The best reel brand

[PhishLI]

At this very moment, with Daiwa reels beginning at the $269 Tatula 300, then going up in price, you'll get a version of their best gear train platform. Metal framed reels with a metal gear-side side plate and a metal set plate on the palming side plate. Starting at the $279 Shimano Tranx 300, Shimano gives you their best gear train platform and a metal gear-side side plate. It only gets better with their all metal Core-Solid reels starting with the Bantam. Objectively, and on paper, these are both brand's best built low profile reels, and the best you can buy today. These reels will probably outlast anything else out there. That's what rigid builds with fully bearing supported gear trains will get you. How long the lower priced Shimanos with plastic side plates, and Daiwas and Shimanos without a dual supported pinions will hold up over time is up for grabs. Seems to be hit or miss. Going back to both brands higher end offerings, it's possible to get a lemon, or one with a defect. While rare, they're not immune. Nothing is.

 

Whoever thinks one blows the other away during actual use is just blowing smoke. Subjectively, one or the other is just a better fit for one person or another. Some people have both brands and appreciate what each brand does in a particular narrow window. A Goldilocks zone. Fishing reels are not above the laws of physics, so the different approaches employed by both companies yield different results in different hands. Ultimately, choosing one or the other is a conservative choice. Hard to go wrong with either. This doesn't mean they're perfect, because they're not. You may even tire of ones idiosyncrasies and switch brands, or look elsewhere altogether.

 

It just so happens that my two favorite reels to go fishing with right now, today, are the Quantum Tour S3 and the Lew's Tournament Pro LFS. Both are $200 retail. Both are fantastic in different ways. Both are versatile with a nice range of baits. Both are supreme distance casters. Both are easy to adjust and not too temperamental. Both palm great. Both have stood up to good fish and tough terrain. Both have proven to me that the gap between "other" brands and the Big Two are slim indeed. Remember, different approaches yield different results. In fact, I prefer these reels to their D&S competition in the price range. Their braking profiles jive with my casting style, even though they're quite different. I'm not concerned about what might happen someday, or down the road, or supply chain theories, or even ultimate durability. I'll enjoy them today, and as long as I can keep them running. They're great performers, IMO, and I own a slew of the newest stuff out there for comparison. I've posted the pics. I'm not posing.

 

Other people out there have their own non Daiwa or Shimano preferences, and they're valid to them. They're valid period. Both companies have continued to set the bar, then raise it, and the other players are stepping up their game insofar as actual on the water fishing performance is concerned. Just don't buy their cheapo reels and extrapolate that their better offerings are subpar performers. You'd be mistaken. The good news is if you're not an analytical nutcase it's hard to go wrong these days with whatever you choose above $150 or so.

 

 

[aPaul19]

I try really hard to branch out and not just go with 1 company, however, I do find myself continuing to come back to Shimano and personally I feel most comfortable with them.  I will say though, the pandemic has helped be continue to branch out and picked up an Okuma Helios which I am a huge fan of and would recommend it to anyone!

[ironbjorn]

Cheap ($40-$80) you can't beat the Abu Garcia Max series.

 

Mid Level ($100-$200) you can't beat the value and performance of Lews dollar for dollar. 

 

High End ($230+) you can't beat Daiwa or Shimano. Just flip a coin.

[Hammer 4]

Actually the Diawa Tatula 300 is priced at 269.99 not 279.99. Just a heads up, I know it's only 10 bucks, but that could buy you some nice bait's. ?

[new2BC4bass]

2 hours ago, aPaul19 said:

I try really hard to branch out and not just go with 1 company, however, I do find myself continuing to come back to Shimano and personally I feel most comfortable with them.  I will say though, the pandemic has helped be continue to branch out and picked up an Okuma Helios which I am a huge fan of and would recommend it to anyone!

You should try and find a Helios Air in good condition. 

[roadwarrior]

 

[Sir Shamsalot]

For baitcasters, I've bounced around from the older Quantums to Lew's to Shimanos to Daiwa. When I find something I really like, I stick with it pretty much.  By a large margin most of my reels are either Daiwa SV's or Elites. For their price range IMHO, the Elite series is just hard to beat. 

 

Often though I buy a reel by looking for a certain spec. I'm waiting for a Curado 200pgK that I bought because it's has the slowest ipt I could find. I'm also waiting on a Zillion and a Metanium that I bought to try out. 

 

For spinning reels, it's become more difficult to find a good lower ipt spinning reel so when I want one I just buy a Pflueger President. For higher ipt lighter weight Daiwa Tatula LT. It's the cheapest "high end" reel you can buy. For higher ipt heavier weight (think rod balance here) Daiwa BG. I am looking at some time picking up a shallow spool reel for straight FC.

