Shimano or Daiwa?

[Johnpenguin]

Who makes better products?

[Kidflex]

They both do. They are the top 2 in the industry. It’s all personal preference.

[Jrob78]

Both are excellent. Shimano uses centrifugal brakes and Daiwa uses an advanced magnetic system. I prefer Daiwa but use reels from both companies.

[GreenPig]

Both a great. But I will not fish a T-winged reel.

[ww2farmer]

 I prefer Daiwa spinning reels. Not because they are "better" than Shimano, but most if not all of Daiwa's spinning reels are more feature packed and lighter then their respective price point Shimano counterparts. And Daiwa still makes the 2000 size reel, my favorite size. Shimano quit making 2000 sized reels a while ago.

 

Casting reels it's a coin flip. I have more Daiwa's than Shimanos...but only because the Fuego CT's were an unbeatable value when they were all over ebay for less than $70. 

[Jig Man]

I had Daiwas  for a while. I had some problems with them so I tried a 

Shimano.  I now have at least two dozen Shimanos and am down to one Daiwa which I never use.

[Spankey]

I use both. I probably have more Shimano stuff but I don’t have a Daiwa or Shimano product that I’m dissatisfied with over a many year history. 

 

I could be wrong on this but it appears that both companies are trying to step up their game with their lower end/price point stuff also. Tough for some newbies to drop $160 - $200 on a reel. Or to justify it.

 

I'm thinking about getting myself on the pre-order list from TW on the Crossfire Reel. Get them for grandsons in the 1000 series. They are starting to get a nice amount of fishing tackle together.  

 

Anyway, can’t go wrong with either. 

[N Florida Mike]

I used to fish Diawas more, but for no particular reason I’ve moved on to Shimanos.I don’t think I have any Diawas left now in my arsenal , just a few in my reel graveyard box.Have been satisfied with both though.

[J._Bricker]

I have both, and enjoy using them for different applications. @Johnpenguin, it’s kinda like asking Ford or Chevy, Toyota or Honda which boils down to personal preference. And I do own more Shimano if we’re keeping score. You can’t go wrong with either company’s products...

[JustJames]

My daiwa is slim down to just this.

The rest are shimanos. They both good, but would be better if you know what reel is best for what techniques and not just I prefer such brand or price.

[Largies4Life]

I had been strictly a Daiwa fan, but picked up some Shimano gear this past winter and I have been quite impressed with it so far. I would say, once you get into the $150 range and above for both companies, whether it be a rod or reel, you really can't go wrong with either one! Just depends on what you're looking for in a rod/reel.

[NHBull]

Ford or Chevy.....I am in the shimano camp and after casting the conquest 100, I was hooked!   

[Deleted account]

Overall they both make quality products, they also both have (or have had) some misfires along the way. I fish both in fresh and salt water.

[new2BC4bass]

57 minutes ago, JustJames said:

My daiwa is slim down to just this.

The rest are shimanos. They both good, but would be better if you know what reel is best for what techniques and not just I prefer such brand or price.

So......want to go all Shimano and sell me these reels? 

[FishingGeekTX]

Probably subjective, unless we established metrics (which are also subjective), and objectively rated them on it.

 

Not really sure 100% why, but I ended up mostly Shimano, no Daiwa.  Also seems like most people call it DIE'a-waa, instead of day-waa, just kind of annoys me..like it hasn't tried to fix that   Some goofballs of course say you pronounce Daiwa as "Shi-mahn-o".

 

I feel as though when I went to Cabellas, the two times I worked the Daiwa baitcasters, I felt the thumb bar was a little stiff and cheap feeling in comparison.  That's purely subjective and I did not necessarily side by side test.  But that's why I steered from Daiwa initially.  With so many reels to choose from, having a reason to cut that number down that numbers I not usually second-guessed, if you know what I mean.

 

Subjectively, there were a lot more Shimano fan-boys, and having nothing much else to go on, that unfortunately factored in too early on.

 

Later, I hated having to learn the differences in models, it's so absurd.  There is no clear cut anything...really in fishing in general, it's all smoke and mirrors and high priced luxury.  I learned some Shimano, and I guess I didn't feel like trying to learn Daiwa's secret code of all the model names and what they mean, etc.

 

DC vs MGL for Shimano, it's noticeable.  One is lighter and has a lighter spool and casts far.  The other is heavier and costs more, heavier spool, but has great spool control and casts similar (as a result of better spool control).  Are the Dawia "technology" offerings similar?

 

I'd certainly like to hear a similar write-up from people who like Daiwa over Shimano..gear junkies get bored with things and like to sample other luxury wares

 

I suspect no matter which a person ends up with, the fact that both are quality, reputable companies, likely gives them comfort.

 

[johnD.]

I look at it like , coke or pepsi , ford or chevy.  Can't go wrong with either. I fish both.

[FrankN209]

As many others have said, I will concur, they both make great reels respectively.  You can't go wrong with either of these brands. 

[LonnieP]

Both companies make quality reels. I prefer the ease of setup and braking of Daiwa.

[Mobasser]

Both of these companies make good tackle.

[JustJames]

2 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

So......want to go all Shimano and sell me these reels? 

Do you have CQ51? I just got rid of Aldebaran in favor of Alphas Air. I almost cried all the way to post office.

[zell_pop1]

Both are great, I use reels from both, plus have a couple old Team Daiwa S rods.

[TBAG]

I fish with both brand of reels, but own many more Shimano reels than I do Daiwa.

 

Like others have said, it's really personal preference.

[new2BC4bass]

37 minutes ago, JustJames said:

Do you have CQ51?

Nope.  Wouldn't trade if I did. 

 

2 minutes ago, TBAG said:

I fish with both brand of reels, but own many more Shimano reels than I do Daiwa.

 

Like others have said, it's really personal preference.

 

Yup.  Agree with others having this same outlook.  More Daiwas than Shimanos, but not planning on getting rid of any of them.

[JustJames]

18 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

Nope.  Wouldn't trade if I did. 

I’ll add this one to the mix.

 

BTW, finally I got my hand on this one, that why I want 51 to fill the hole.

[Jrob78]

4 minutes ago, JustJames said:

I’ll add this one to the mix.

 

 

BTW, finally I got my hand on this one, that why I want 51 to fill the hole.

Those Benkei's are really nice rods, especially for what they cost.