the the non moving roller would likely cause problems in the long term. The best thing from my perspective was the drag...silky smooth using hard coated alloy washers and LSD oil (wet system), at full spool and 40lbs it was magic
I believe some of these issues have been rectified in the newer option but I have not seen it personally...I am modifying this one myself as a project including a new molded CF rotor..will see how it all goes once finished
The intent was there with this reel, but many things including the marketing campaign could have been improved
