Which reel to keep?

[freelancer27]

Hi guys,

I pulled the trigger on the TW memorial day sale. I wanted to get a reel that I can use for inshore fishing and for frogging.

Since I was not entirely sure which one to get I ordered the following thee:

* Daiwa Coastal  (price: 196 USD)
* Shimano Curado 201 HG (153 USD)
* Shimano Chronarch C14+ (230 USD)

Here is what I think  about the reels:

*Daiwa*

* Pros: Good ergonomics for saltwater, sturdy build, big line capacity
* Cons: Braking system seams to be very basic, which might be a challenge when I want to throw lighter froggs. Has a little bit of play in the handle. Overall does not feel as sturdy as the Shimanos for some reason.

* Neutral: Have not see many reviews on the reel yet.


*Shimano Curado*

* Pros: Small, light and compact. The drag system seems to be pretty sturdy. Price

* Cons: the braking system on the side. To close it there is a lot of fiddeling needed to align the plates to close it. The red brake stoppers also seem not very sturdy and I almost lost one by just playing with it a bit in my living room

* Shimano Chronarch*

* Pros: Super built, Looks sexy, Drag seems very good as well
* Cons: Less line capacity (potential prob for Inshore), the braking system is a lot of fiddeling and I am afraid that I would easily loose stuff when I have to open the brake system to adjust things. Most expenisve of the three.


So, what would you do?

Thanks for your thoughts!
 

[FordsnFishin]

Seems simple to me. ....keep them all. 

[freelancer27]

10 minutes ago, FordsnFishin said:

Seems simple to me. ....keep them all. 

No can do, unfortunately. Only one reel.

[FordsnFishin]

While I can't vouch for the other two reels.  The curados I've used have been fantastic reels. 

 

For the money I don't think you could go wrong with them. 

[F14A-B]

Curado 300E.

[MickD]

Those little red brake weights will last forever.  Now that you know how they work (and come off) they should present no problem with losing them.  I've had them on many reels for many years and never lost one.  I think that ads for the reels list drag capacity, which will probably be a lot more accurate than just feeling them.  Same for line capacity.

I think the Curado 201 is too light for inshore, don't know much about the Chronach, but Daiwa makes very good stuff, and if their reel is designed for inshore, then it probably will perform the best.

I would have ordered an Abu Garcia to compare.  Lately they have had very high capacity drags, if I remember the specs right.

[Raul]

Out of those I would keep the Daiwa Coastal, that thing not only is built on the TDZ platform but think of it as a REAL MACHO REEL built for REAL MACHO men.

[new2BC4bass]

I've got Daiwas with the Magforvce V, Z and 3D braking systems.  Have no problems with any of them.  Don't have a Coastal, but do have a few of the TD-Zs.  A nice platform to be from.   

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

They're all well built but the Daiwa probably fits the application best. The breaking system is simple but unique and effective. 

[freelancer27]

Thanks all! The Coastal is my new reel for my frogg/ inshore set.

I am debating now if I should replace my BassPro Qualifier with any of the Shimanos... OMG does that GAS never stop...

[new2BC4bass]

50 minutes ago, freelancer27 said:

Thanks all! The Coastal is my new reel for my frogg/ inshore set.

I am debating now if I should replace my BassPro Qualifier with any of the Shimanos... OMG does that GAS never stop...

Nope.    You don't want to know how many reels I have.  Heck, my wife doesn't want to know either.  Or should I say I don't want my wife to know how many?

[Raul]

2 hours ago, freelancer27 said:

Thanks all! The Coastal is my new reel for my frogg/ inshore set.

I am debating now if I should replace my BassPro Qualifier with any of the Shimanos... OMG does that GAS never stop...

Curados are nice ..... but they aren't Chronarchs.

[freelancer27]

Keeping the Curado. Feels better on my rod, is cheaper and has some features that I like better than on the chronarch.

Thanks guys!