should i get the diawa viento????

[volpster31]

im thinking about it but dont know if its worth getting mainly for the twitchbar option...could i get a better reel for the same price range...ive havent owned a daiwa in years & just dont know about them..i want a low profile reel for sure...if you have one ,how do you like it.... & if you dont,what would you get?

thanks....

p.s  could i get a sweet shimano thats less money?

[Hawgin]

If you are planning on getting the viento just for the twitch bar, I will tell you to not waste your money.  It's a decent reel, but not really worth the cost.  The bad part about the twitch bar is that when using it, it causes the handle to turn so you can only hold the reel with one hand.  Not ideal for reeling down to set the hook.  Also, the twitch bar is plastic and seems to be prone to breaking.  My opinion is that you can get a much better reel for that price.

[flechero]

Also, the twitch bar is plastic and seems to be prone to breaking.

Hawgin,

Have you seen breakage problems or is it just the fear of it happening?  I saw lots of posts like that before they came out saying it would be the weak link.  I agree it should be the problem spot if there is one... I just haven't heard of any reels actually breaking yet.

I don't own one but my normal partner does and he's rough with it... no troubles yet. (5-6 months of hard use)

Just curious as to your experiences with it.

[Raul]

5-6 months of use, how many times in a fishing trip he twitches with the twitching bar ? That A spring that it has on the non handle sideplate that attatches the bar to the frame......never had good experiences with that A sping.

[shimanogloomis man]

id get a shimano curado for 160 bucks on ebay imo

[Guest DavidGreen]

I have to agree with Raul, I have just recently played with the reel (at a store counter), and I don't like the feel of the A spring after working the twitch bar (the spring felt lose and the bar had play in it). I asked the sales person how many anglers had held and worked the display reel, and he told me about 10 a day since they started carrying the reel, just after it's release (if i'm not mistaken that was about june). I also have a hard time understanding why an angler would let a reel do the job of the rod tip for them, are anglers getting so lazy that they can't twitch a rod tip any more to impart the proper action onto a bait?

I also agree with shimanogloomis man you can get a better reel for less money if you take the time to search....

Tight Lines All !!!

[Hawgin]

Flechero-

 No I have not actually seen one break, but I would think that they would have made the twitching bar out of something a little more durable than plastic.  

[Hula Popper]

I know a guy who has one, and he has a little trouble casting it. If you do a lot of twithcin' and walkin' the dog type stuff, it looks like a good choice, though.

[flechero]

5-6 months of use, how many times in a fishing trip he twitches with the twitching bar ? That A spring that it has on the non handle sideplate that attatches the bar to the frame......never had good experiences with that A sping.

He's a twitch-a-holic. He twitches that thing for hours a day. ...lol Seriously, like a kid with a problem. It baffles me but he loves it and uses it constantly.

I would think that they would have made the twitching bar out of something a little more durable than plastic.

I don't know... I bet the hardware holding it in place will fail before the plastic. (Football helmets are made of plastic too and they are pretty durable.) ...lol

I'm surprised at the responses... no one has seen a problem yet but most are either skeptical or critical. I admit that I was skeptical at first based on reviews but after seeing it in action for a while, either he got lucky and has a "good" one or some of this criticism is unfounded.

If they have been out this long and ReelMech hasn't even seen one except in the store, that speaks volumes to me. I guess I just see the glass as 1/2 full.

[Guest DavidGreen]

I might also add, that I did ask the sales person how many they had sold since they placed the demo reel in the cabinet.

Answer: Zero... Could be the reason I haven't seen any..

Tight Lines All!!  

[Deuceu72]

Well, I hate to disagree with you all but I have a viento and I LOVE IT! I have had zero problems with this reel.......Twitchin bar works just fine for me as well..........it comes in very handy when I smoke while fishing  ;D.........When I set the hook, I'm not using the twitchin bar..........I use it like I would any reel, it just has the added feature with the twitchin bar.............sometimes I use it, sometimes I dont...I do not regret buying this reel for even 1 second.........

