The Tica is designed for salt water with a anti-corrosion coating and waterprof side cover, 5.2 gear ratio and a 12# drag. Tica are manufactured in china by OEM a long time manufacturer of many big name companies reels and only recently started producing their own reels under the Tica name. The Cardiff is a dependable reel with a good 10# drag and if money is an issue, it would be a good choice for a 300 size reel. Personally, I prefer the better quailty Okuma Induron ID250LX for the same money. The new left-hand Cardiff's as well as the Induron's are back-ordered by everone I know of.