The Maestro Posted January 22, 2022 Posted January 22, 2022 Imagine what the musky guys think when they hear about bass guys fussing over 1 ounce. Meanwhile they're spending all day chucking baits that weigh double our entire setup. 2 Quote
TNBankFishing Posted January 22, 2022 Posted January 22, 2022 4 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said: Lol, I'm sorry you have no idea what combos I use. What is your point? A 7.8oz reel made for general bass fishing in 2022 is heavy compared to its competitors. It’s a fact. I honestly don’t care what you throw but somehow making reel weight about “manliness” or “an old timer still throws heavy gear” are irrelevant anecdotes. 2 Quote
Basswhippa Posted January 22, 2022 Posted January 22, 2022 21 minutes ago, TNBankFishing said: What is your point? A 7.8oz reel made for general bass fishing in 2022 is heavy compared to its competitors. It’s a fact. I honestly don’t care what you throw but somehow making reel weight about “manliness” or “an old timer still throws heavy gear” are irrelevant anecdotes. Competition? ? A 7.8 weight reel is a non issue on the Bantam for most men and women. The primary issue on the mini tank of a reel is that it's aluminum. If you fish in very cold weather it will be close to air temperatures and won't heat like graphite and magnesium. One should take this into consideration. Quote
TNBankFishing Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 2 hours ago, Basswhippa said: Competition? ? A 7.8 weight reel is a non issue on the Bantam for most men and women. The primary issue on the mini tank of a reel is that it's aluminum. If you fish in very cold weather it will be close to air temperatures and won't heat like graphite and magnesium. One should take this into consideration. I feel like the new Zillion, Lews Hypermag, and to lesser extents the Tatula Elites offer compelling choices. I don’t think the 18 Bantam is a bad reel, I own two of them. My argument is that after a redesign Shimano didn’t really push the product forward. A reduction of weight, changing the line guide position, or incorporating some valuable new tech would have made it worth buying. I don’t see how you convince anglers to shell out ~$400 for a reel which isn’t going to be a huge improvement over the 4 year old one. I say ~$400 because Shimano is raising its prices Feb 1. 1 Quote
Super User FishTank Posted January 23, 2022 Super User Posted January 23, 2022 1 hour ago, TNBankFishing said: I feel like the new Zillion, Lews Hypermag, and to lesser extents the Tatula Elites offer compelling choices. I don’t think the 18 Bantam is a bad reel, I own two of them. My argument is that after a redesign Shimano didn’t really push the product forward. A reduction of weight, changing the line guide position, or incorporating some valuable new tech would have made it worth buying. I don’t see how you convince anglers to shell out ~$400 for a reel which isn’t going to be a huge improvement over the 4 year old one. I say ~$400 because Shimano is raising its prices Feb 1. You should read this from a previous post. https://fish.shimano.com/content/fish/northamerica/us/en/homepage/Shimano_Product_Page.P-BANTAM_A.html#product_image_2 Once you get past google translate... I took away three things from this minus the new, but minimal, upgrades to the new 2022 Bantam..... 1. You get the features and performance of the Antares 70A (one of the best reels I own) in a cheaper 150 size reel. 2. Shimano is wanting to have it be a do all reel for casting light lures and even swimbaits. 3. Shimano needs a reel that can compete with the Zillion> which to me looks and feels similar to the Bantam 18 at the same price point. Both great reels. Also, a weight reduction of a reel is not a good indication of how good a reel is, neither is casting distance but rather they are features that can make a reel better for your intended purpose. I always shoot for consistency in performance. Like say the two Shimano Antares 12 I have. One is used for crankbaits and the other for jerkbaits. They are heavy, big reels but smooth and cast a mile. I wouldn't use them for something like a Zoom trick worm on a shaky head. I could but it's not ideal. On the other side of the spectrum, I wouldn't put a Shimano Aldebaran or a Daiwa Steez CT on a NRX 895C or a 854C and start flipping jigs> which I have seen, and then I hear the complaints about the rods being too tip heavy. Quote
Dumbbassanglr Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 It’s so odd to me when you guys say weight is not an issue. It’s not the weight itself that’s the issue, it’s the $350 that your paying. When you pay that much you expect to get tangible features for your money and weight is one of them. However if they dropped the weight of the bantam then it would basically be a cheaper metanium so I get why they didn’t. 3 Quote
Basswhippa Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 Dumbassangler. Who makes an all aluminum frame reel that weighs less than 7.8 ounces? Quote
DomQ Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 Lol guys, let's keep this about the new bantam, I'm really interested in hearing more about this reel, not about who can make a lighter reel. DM each other and discuss there or else you'll most likely get this thread shut down, and that's not fair to the poster. 2 Quote
Dumbbassanglr Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 48 minutes ago, Basswhippa said: Dumbassangler. Who makes an all aluminum frame reel that weighs less than 7.8 ounces? Tatula elite is a lot lighter all aluminum but that wasn’t my point. I think the new bantam is sweet I just dont see the value. But I think if you do a lot of deep cranking or something I could see it being a cool reel or maybe even for some bigger swimbaits. To me the best reel at that price is definitely the zillion. Quote