 

[Bakablo1]

Shimano, Daiwa, Okuma are my top 3 reel brands (both higher and lower end). I don't think I own any other brand reels.

[new2BC4bass]

1 hour ago, Sir Shamsalot said:

Often though I buy a reel by looking for a certain spec. I'm waiting for a Curado 200pgK that I bought because it's has the slowest ipt I could find. I'm also waiting on a Zillion and a Metanium that I bought to try out.

 

Here's a 4.9: Zillion.  However, I have no idea what IPT it has.

http://www.johnnyspond.com/daiwa-s-team-daiwa-zillion-4-9-high-power-baitcast-reel.html

 

According to this thread the Zillion Crazy Cranker is 22 IPT.

 

 

[Randy Price]

I use spinning reels for most of my fishing.  Almost all of my spinning reels are Shimano.  I do have a couple of Daiwa spinning reels on my lower end "borrow" rods (Revos and Fuego).  I have used some model of a Stradic for the last 20+ years and they have never let me down. I did try the Ballistic a couple of years ago and it just wasn't for me.  I have friends that use Pflueger spinning reels and they have been happy with them.  The nice thing about Shimano or Daiwa is parts availability.

[king fisher]

I feel Diawa has the best in the $100 range.  The Diawa BG spinning reel blows the competition away for an inexpensive salt water reel.  As price goes up I give a slight edge to Shimano.  All brands have great products in the higher price range making personal preference the only significant difference.   

[swhit140]

Never ending question/answer. One guy to the next one will have a different answer/opinion. Buy the best quality equipment you can afford and what will catch you fish. 

[LCG]

I have owned shakespeare, Abu, Daiwa and Pfluegers. I have sold them off and am now in the all Shimano camp. I am more than happy with my Curado K, SLX MGL, and Stradic FL. Bought them all in 2020, expensive year Nothing wrong with the other brands at all, but the smoothness and refinement of the Shimano reels are higher in my opinion. But opinions vary, it's very subjective. My next reel will probably be a Bantam MGL or a Curado 70 MGL. 

[PhishLI]

7 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

I know it's only 10 bucks, but that could buy you some nice bait's. ?

or a nice sandwich?

[Big Hands]

On 3/2/2021 at 9:27 AM, jimmyjoe said:

   Here we have another question about "better". What do  you mean by "better"? Do you mean:

 

  1) Spinning or casting?

  2 ) More durable? Not much difference.

  3 ) More refined? This begs the question, "refined FOR WHAT?". Both companies have ultra-refined reels at the top. Both have reels that are less refined at the bottom. Mass production methods mean that you are more likely to get a lemon at the bottom of the price structure. I'd give an edge here to Shimano for casting, and Daiwa for spinning, but not by a lot.

   4) Better for certain techniques? Tell us which techniques you're targeting and we'll be better able to give you an answer.

   5) Which size? There's a lot of difference between the market in 150-size reels and the market for the big stuff that is used for large swimbaits.  Generally, Shimano and ABU rule for big stuff in freshwater.

   6) and BTW .... which section of that price structure interests you? Are you interested in only the high end, only the low end, or only the middle section?  That middle section is VERY competitive.

 

   If you have certain specific answers that you require, give us a little more info and we will help you all we can. That's why a lot of the people hang out here.     ???                      jj

I agree. It's kind of like asking who makes the best car or who is the best athlete. Without anymore criteria than that, the only true answer is "it depends". It depends on how an individual defines 'best'. And, we all have our own individual criteria and attributes we value more than others.

 

I decide on a case by case basis. It's usually one of those two brands, but I don't think that what is best for me is best for everyone else across the board. I think you serve yourself best by keeping an open mind about brands.

 

I know some like to support all one brand for whatever reason they have, and then some like having the hats, t-shirts, and jackets to go along with it, but that's not my personal style. 

 

I had a friend (RIP Luke, I love you and miss you dearly) that had a set of rods and reels for each different color of line. Green rods and reels for green line, red for pink line, etc. Each rod in the set would be matching as would be the reels (all round ABU Garcias from 1500's to 10,000's, and he had an amazing collection). He would get different side plates if needed or at all possible. The rod brand might vary, but the reels were always Ambassadeurs. That's the way he chose to enjoy fishing and that's what matters in the end. 

