Daiwa Liberto Pixy 2004

[skeletor6]

Can anybody tell me any information about a Daiwa Liberto Pixy? I found one locally and the guy wants $200 for it, but I know nothing about the reel. I found some information while doing a google search, but not much relative to this year.

How does this real compare with others in its price range. Also, the reel is orange and it seems the ones I find online are either yellow or red. It mentions a 5:8:1 gear ratio and that it weighs light at 5.8 ounces. How does this reel compare to newer reels being that this one is 8 years old? Is it anything like Daiwa's other offerings such as the PX68 or their type-r? I have read good things about those being the best of the best for light weight finesse fishing, would this be in the same league or would it be more of a collectors item at this point?

Any information would be helpful, the reel cosmetically is not perfect, but functions just fine when I tested it.

Thanks for the help,

Skel

[BASSclary]

All of the Pixy's are great reels, but I think their are small difference between the colors (year models).

But anyways, they are nothing near a collectors item, people love those things and sn@tch em' up to use em.

You can probably find more information about them over at Tackle Tour's blog,

[skeletor6]

All of the Pixy's are great reels, but I think their are small difference between the colors (year models).

But anyways, they are nothing near a collectors item, people love those things and sn@tch em' up to use em.

You can probably find more information about them over at Tackle Tour's blog,

Thank's Mr. Clary,

So would this be a good reel for lightweight applications? And how does it compare against the other Daiwa's like the PX68 and their type-r. I've heard those are amazing reels for lightweight applications.

I bought a Shimano Curado 50e that is going to be supertuned by DVT and have ceramic bearings added. Will that be better at casting very light baits such as weightless senkos or 1/8 oz jigs? Or is the Liberto Pixy better at that?

[papajoe222]

That 50E should do a good job with the Senkos and such. I wouldn't go with ceramics though, ABE7's will give you exceptional performance without the excess noise. The 50E is about the same as a Daiwa Sol when it comes to the light stuff. The Pixys, although more expensive, aren't any better with the light stuff. Just a lot smoother and a fraction lighter. For $200, I'd be hard pressed NOT to grab it up, but I'm a Daiwa junkie.

[kickerfish1]

It is sort of confusing thing when you get down to tracing Daiwa reels. Best advice I can give is to japantackle.com and start looking through the reels there. They have current reels, discontinued reels and limited production reels. Once you click on the reel you will get a description of the reel and usually at the bottom will be Jun's comments. They have the pixies in there! You may also try ichibantackle as well.

The orange colored pixy you are looking at was a finesse reel that was the predecessor to the pixy type r and pixy 68. The red and yellow models are pretty much the same reel with a different paint job. Also note the line sizes for pixies are very small. More than likely 6-8lb line for most people. It is lighter than a curado 50e and very palmable. Make sure you have a light or medium light casting rod for it.

That price is pretty good. Usually market is $240-$300 for ones in good shape.

If you hear people speak of a pixy that has been tuned into a "pixilla" it means it has upgraded parts... ie line guide, bearings, drag, worm shaft etc...

If you like the profile of the pixy but want more line capacity look at a alpha or a sol. Very similar less the spool size and line capacity. Also may be a bit cheaper.

If the external condition doesn't bother you I would buy it. If it does you could always have the reel painted. If not as long as it has it under the hood and the reel has been properly maintained you should be good to go.

[DaveT63]

As a couple others have said, $200 is a darn good price for that reel. It really does make a great finesse reel, but can be more than that. It's lightweight, extremely easy to palm, and just "fits" on a good rod matched to it. Mine is on a St Croix Legend Extremen 7' MF casting rod and it's like they were made for each other.

[J Francho]

Get it, and have the drag upgraded. Fish it like you stole it, because you did at that price, assuming it's right.

[skeletor6]

It is sort of confusing thing when you get down to tracing Daiwa reels. Best advice I can give is to japantackle.com and start looking through the reels there. They have current reels, discontinued reels and limited production reels. Once you click on the reel you will get a description of the reel and usually at the bottom will be Jun's comments. They have the pixies in there! You may also try ichibantackle as well.

The orange colored pixy you are looking at was a finesse reel that was the predecessor to the pixy type r and pixy 68. The red and yellow models are pretty much the same reel with a different paint job. Also note the line sizes for pixies are very small. More than likely 6-8lb line for most people. It is lighter than a curado 50e and very palmable. Make sure you have a light or medium light casting rod for it.

