Question for you guys that have used multiple reel brands (lews and daiwa)

[MDbassin]

I have tried daiwa in the past, I always wind up buying a daiwa reel just to sell it the next year, I love daiwa reels the technology and innovation of daiwa is amazing, super smooth and love the brakes but my problem with daiwas isn't performance its the fit.

 

The daiwas I've had always felt bigger and blocky in my hand and was just uncomfortable... shimanos are still big but not blocky feeling... enter the lews there LFS frame feels smaller and comfortable and then you go to the SLP frame and its amazing i love the feel of a lews in my hand but let's be honest lews isn't exactly cutting edge stuff.

 

I really want to like a daiwa I tend to like the performance of a daiwa over any other is there a daiwa reel that frame is smaller and more low profile like the lews without sacrificing line capacity to much... the lews SLP fits 110yd of 12lb line most other reels that feel that compact in hand are more like 80yd of 12lb. The daiwas I've had experience with are the tatula CT, Tatula SV (not this years model but the original tatula sv)

[fishwizzard]

The new Tatula reels are a fair bit more compact then the older ones. 

[raoka]

the new tatula 150 is the older tatula size so the tatula 100 is even smaller, you might like that. the new tatula sv 103 is also smaller. but all things to keep in mind is that not metal sideplate. doubt you will notice in most things bass fishing, but just something to consider. i have used the older lews tournament mb and tournament pro and i really like their palm-ability, but i have found my daiwas to go through the grinder much better. i have used original tatula, tatula ct- type r, tatula sv, coastal, and coastal sv...

[mrpao]

Can I ask what models of daiwa and shimano you tried in the past to give you the judgment of a larger uncomfortable reel? It can give us an idea of what to compare them to.

[basser27]

I love the compactness of my lews tournament mb, with that being said there are much better performing reels out there for the price. 

[Shimano_1]

The tatula 100 as well as the new ones are all more compact.  Also the shimano slx series are super compact and comfortable to fish. The lews are compact but ive came to the conclusion they just aren't going to hold up like the daiwas and shimanos for how I fish anyway.  Ive long been a lews fan but usually after 2 years with regular maintenance even the upper end lews reels just don't retain their smoothness like the shimano and daiwas seem to. Lots of die hard lews guys tho and if you like them fish em! I used to be all shimano,  went to lews years ago, fished a lot of daiwas and have came back to mostly shimano.  Lots of good options out there these days

[MDbassin]

4 hours ago, mrpao said:

Can I ask what models of daiwa and shimano you tried in the past to give you the judgment of a larger uncomfortable reel? It can give us an idea of what to compare them to.

Tatula ct, tatula sv, curado I, curado k, curado DC, chronarch mgl.....

 

thats what I love about the lews is the palm agility of all the lews even there super duty is a very palpable reel. But its like what was said lews just don't hold up year after year like the shimanos and daiwas 

[dodgeguy]

8 hours ago, MDbassin said:

Tatula ct, tatula sv, curado I, curado k, curado DC, chronarch mgl.....

 

thats what I love about the lews is the palm agility of all the lews even there super duty is a very palpable reel. But its like what was said lews just don't hold up year after year like the shimanos and daiwas 

Where do we get this from ? My Lews hold up just fine. They still outcast all my friends Shimano and Diawa reels after 4 years.

[DitchPanda]

8 hours ago, MDbassin said:

Tatula ct, tatula sv, curado I, curado k, curado DC, chronarch mgl.....

 

thats what I love about the lews is the palm agility of all the lews even there super duty is a very palpable reel. But its like what was said lews just don't hold up year after year like the shimanos and daiwas 

Heard this about Abus as well...the low profile reels at least. We all know the round reels are tanks. I've got 4 revo sx that are probably 4 years old now and they work flawlessly.

[Bluebasser86]

I prefer the larger reels, they're more comfortable for me to palm. The smaller reels like when I had a Curado 50E and 70I were too small and difficult to palm, my hand would end up hurting after holding them for a few hours.