[NOC 1]

On 3/2/2021 at 11:45 AM, Toad_Hunter said:

1) casting reels 

2) better as in more durable, smoother, etc

4) I'm looking for something for top water walking baits poppers etc

5)looking at 100 to 150 size 

6) price point $200-$350

I have both Shimano and Daiwa reels (and a few others besides). To me it depends on what I am doing. If it something where I want the longest casting ability I like Shimano as they just seem to me to reach out a little further. But when it comes to top water stuff, where they can be a bit tricky because of their less than aerodynamic shape, I'd go with a Daiwa reel with the SV braking system.

 

Both companies make excellent reels but the braking systems are much different. Shimano's centrifugal system allows longer casts but the centrifugally controlled magnetic system that Daiwa uses seems to offer more control for the sketchier activities such as pitching, skipping, throwing crankbaits in wind, throwing light baits and of course throwing wind catchers like top water baits.

[NOC 1]

On 3/2/2021 at 9:41 AM, MN Fisher said:

Note that while Shimano as a company has been around almost 100 years - they didn't start making fishing reels until the 70s.

My understanding is that Lew Childre (at the time employed at Bass Pro Shop) contracted Shimano to make his fist BB-1 reels. They have a talent for building very well machined and precise small devices from their experience building components sets and gears for bicycle racing where they are even more widely known that they are for fishing gear. They have been doing freewheel hubs since the 1920's and derailleurs and 3 speed hub shifters since the 50's.

 

As I hear it Shimano decided to strike out on their own in the reel business a year or two later and put the original Bantam reels out which were pretty much a clone of the original Lew's BB-1.

 

Daiwa on the other hand was founded by a fishing fanatic in Japan and started making spinning reels in 1955 or 1958 (depending on who is telling the tale). They brough a lot of improvements to the market where Mitchell from France had been the kingpin selling the Mitchell 300 bases on a design from the 1930's.

 

The English claim that they invented the fishing reel in the 1650's, But Chinese literature refers to fishing reels as far back as the 5th and 6th century. The first known visual of a fishing reel is in a Chinese painting from the 1100's.

 

Yeah, probably too much information...

[jimmyjoe]

5 minutes ago, NOC 1 said:

 

Yeah, probably too much information...

 

   Nope. Not too much at all.  Interesting.                         jj

[S Hovanec]

There's a reason every reel in my boat is a Shimano and the only Lew's I own is laying on the bench at home.  Don't know what I was thinking when I bought it.  I think it was on the rod for 1 trip, then replaced with a 15 year old Sustain 

[NOC 1]

2 minutes ago, S Hovanec said:

There's a reason every reel in my boat is a Shimano and the only Lew's I own is laying on the bench at home.  Don't know what I was thinking when I bought it.  I think it was on the rod for 1 trip, then replaced with a 15 year old Sustain 

Yeah, I would like to know more about what happened to Lew's. The BB-1 was arguably the first modern casting reel. His innovations were the first game changing improvements to the casting reel since the 1920's and 30's when they introduced "gear multiplying reels" providing a 3:1 geared retrieval assist instead of simply winding the line on a spool.

 

Having invented the entire concept of the "low profile" casting reel you'd think that he was poised to be the mover and shaker in the business. Somewhere along the line, they just became another company importing re-badged Korean reels. Kind of sad if you ask me.

[soflabasser]

My favorite reel brands are Shimano and Penn. Both of these companies make excellent fishing reels.

[jimmyjoe]

43 minutes ago, NOC 1 said:

Having invented the entire concept of the "low profile" casting reel you'd think that he was poised to be the mover and shaker in the business.

 

   I think he was. But he died in either 1977 or 1978, in a plane crash. Hard to be a mover and a shaker when you're six feet under.

   His son Casey, his widow and a guy named Reeves went ahead with the business.  Good people, but not the same as Lew.

 

   jj

[NOC 1]

1 hour ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   I think he was. But he died in either 1977 or 1978, in a plane crash. Hard to be a mover and a shaker when you're six feet under.

   His son Casey, his widow and a guy named Reeves went ahead with the business.  Good people, but not the same as Lew.

 

   jj

Thanks, I had never heard that story. It now makes a little more sense to me.

[Toad_Hunter]

On 3/3/2021 at 7:28 PM, S Hovanec said:

There's a reason every reel in my boat is a Shimano and the only Lew's I own is laying on the bench at home.  Don't know what I was thinking when I bought it.  I think it was on the rod for 1 trip, then replaced with a 15 year old Sustain 

out of curiosity what lews reel do you own?

[S Hovanec]

4 hours ago, Toad_Hunter said:

out of curiosity what lews reel do you own?

 

I'll have to look when I go home.  I haven't touched it in probably 3 or 4 years.