That price is pretty good. Usually market is $240-$300 for ones in good shape.

If you hear people speak of a pixy that has been tuned into a "pixilla" it means it has upgraded parts... ie line guide, bearings, drag, worm shaft etc...

If you like the profile of the pixy but want more line capacity look at a alpha or a sol. Very similar less the spool size and line capacity. Also may be a bit cheaper.

If the external condition doesn't bother you I would buy it. If it does you could always have the reel painted. If not as long as it has it under the hood and the reel has been properly maintained you should be good to go.

The external condition is not great. There are many scratches and one big one. I have a Daiwa Sol, would this be pretty much the same reel just with a smaller spool?

Since this is the predecessor to the px68 and the type-r, can I expect similar performance? I can find a lot of information about the px68 and type-r, but not so much on the Liberto.

As a couple others have said, $200 is a darn good price for that reel. It really does make a great finesse reel, but can be more than that. It's lightweight, extremely easy to palm, and just "fits" on a good rod matched to it. Mine is on a St Croix Legend Extremen 7' MF casting rod and it's like they were made for each other.

Would a St. Croix Legend Extreme 6'9'' MLXF pair well?

Get it, and have the drag upgraded. Fish it like you stole it, because you did at that price, assuming it's right.

Would carbontex drag washers be the right way to upgrade this reel? And are there any other upgrades that should be done on such an old reel? I am going to take a second look at it today and most likely buy it if I can't find anything wrong with it. I just don't know exactly what to look for to tell if internally there are any problems. The guy selling says he used to use it all the time and that's how it got the scratches, but he has not used it much lately. I don't know how it got all of those scratches and if that maybe is a sign of how poorly it was treated.

[DaveT63]

Would a St. Croix Legend Extreme 6'9'' MLXF pair well?

Would carbontex drag washers be the right way to upgrade this reel? And are there any other upgrades that should be done on such an old reel? I am going to take a second look at it today and most likely buy it if I can't find anything wrong with it. I just don't know exactly what to look for to tell if internally there are any problems. The guy selling says he used to use it all the time and that's how it got the scratches, but he has not used it much lately. I don't know how it got all of those scratches and if that maybe is a sign of how poorly it was treated.

At roughly 12 ounces spooled, that combo will feel great in your hand!

Carbontex is the way to go. Some people also change out the gears to the 6.8:1 and upgrade the bearings. Do a search on the forum for either "Pixilla" or "Pixzilla" to learn more about upgrading this reel to a monster!

Edited September 29, 2012 by Glenn

[skeletor6]

At roughly 12 ounces spooled, that combo will feel great in your hand!

Carbontex is the way to go. Some people also change out the gears to the 6.8:1 and upgrade the bearings. Do a search on the forum for either "Pixilla" or "Pixzilla" to learn more about upgrading this reel to a monster!

Okay thank you I will do that. Is 6:8:1 the fastest that cango in there? I see lots of people raving about 7:9:1 reels. It's not a huge deal to me either way. I just like to know my options. Much thanks.

[DaveT63]

Okay thank you I will do that. Is 6:8:1 the fastest that cango in there? I see lots of people raving about 7:9:1 reels. It's not a huge deal to me either way. I just like to know my options. Much thanks.

I am only aware of the 6.8:1 gears. I believe they are the same gears as are currently in the PX68. If there are faster ones our there for the Pixy, I don't know of them.

[kickerfish1]

The 6:8.1 gear set should be plenty quick.

The reel will be similar in size to the sol. Just a bit lighter with a different spool. The sol is the American version of the Japanese purple alphas and Ito AI. There are slight differences among all the reels most are pretty small like color, spool size and weight, and any internal tuning.

If you pairs it with a phenix recon 6 foot 9 inch rod in a ML power your combo would be under or around 10 ounces.

[skeletor6]

That sounds very promising. On Daiwa's website, the Sol weighs 7.4 ounces and the Liberto weighs 5.7 ounces. After a $50 gear upgrade and $10 carbontex drag upgrade that would put me at about $260. Would I have a better reel if I just went ahead and spent a little more on a different used Daiwa Lightweight reel. Such as trying to find a Daiwa PX68, Steez, or PX Type-R? The liberto was made many years ago so I do not know how far technology has came since then.

