Tatula SV TWS worth it?...

[CGray97]

Is it worth the money or is there a better reel for the same price??? I've heard some guys saying theirs are "geary" and noisy and others say theirs are smooth and quiet. Looking to make my first "big"(to me) purchase on a reel just not sure what to get. $200-220 budget. I'm far from a pro and will mainly be pond and small river fishing if that helps. 

[Yeezy Fishing]

I have a couple ‘17 SVs and a couple ‘20 SVs all have been smooth since day one. Only time one of mine got “geary” was after a year of heavy use for frogging and I have never serviced this reel since I got it in ‘17. Cleaned it a couple months ago and it’s as good as new. I’ll always have the SVs in my lineup. I say they’re worth it. 

[snake95]

Just one data point, but I was throwing light crankbaits yesterday with my SV -- I have only one among numerous Daiwa reels. 

 

The thought occurred to me on my trip back that I would always be willing spend the little extra for the SV.

 

They look and feel truly well made with excellent fit and finish, and the SV is very effective.

 

 

 

[TcRoc]

It’s literally all Opinion. Seems like your looking to count how many positive or negative opinions u get on this to make your decision. U r going to get Shimano guys pushing there favorite and Diawa guys pushing the Sv. And maybe a few other pushing there favorite. In that price point your going to get a good reel. I have Shimano / Daiwa / and 1 Okuma in my  baitcasters..  3 or 4 r sv’s .. the Sv’s to me r worth everything I spent on them. No issues, no noise , no Geary stuff. Same with my Okuma and  my Shimano’s except my dc’s,  of course they r noisy lol

[CGray97]

6 minutes ago, TcRoc said:

It’s literally all Opinion. Seems like your looking to count how many positive or negative opinions u get on this to make your decision. U r going to get Shimano guys pushing there favorite and Diawa guys pushing the Sv. And maybe a few other pushing there favorite. In that price point your going to get a good reel. I have Shimano / Daiwa / and 1 Okuma in my  baitcasters..  3 or 4 r sv’s .. the Sv’s to me r worth everything I spent on them. No issues, no noise , no Geary stuff. Same with my Okuma and  my Shimano’s except my dc’s,  of course they r noisy lol

Just trying to research and gather as many opinions before pulling the trigger as I feel most people do. I did end up ordering a tatula sv earlier today, so there's that. 

[Bluebasser86]

I have several SV Tatulas and none that are "geary". I've been very happy with mine but they're all older models, can't speak on the new versions. 

[newapti5]

 IMO "geary" or "smooth" are both subjective terms; there's no actual objective measurement to how smooth a reel is. I have a friend who claims his spinning reel is very smooth, no need for cleaning and maintenance. It's geary as heck in my opinion.

 

Tatula series is not the top series in Daiwa camp. If smoothness and longevity matters much to you, I would suggest getting a Daiwa reel with real dual support pinion gear, such as any Alphas series, or any Zillion series. They can be had for around $200, if you're not in a hurry and shop around.   

[Tatulatard]

I don't know.  If you can turn the handle and feel the vibration of gears under load then its geary.  Pretty much all reels but a few are like this when not mounted to a rod so I guess "geary" is the norm.  Take a reel off a rod, palm it and press down on the spool to simulate heavy load while turning the handle and you will feel the gears.  Very few reels can pass this test and the only one that can be had for as "cheap" as 3 bills is the newest and oldest Zillons.  The new 80 and 70 tatulas use the new hyper gears but are not double supported so MAYBE they will have this level of smoothness at $200 and under.  Honestly, if geary is normal then as long as it's not offensively bad then its fine.

[newapti5]

2 hours ago, Tatulatard said:

I don't know.  If you can turn the handle and feel the vibration of gears under load then its geary.  Pretty much all reels but a few are like this when not mounted to a rod so I guess "geary" is the norm.  Take a reel off a rod, palm it and press down on the spool to simulate heavy load while turning the handle and you will feel the gears.  Very few reels can pass this test and the only one that can be had for as "cheap" as 3 bills is the newest and oldest Zillons.  The new 80 and 70 tatulas use the new hyper gears but are not double supported so MAYBE they will have this level of smoothness at $200 and under.  Honestly, if geary is normal then as long as it's not offensively bad then its fine.

