Lews LFS vs Tatula CT

[Weedless]

I don't live close to any stores that have these on display, so I was hoping you guys could assist me with pros and cons from experiences with these two reels. Thanks in advance!!!

 

 

[the reel ess]

I have 2 of the the LFS Tournament MB in 7.5:1. There are no cons that I can see. I've been more than a year using one of them without a backlash. It is very low profile, very light and very strong. The drag is silky smooth. I liked it so much I bought another this past Christmas with Amazon gift cards. I'll probably be replacing my spinner/buzzbait reel with one of these before long.

 

I'm using one on my frog/jig/flipping combo with heavy braid and one on my lipless cranks/topwaters combo with heavy mono (I don't fish much deep diving cranks anymore because my favorite lake has a weedy bottom. We just fish lipless cranks very slowly.) Anyway, I love these reels.

[runt4561]

i have used both and both are good reels. I would give the advantage to the lews. the lews casts further and stays smooth longer than the tatula. I do really like the handle on the tatula better though.

[n2fish]

Heres a good price ($107) on the Tournament MB.  I ordered 2 of them.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272569553808?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Poolshark]

I'd look at the lews mb over the lfs because of the weight reduction and the dual breaking. I own the lews mb and I think it is a phenomenal reel for the money. 

I would buy more in a heartbeat. 

Diawa is not known for putting out junk either. 

[SFL BassHunter]

Don't think you will disappointed with either brand.

 

 

[JustinJ]

I own both, tatula far superior reel. 

[TH-Outdoors]

Ditch the Lew's, I sold off my Tournament MB and got the Tatula. The Daiwa feels smother and more effortless in my opinion. However, I believe you are talking about the $100 LFS and that's the only Lew's reel I've held on to. It can cast weightless senkos a mile, but so can the Tatula.

[bradco]

I own both as well & hands down Tatula CT. Just my 2 cents

[S. Sass]

Quote

Lews LFS vs Tatula CT

The $99.99 LFS vs a $129.99 Daiwa Tatula CT ? 

 

Not exactly the closest price point wise. Being a $30 more expensive reel the CT has a stronger drag 13.2lb vs a capable 10lb in the LFS. But the downside is the CT is slightly heavier and has 2 less bearing. So in this scenario the numbers are kind of split being the drag favors the Daiwa. However with a $100 price point the LFS with 2 more bearings, and lighter weight it is a exceptional value as it is going toe to toe with a reel retailing considerably higher price.  

 

Now if you're comparing the $139.99 Lew's Tournament MB that is only a $10 difference. Then the Lew's dominates statistically as the drag is stronger on the MB 14lb vs the 13.2 of the CT.  The weight gap even grows more in favor of the Lew's 6.7oz vs 7.4oz. And again the Lew's has a 2 bearing advantage. Now nowhere am I saying the Daiwa is a bad reel I'm just repeating the numbers listed. They are in the Lew's MB favor which is the reel I feel that the Daiwa CT was designed to compete with.

 

Other than the weight, bearing #s (within reason), and drag to me the rest is all about what's more comfortable to the owner period. Just because I like the frame reel of the Lew's doesn't mean anyone else feels the same. I highly recommend you hold these reels preferably on the rod you intend to fish it with. If it's not comfortable it won't be after you buy it either. 

 

One issue I have with the Daiwa is the magnetic brake dial. I have seen others comment on accidentally brushing the magnetic brake dial as well. Not that its a big issue as it only has happened randomly to me on a older Tatula. It appears to be the same dial setup so just consider this as something to see if the way you hold your reels it might cause issues. The Lews is next to impossible to accidentally change no matter how you hold it.  

 

One thing I do really like is the finish on the Daiwa. It does have a very nice finish but I fish with my reels so although I like the look of it it's not a factor when I am considering my purchase.

 

Both reels are mass produced proven reels no matter what the claims are, every company has a bad reel here or there get out the door. Ultimately the bearings, bushings, and parts are all mass produced and for the most part are more than capable products for long term bass fishing. In the end its a preference choice the reels here are really good no matter what you chose. Many like the Daiwa for their reasons and many like their Lew's but ultimately none of us have the exact same hands and fish the exact same way. 

[nameiztaken]

Tatula CT is no joke. Awesome reel. I had a Lew's speed spool last year, it's in the landfill somewhere now. 

[TH-Outdoors]

Tatula CT's can easily be had for $100. And don't compare bearings between reels, just because one reel has more bearings doesn't mean a whole lot. Shimano uses a 5+1 bearing system for most all of their reels, Curado included. I'd say the Daiwa is going to be more durable and long lasting. A weight difference of 1oz shouldn't mean much to you, they are both light. Read reviews on TW, Bass Pro, and Cabelas and it will help you feel more confident making the choice. 

[fishnkamp]

Bearing totals can be very deceiving. You can take a Tatula CT and pull off the handle knobs. If you do, you will find 2 bearings and 2 bushings. It only cost a few dollars to replace those two bushings and it will have the same number of bearings as the Lews reel. Will the Tatula cast any better because you installed two more bearings in the handle knobs? NOPE!!!  The CT has a totally different breaking system compared to most other reels and I really like the way it works.  