Furthermore, are these high priced reels worth the money, or could I get the job done just as well with Curado's, Lews, Sol's etc. Do these extremely lightweight reels add more sensitivity to the overall setup and allow one, after practice, to present the baits much more effectively?

Thanks for everyone's help and input, gotta love the community here at BR!

[DaveT63]

That sounds very promising. On Daiwa's website, the Sol weighs 7.4 ounces and the Liberto weighs 5.7 ounces. After a $50 gear upgrade and $10 carbontex drag upgrade that would put me at about $260. Would I have a better reel if I just went ahead and spent a little more on a different used Daiwa Lightweight reel. Such as trying to find a Daiwa PX68, Steez, or PX Type-R? The liberto was made many years ago so I do not know how far technology has came since then.

Furthermore, are these high priced reels worth the money, or could I get the job done just as well with Curado's, Lews, Sol's etc. Do these extremely lightweight reels add more sensitivity to the overall setup and allow one, after practice, to present the baits much more effectively?

Thanks for everyone's help and input, gotta love the community here at BR!

If you are going to put that much money into it after buying it, I would consider buying something else, given it's age and possible condition. You can certainly find the PX68 and Steez in great used condition. And last year's model of the Steez is on clearance many places new for under $400. I've never used a Sol or Lew's, but I can tell you, in my opinion, the Pixy and Steez are on a completely different level than the Curado's. But if you are going to look at Shimano, the Core can be found for anywhere from about $225 used to under $275 new if you are patient. It weighs about the same as the Steez and is an extremely high quality reel as well. In fact, there are many who argue that the Core is better than the Steez.

As to whether they are worth the cost, that is strictly a personal thing. If you know somebody with one, see if you can use it. Try it on your rod if possible, even if you have to take your rod into Bass Pro or another shop to try it on. I've read many posts about people who are more than happy with a tuned Curado 51, putting the saved money into a better quality rod. I love my Pixy, Steez, and Core, and think all 3 were worth the money I paid for them. However, as they say, YMMV.

[Raul]

I have 3 Pixies so I know a lttle about them. The Pixy was divided first in to two categories:

A ) mainstream

B ) limited edition

First of all, you distinguish a mainstrean version fro the limted editions by the color, mainstreams were silver, limited editions were colored:

2003: frosted orange & silver

2004: racing yellow & black

2005: frosted red & silver

2003 & 2004 limited editions and mainstream are, other than the color scheme, the same reel; the 2005 limited edition had a few differences, the handle was different ( TDZ handle ) and the spool, in this edition the spool is made from aluminum instead of graphite composite. It´s not the same size as a Sol ( Alphas platform) , it´s slightly smaller. Now the hairy part is this, upgrading the drag is not simply change the washers and we´re ready, it requires additional parts that are not easy to find. How good it is for lightweigt applications: absolutely fantastic, but how light is "light" ? , if you´re thinking about casting a 1/32, 1/16 oz bait then it´s your poison, but a Curado 50 can cast almost as great ( if you have the right line and the right rod ), so it really depends, the reel has limitations: the spool is very shallow ( so unless you fish with 6-8 lbs max ) it can´t hold much line, the drag is weak ( weak is relative, you need a really smooth drag if you fish with hair thin line ), it´s slow compared to other reels, doesn´t have clicking star drag; even though I own 3 the truth is that it´s too specialized.

Of course that when I sit one on my CR721IMX spooled with 6 lb line and I cast a 3 inch grub into the next zip code without much effort I forget all the limitations it has.

[BASSclary]

What makes the Pixies special to me is that it is a true finesse reel, nothing more. Its not a 50E where it can cast light baits respecfully, but isn't great for light stuff. It weighs so little and is so small, you'll definitely feel like its not there, and that will give a smidge more feel, but how it truly shines as a finesse reel is the spool. Its really lightweight, so casting the smallest of lures isn't a hassle, and you will have no need for anymore line than it holds. More line is just going to weigh down the overall spool weight. I'm also partial to Daiwa's Magforce brakes for lighter stuff.

[kickerfish1]

Great breakdown Raul!

[bigreddog]

If you are seriously considering this reel, pay close attention to the scratches.

Unlike the Sol or Alphas, the body is magnesium-based. For anything down to the bare metal on the main frame, you'll want to get that addressed. The sideplates are plastic, so there's no issue there.