 

This is what some of us feel, me included. What I meant is someone would disagree with what you said, saying a used Tatula is as smooth as a Zillion. Nothing wrong with that, because there isn't a quantified definition or distinction for what is smooth or what is geary.  For fishing line, you can say this line diameter is thicker than that one, because you can measure it. But what "geary" level a reel has to reach so that it can't be labeled as "smooth?" To someone, that reel is good enough to be labeled as "smooth", or even "very smooth;" but to others, it may be classified as "geary. "

[PhishLI]

43 minutes ago, Tatulatard said:

The new 80 and 70 tatulas use the new hyper gears but are not double supported so MAYBE they will have this level of smoothness at $200 and under.  Honestly, if geary is normal then as long as it's not offensively bad then its fine.

I did the "thumb load" test on the 80 I got last night. Definitely a different feel than any recent Tat series reel. Not even a slight pulsing. Who knows if it'll last? We'll see.

[PhishLI]

4 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

What I meant is someone would disagree with what you said, saying a used Tatula is as smooth as a Zillion.

Besides a tiny minority here and elsewhere, and short of actual metal on metal grinding, very few people care whether a reel is super smooth or not while cranking under load. A degree of gear meshing that can be felt is typically fine or unobtrusive to most people, obviously. I'm probably about 15 hours into cranking a Zillion G, which is like cranking air, but I don't want to vomit when using my other reels that exhibit normal minor gear meshing, but that's just me. Others are hyper focused on this issue above all else it seems.

[newapti5]

2 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Besides a tiny minority here and elsewhere, and short of actual metal on metal grinding, very few people care whether a reel is super smooth or not while cranking under load. A degree of gear meshing that can be felt is typically fine or unobtrusive to most people, obviously. I'm probably about 15 hours into cranking a Zillion G, which is like cranking air, but I don't want to vomit when using my other reels that exhibit normal minor gear meshing, but that's just me. Others are hyper focused on this issue above all else it seems.

 

Yep, to many people, as long as a reel is not frozen, it's "smooth."

[Tatulatard]

Basically a reel is smooth until you pickup an even smoother reel and your definition of smoothness changes.  Basically you keep unlocking higher levels of smoothness as you move up in the progression of smooth reels and you standard of what is and what is not smooth becomes more jaded.  This is how some can say that a Tatula is smooth.  They haven't felt the new Zillion, Steez, Alphas, original Zillion, Antares ect so a Tatula feels pretty darn good.  I own a bunch of Tatulas and they are all smooth enough.  The new hyper gear tatulas might go a long ways to bring higher levels of smoothness to Tatulas but it will be a while before that trickles down to the 100.  

1 hour ago, newapti5 said:

 

This is what some of us feel, me included. What I meant is someone would disagree with what you said, saying a used Tatula is as smooth as a Zillion. Nothing wrong with that, because there isn't a quantified definition or distinction for what is smooth or what is geary.  For fishing line, you can say this line diameter is thicker than that one, because you can measure it. But what "geary" level a reel has to reach that it can't be labeled as "smooth?" To someone, that reel is good enough to be labeled as "smooth", or even "very smooth;" but to others, it may be classified as "geary. "

I think the people who think tatulas are smooth do not own the new zillion.  For those that have both it has been made very clear that the new zilllon is on another level.  The new new new Tatulas I haven't heard much feedback yet because they are so new.  Only a "Like the Alphas" which would put it really close to the new Zillion because the Zillion and Alphas share gears.  

[CGray97]

Coming from cheap abu garcias and lews, aside from the base slx I recently picked up, I'm sure the tatula will be plenty "smooth" to me although maybe I should have held out for a zillion.??‍♂️Lol

[PhishLI]

10 minutes ago, CGray97 said:

I'm sure the tatula will be plenty "smooth" to me although maybe I should have held out for a zillion.??‍♂️Lol

Down the line maybe. Smoothness aside, the G is the best general purpose Daiwa reel I've touched. It's a fantastic free caster with a near perfect braking profile for my mechanics.

[CGray97]

13 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Down the line maybe. Smoothness aside, the G is the best general purpose Daiwa reel I've touched. It's a fantastic free caster with a near perfect braking profile for my mechanics.

What are you referring to when you say "G"?

[PhishLI]

3 minutes ago, CGray97 said:

What are you referring to when you say "G"?

Zillion G

[PhishLI]

16 hours ago, CGray97 said:

What are you referring to when you say "G"?

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Daiwa_Zillion_SV_TW_G_Casting_Reels/descpage-DZTG.html

[Pogues2300]

16 hours ago, PhishLI said:

Down the line maybe. Smoothness aside, the G is the best general purpose Daiwa reel I've touched. It's a fantastic free caster with a near perfect braking profile for my mechanics.

Glad to hear that. I have two waiting on ice to melt to be able to put them to the test lol.