TNBankFishing Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 4 hours ago, Dumbbassanglr said: Tatula elite is a lot lighter all aluminum but that wasn’t my point. I think the new bantam is sweet I just dont see the value. But I think if you do a lot of deep cranking or something I could see it being a cool reel or maybe even for some bigger swimbaits. To me the best reel at that price is definitely the zillion. I’ve owned a Zillion and sold it to fund more JDM Mets. It’s a toss up which is better, but if the the Shimano price increase pushes it above $400 it will be hard to swallow. 16 hours ago, FishTank said: You should read this from a previous post. https://fish.shimano.com/content/fish/northamerica/us/en/homepage/Shimano_Product_Page.P-BANTAM_A.html#product_image_2 Once you get past google translate... I took away three things from this minus the new, but minimal, upgrades to the new 2022 Bantam..... 1. You get the features and performance of the Antares 70A (one of the best reels I own) in a cheaper 150 size reel. 2. Shimano is wanting to have it be a do all reel for casting light lures and even swimbaits. 3. Shimano needs a reel that can compete with the Zillion> which to me looks and feels similar to the Bantam 18 at the same price point. Both great reels. Also, a weight reduction of a reel is not a good indication of how good a reel is, neither is casting distance but rather they are features that can make a reel better for your intended purpose. I always shoot for consistency in performance. Like say the two Shimano Antares 12 I have. One is used for crankbaits and the other for jerkbaits. They are heavy, big reels but smooth and cast a mile. I wouldn't use them for something like a Zoom trick worm on a shaky head. I could but it's not ideal. On the other side of the spectrum, I wouldn't put a Shimano Aldebaran or a Daiwa Steez CT on a NRX 895C or a 854C and start flipping jigs> which I have seen, and then I hear the complaints about the rods being too tip heavy. Which features have bled down from the Antares? The spool and more brakes, but I’m not sure if that will do much. Maybe those changes will make it better for light/medium weight baits. I love the photos of both reels. The shiny silver looks more Shimano and the matte gray looks like a Daiwa reel. Quote
Super User FishTank Posted January 23, 2022 Super User Posted January 23, 2022 30 minutes ago, TNBankFishing said: Which features have bled down from the Antares? The spool and more brakes, but I’m not sure if that will do much. Maybe those changes will make it better for light/medium weight baits. I love the photos of both reels. The shiny silver looks more Shimano and the matte gray looks like a Daiwa reel. Oops copied the wrong link..... https://tzlure-com.translate.goog/shimano-2022-bantam-150.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US Quote
TNBankFishing Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 47 minutes ago, FishTank said: Oops copied the wrong link..... https://tzlure-com.translate.goog/shimano-2022-bantam-150.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US Infinity drive doesn’t matter to 99% of applications but moving the line guide is awesome. It always felt like the 18 Bantam choked casts. Most people might not notice but that change is huge in my mind. It means the frame or hood area has been modified. Excellent change. 1 Quote
Super User FishTank Posted January 23, 2022 Super User Posted January 23, 2022 21 hours ago, TNBankFishing said: Infinity drive doesn’t matter to 99% of applications but moving the line guide is awesome. It always felt like the 18 Bantam choked casts. Most people might not notice but that change is huge in my mind. It means the frame or hood area has been modified. Excellent change. I felt the same about the casting when I first got it. It took me about 100-200 long casts before mine sort of loosened up. Not something I can really explain but the reel seemed to get better the more I abused it. Quote
SproDD79 Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 Anyone know if there will be a JDM version? Or will Shimano offer the same exact reel for both markets. I see all the Bantams are out on Digitaka, so I'm wondering if there will be a JDM version and if so what the differences will be. Quote
TNBankFishing Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 4 minutes ago, SproDD79 said: Anyone know if there will be a JDM version? Or will Shimano offer the same exact reel for both markets. I see all the Bantams are out on Digitaka, so I'm wondering if there will be a JDM version and if so what the differences will be. If the last version is any guess we’d see the same brass gear and an extra low speed 5.x gear ratio called the PG. Possibly a more shallow spool similar to the JDM Met. The only difference between them was the handle and a 100 vs. 150 spool. Quote
SproDD79 Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 30 minutes ago, TNBankFishing said: If the last version is any guess we’d see the same brass gear and an extra low speed 5.x gear ratio called the PG. Possibly a more shallow spool similar to the JDM Met. The only difference between them was the handle and a 100 vs. 150 spool. I'm a big fan of the current PG Bantam for cranking, definitely looking forward to a newer PG model. Quote
TNBankFishing Posted January 24, 2022 Posted January 24, 2022 Japan Tackle has them listed, no PG. price is 299. Quote
SproDD79 Posted January 24, 2022 Posted January 24, 2022 3 hours ago, TNBankFishing said: Japan Tackle has them listed, no PG. price is 299. Thanks for the heads up. Quote
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