Price point around $300 daiwa and shimano. what spinning reel has the smoothest drag and overall quality at this price point? Looking to step up from ci4s.
Price point around $300 daiwa and shimano. what spinning reel has the smoothest drag and overall quality at this price point? Looking to step up from ci4s.
Nitro z21
The drag on my Daiwa Luvias is as good as I could ever ask for.
When Brain at Tackle Trap had it in for a cleaning recently he told me it wasn't even worth upgrading so that says something.
Never used a Luvias but I was looking at them
Nitro z21
Ci4 is hard to beat for the $....I have and use Sustains as well as Ci4s and I rarely notice the difference...regular service on a drag system is the most critical. Two years max between services, even if not used regularly as grease will begin to deteriorate and smoothness begins to go away. Dan
" Serious Service for the Serious Angler"
Go for broke and get a stella :)
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I've always thought that Daiwas had the best drags. That being said, I prefer Shimano for other reasons and also prefer to backreel. Since the Stradics don't give you that option anymore my next spinning reel will probably be a Tatula. I don't think Daiwa even has anything at the $300 pricepoint, you pretty much jump from ~$200 to $400.
JasonG, if you're going to get rid of any of those Ci4's and they're the older model with backreel, give me a shout.
Yeah they are the older one I only have one plus
Nitro z21
I've owned a lot of reels including 2 Stellas and 2 Steeze, 1 2500,1 2508. It seemed to me Stella hands down wins this.
Shimano stradic ci4 is insane, it takes what seems like 100 turns of the dial to get it tightened down, seems infinitely adjustable and is soooo smooth in every way, as well as has a decent retrieve speed at 6.0 ratio.
Check out the Daiwa Caldia LT and Theory for comparisons as well. JDM versions, and priced well with dollar vs yen conversion.
I have owned Stella FE and FD in 2500...as well as three 1st Gen Certates and a 2013 Certate 2510R-PE. Short take for me...I won't spend the $$$ on a Stella again versus being able to spend half as much on a Cerate, or even better...two Certates for the same money.
In my hands, Daiwa has smoother and more consistent spinning reel drags than Shimano.
I've owned Stradics, Sustains and Exsences. My Stella FJ's are obviously the smoothest including the drags...
Originally Posted by fluke1987
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Another vote for the Luvias. I think the drag is better than the Stradic Ci4+FB. In fact, I sold the Stradic as the Luvias (IMHO) is a better reel all around.
I love my Shimano reels but Daiwa has Shimano beat on the drag IMO, they are just more fine tuned and feel smoother.
Agree with Flex!
I'm mostly a Shimano guy but I don't discriminate and have Daiwas too, both baitcasters and spinning reels. IMHO, Daiwa has better spinning reels than Shimano, I currently have two 2015 Daiwa Exists and just had a 2018 Exist delivered today. If you can get a deal on a 2015 Exist, jump on it!
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