I fish 4 Tatula Type Rs, 2 CTs and 1 Exceler. I am not sure how guys are holding their reels that they knock the brake adjustment dial.  I think someone thought it up and parrots are repeating it!  Anyway it has not happened to me in 4 years of fishing these reels. Maybe I am lucky.

 

I am a Daiwa guy, I have sold off all of my Shimanos and some of my BPS reels in favor for the Tatula reels.  So I am biased,  but here is my opinion.   If you like super small reels than Lews is your company, and there are lots of good reasons to fish their reels.  I have no problem with reels the size of a Curado E or Chronarch E7 so I love the Tatulas and Tatula CTs. You would probably like the CT best because it has a slightly smaller body. I really like the Daiwas T wing system, smoothness, durability, Magforce Z breaking system, and their pretty smooth drag.  The rest is up to your preference. I can share a place you can order a brand new Tatula CT fro $100 shipped to your door so now the price difference is eliminated from your decision making.

 

I have one other idea. You never listed where you live in your profile. A lot of us use each others profile to help answer questions, like ideas of fishing techniques based on your location or in this case I would normally check where you live and research your closest available store.  Anyway, tell us what town, nearest big city and your state. I bet one of our members lives close enough to meet for coffee and a donut and then you could look at a few of these reels. If you were  anywhere near MD, Northern VA, PA or DE I would let let you cast a few Daiwas and even use them during a fishing outing.  We have a lot of members and it is always nice to meet up and share some time at fishing hole.

 

The only other option would be to see if there is a local bass club nearby. Call the president of a club, most times they know who brags about what equipment and meet up with them.  You might even find you want to join them in a few tournaments to learn.

[MassYak85]

44 minutes ago, fishnkamp said:

Bearing totals can be very deceiving.

I own the LFS and I love it but this is important. The LFS has 4 handle bearings, so casting performance is unaffected. It makes reeling extremely smooth but is not something I take into account when buying a reel. 

[JaxBasser]

Both are fine choices, especially for the prices they can be had for on ebay. With that said I recently sold all of my lews reels and switched to the CT. I like the CT even more than the Lews Tournament Pro I had. Fishes WAY above the $98 you can get them for.

[junyer357]

I have 2 lfs and 2 tatula ct's. I have liked the lews, but I like the ct better. I had the 2 lews first, but after i got the ct i didnt hesitate to get another. I actually just replaced one of the lfs lews with an origional tatula on my deep cranking rod. 

[Brett's_daddy]

Don't get caught up in the hype surrounding the number of bearings a reel has. I spoke at length with a staff member at Cabelas about this and he said it's not the number of bearings that matters most but the placement and more importantly the quality of the bearings themselves. Compare a Shimano Curado to a Lews Tournament MB...the Shimano only has 5 bearings while the Lews has, what...10 or 11 bearings. Does that mean the Lews is far superior to the Shimano because it has more than twice the amount of bearings...I think most anglers on here will agree that these reels are very close performance-wise so it may boil down to personal preference. As others have mentioned it's VERY easy to find the Tatula CT for $100 on ebay and other vendors (I just spoke to a guy at Tackle Trap and they are selling them for $100 TYD).

[npl_texas]

I'll tell you this, I have both and I'm getting rid of the Lews to buyer another CT.  The LFS was the first reel I bought when I got back into bass fishing about a year ago.  Since then I've really jumped on the Shimano/Daiwa train.  I do have two Tournament MB's that I really like.  I will eventually switch everything out for Shimano/Daiwa.

[jimf]

Next week I'm going to pick up the Tatula.   I own a Lew's LFS and a TP and am very happy with both, but I just want to try something different.   I'm curious about the T-wing gizmo.   I owned Daiwa's many years ago and was happy with them, didn't do it intentionally but it just happened that I phased those out.   

 

[npl_texas]

1 hour ago, jimf said:

Next week I'm going to pick up the Tatula.   I own a Lew's LFS and a TP and am very happy with both, but I just want to try something different.   I'm curious about the T-wing gizmo.   I owned Daiwa's many years ago and was happy with them, didn't do it intentionally but it just happened that I phased those out.   

 

I have a Tatula CT and  Zillion both with the TWS.  To me there is no discernible difference between a reel with TWS or without.

[new2BC4bass]

My first baitcast reel was the Fuego when TW was closing them out in 2009.  Slightly over half my reels are Daiwas.  I don't recall ever accidentally changing the brake setting.  Not that I don't believe it can't happen.  We don't all hold our reels the same way.  I get the impression that it doesn't occur with the vast majority of users.

 

Some reels seem to cast further than others.  However, I've never seen just one brand (or model) significantly outcast all others.  I have an older Lew's Tournament Pro, a Tournament MB and a Pro Z.  On water distance is pretty close between these three and a lot of my other reels.  Really don't feel like taking them to a park or somewhere that I could measure distances more accurately.

[ethan-333]

i have 2 lfs (90 dollars on ebay) and 1 tatula 100hsl (was 150 on tw now 95 on ebay) i honestly couldnt recommend 1 over the other from my experiences. there both super smooth and probably 2 of the best reels made in the 100 dollar price range. ive used both flipping and can cast and skip just fine. i prefer the lfs a little bit more just because its a little smaller feeling in the hand IMO

whichever one you choose youre getting a good reel