What brand reel do you prefer?

[Mike Daleo]

I have been talking with Brad about reels and he talked me into giving Daiwa a try. I bought one to experiment with for flipping. It is a TD-X Advantage 105Hila. This thing has been beat to hell and is as ugly a reel as I have ever seen, but it is the smoothest reel I have ever tried. I have Chronarchs, Curados, even had a Calais, the Daiwa that looks like a truck parked on it beats them all.

Tell me guys, what do you prefer:

[Joe Skeeter]

Always liked Diawas but their prices have gotten out of hand.

[Z20basser]

I like Pfluegers, they are smooth and very resonably priced.

[Dover]

Shimano for both spinning and baitcasters....

[fishinbrad]

I guess I don't need to vote here!

[buzzking]

well always been a shimano man but never tried anything else, sounds like I should

[JBoss]

I cant vote for 2 of them so Shjmano get the nod. #2 would be the Quamtum Pt's

[dpage70]

Just always been a quantum guy personally. although Iown 1 diawa and love it and 1 shimano and love it too.

[fishinbrad]

Guys I used to use Shimanos for years, but after a year of so, the non-super free ones didn't feel near as smooth as they did when new. After I got into tearing down and cleaning my own reels, I noticed one difference in particular - the drive system of the Daiwas (even the cheaper ones) is the same as the Super-free shimanos... Basically, the pinion gear totally separates from the spool on the Daiwas and super-free shimanos, while on the other shimanos, the spool shaft remains in contact with the pinion gear...

[EdDavisKY]

Most of my BCR are Daiwa's and have some Pflueger's as well, but they are bigger than a Daiwa, but still good reels. Spinning reels I have been slowly transferring over to all Shimano Stradics. I have one Daiwa that is at lest 10 yrs old and it finally gave out last year.

[billius]

I use the Shimano spinning reels almost exclusively now that my old Zebco Cardinal 4's have almost all bit the dust. I really like the Shimano Symetre.

As far as baitcasters go, I would say I like the Quantum reels. Good value for the price. Of course I really don't think you could ever go wrong by buying Abu Garcia's either.

[Roddy]

Mike, didn't you just buy some Team Dawia X reels?

[DaveR]

I have 3 Shimano Curados, but since I had kids, I've added Quantums.

[arjone01]

I've got all Shimano's but bought my first Viento (new) and Fuego (used 1 season and looks great) about two months ago, the guy I got it from always sent it off to have it cleaned and lubed. I like them. In comparison they are as smooth as my new Curado (yeah I like it) and they feel a little free er then my Citica's. But it sould be given the price range of $100 reel comparisons and $200 reel comparisons.

My only worry is that the Fuego is a little loose. Mostly in the anti reverse (has a slight play) but some in the overall feel. Not bad it's just since these are my first Diawa reels and that this one already has one season under its belt it makes me wander how long it will last. Because it'll have to do me for at least 5-6 years but its already showing some sign of fatigue. I have a couple of Citica's that are about 1 1/2 years old and they're holding up really well. No play in them that I have noticed from how they felt brand new to now.

They are nice reels and feel as smooth as my shimano's IMO but the verdict is still out on how they will last and stand up to use and time. The reason why I say the verdict is still up is because even though the reel shows no physical signs of abuse its untelling how it was used and don't feel it is a %100 complete fair comparison because I didn't put the wear on it to know its history. My Viento will tell the story in time. I'll still use it and am happy with its performance but I still like my Shimano's as well because I've used them and in comparison they have aged better than this Diawa. They feel just as good and if you don't like the new Shimano line then it'd be worth giving Diawas a try. Hope this helps.

The Diawas are super smooth.

I also have a new Quantum PT burner. Good reel, feels smooth but it might be my last. Not a bad reel by any means just a little pricey for its performance to me. But if I found one at a good deal then I'd buy another.

[Dave Stewart]

I don't have any Diawa's but have thrown a number of them and they seem to be a quality reel. I of course like my old curado's too. I had a chance to throw the new Abu Garcia Revo reel up in Indy that O.T. Fears is using and they seem to be a really nice reel also. I am probably going to get one of them to see how they hold up over time.


Modified by Dave Stewart at 6:19 AM 3/2/2007

[Boss445]

Shimano Curado !!!!! I have 7 of them and not sure what I would buy now to to pricing. I know I won't get rid of what I have.

[fishingmarlin]

I loved my curado's until shimano changed them so in response I tried some daiwa's. The price on the daiwa's are a little more but if you watch ebay enough you can get sol's and fuego's for around $150-$180 and Viento for $130.

After using the sol for a while I just love the smoothness and its low profile. Its just a phenomenal flipping reel!! I have small hands so it allows me to palm the reel and hold the line with my fingertips. The other great thing is you have three reels all the same size with different gear ratio's depending on what you need them for.

Daiwa has won my business but I still have some curado backups.

[bmas13]

I've used Shimanos forever, but I do have a couple Daiwas and really like them.

[Mike Daleo]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Roddyrude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Mike, didn't you just buy some Team Dawia X reels?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes Roddy, bought 4 in total.

[Mike Daleo]

Let me ask one more question. Are those of you that are mentioning Pflueger using BPS reels, or Pflueger branded reels. Just wondering, I know they are the same thing.