 

The Tatula 100 is much smaller than the CT or older SVs. The Fuego also seems smaller but haven't put mine side by side to compare.

[Hammer 4]

Being old school, and fished almost daily with a Shimano 301E Curado, is it now the norm to buy a reel for it's physical size and not how it performs..?

 

I don't have real big hands, but not small either, I never felt the need to have a smaller reel just for comfort, what am I missing here..?

[new2BC4bass]

6 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Being old school, and fished almost daily with a Shimano 301E Curado, is it now the norm to buy a reel for it's physical size and not how it performs..?

 

I don't have real big hands, but not small either, I never felt the need to have a smaller reel just for comfort, what am I missing here..?

Can say the same.  Also can't understand the current trend of a reel needing to weigh less than 6 oz. in order to be able to fish it all day.  I will say that my grandsons don't seem to have near the strength I did at their age.  Maybe people are spending too much time playing games on their cell phones instead of being outside doing something?

 

Also let me say I like a light reel as well as the next guy.  I just don't feel I need one in order to survive a 12-14 hour day on the water.

 

OP.  I don't often notice how a reel feels, but did the first time I mounted an original Concept A on a rod.  I'd also suggest trying a Pixy or Alphas.

[NOC 1]

7 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

Being old school, and fished almost daily with a Shimano 301E Curado, is it now the norm to buy a reel for it's physical size and not how it performs..?

 

I don't have real big hands, but not small either, I never felt the need to have a smaller reel just for comfort, what am I missing here..?

I know right?

One of my sons is the same way though. He tried Daiwa...too big he says, tried Lews and it felt just right but not up to par otherwise. Finally he went to the Shimano Scorpion 70 and the Curado 70 and he is happy with those....so far.

[PhishLI]

On 8/8/2020 at 7:59 AM, MDbassin said:

I have tried daiwa in the past, I always wind up buying a daiwa reel just to sell it the next year, I love daiwa reels the technology and innovation of daiwa is amazing, super smooth and love the brakes but my problem with daiwas isn't performance its the fit.

 

The daiwas I've had always felt bigger and blocky in my hand and was just uncomfortable... shimanos are still big but not blocky feeling... enter the lews there LFS frame feels smaller and comfortable and then you go to the SLP frame and its amazing i love the feel of a lews in my hand but let's be honest lews isn't exactly cutting edge stuff.

 

I really want to like a daiwa I tend to like the performance of a daiwa over any other is there a daiwa reel that frame is smaller and more low profile like the lews without sacrificing line capacity to much... the lews SLP fits 110yd of 12lb line most other reels that feel that compact in hand are more like 80yd of 12lb. The daiwas I've had experience with are the tatula CT, Tatula SV (not this years model but the original tatula sv)

It sounds as if you're quite comfortable fishing with Lew's reels. You're obviously sensitive to the shapes of different reels, so why not stick with what fits you best? If "cutting edge" comparisons actually added up to something significant when you're actually fishing, which they don't, you'd have a good reason to spend a fortune or search out discontinued vintage reels. I'm not discouraging either, a Steez or Metanium are both lovely, but why bother being sucked into doing mental gyrations over what's written on the net by people who suffer greatly with what are, in the big picture, practically meaningless differences when you're actually fishing. They're nits at best and add up to almost nothing where actual casting and catching performance is concerned.  Some people on this site who've gone to both extremes have admitted as much.

 

Understand that I'm not poo pooing the conclusions or feelings of anyone who has to have things "just so" to be happy, or to not be miserable. I'm just saying that the current braking and spool tech right now doesn't put one brand that far over the others in the real world. Various Magforce versions and SVS Infinity are far from perfect. Lew's ACB isn't either, but it's just as manageable as SVS is, for me, and definitely more convenient to use.

 

 I'm not bothered in the least palming a Daiwa Catalina all day, which is a bulkier reel than a  Tat SV, so I'm not affected much by wider profiles. But if I were, and enough to start a post about it, I'd choose something that felt best in hand and stick with it. Why worry about the so called tech or lack thereof, or what tech/spec gurus or the nit-pickity say?