[Triton9]

my dad bout one and wasn't satisfied with it. it makes weird noises and has other problems plus the twichin bar was a real let down.

[flechero]

I might also add, that I did ask the sales person how many they had sold since they placed the demo reel in the cabinet.

Answer: Zero... Could be the reason I haven't seen any..

Tight Lines All!!

That might make a difference!  Although I though a good amount of your reel business was shipped in.  No?

The academy and sportsman's warehouse stores near me are constanly sold out... rarely do they have them in stock more than a couple days.  I'm really not on a mission to defend the viento, I don't own one and have no plans to buy one.  just seemed like there was more speculation than fact being written about it.

Triton9's dad is the first bad experience I have heard about so far...  how many other reels do we hear about lemons right off the shelf?  Lots!  Seems to me like the viento might just be a good little reel.

[sodaksker]

I bought 2 vientos about a year ago.  One I have on a jig/worm rod, the other one I have on a woo daves 7' cranking rod.  They are smooth reeling, easy casting rods.  I did not use the one on the jig/worm rod nearly as much.  The one on the cranking rod, did get a lot of use throwing a lot of cranks throughuout the summer, mainly a lot of suspending jerk baits.  This reel functions fine but, makes noise when making long casts that cause the spool to spin fast.  I was just using Jig/worm rod the other day with a tube and used the twitchin bar exclusively.  It is great for moving the bait in short little hops.  Not that you could not do it with your rod but,  I find it easier to do with the t-bar. I feel that when using the t-bar it allows me to stay in better contact with my bait and I feel bites more quickly because I am not moving the rod.  I like the reels.  I wish I would have just bought one of them,. I could have put that $150 towards a good cranking reel.  In my opinion it is a good reel but I would not pay more than $80-90 for one.

[Guest DavidGreen]

Deuceu72,

Twitchin bar works just fine for me as well..........it comes in very handy when I smoke while fishing

Now that's a great reason to buy one....

Triton9,

it makes weird noises and has other problems plus the twichin bar was a real let down.

I'd really like to know what the other issues were...

flechero,

That might make a difference!  Although I though a good amount of your reel business was shipped in.

Yup much more than the local guys here in KS...

how many other reels do we hear about lemons right off the shelf?  Lots!  Seems to me like the viento might just be a good little reel.

I hear that. The Viento doesn't look like a lemon to me it looks well made, and when held it feels well made. I guess that I see something that most anglers don't unless they have a good understanding of the springs used in reels, and the relation ship of the friction points and springs over time.

sodaksker,

I was just using Jig/worm rod the other day with a tube and used the twitchin bar exclusively.  It is great for moving the bait in short little hops.  Not that you could not do it with your rod but,  I find it easier to do with the t-bar. I feel that when using the t-bar it allows me to stay in better contact with my bait and I feel bites more quickly because I am not moving the rod.

When I learned my techniques, there were no easy ways to twitch the lure with, and you had to learn the right technique on how to impart the proper action to a bait (no matter what bait). I guess that I am to old school for this reel, because I still think that fishing is casting and moving the bait through the reel and rods action to impart the proper movement to trigger the strike.

I guess I just don't get fishing with one hand (and I am a smoker like Deuceu72)...

All in all it is probably going to take more time before we really see what this reel will and won't do. Also how and what part/s of the reel suffer from time...

Tight Lines All!!!

[Deuceu72]

Now that's a great reason to buy one....

For the record, I didnt buy the reel to smoke.(This is what's being implied by this statement)That's just an added benefit. Since I have caught about 200 bass with this reel, I think I will stick with it........Mine makes no weird noises, has no problems with the twitchin bar........I use it like I would any other reel.........No matter, I like it and have had no problems with it................People who dont like it.......OH WELL...........Just my opinion.........Also, I only paid 80 bucks for the reel...........Is that a better reason?

[volpster31]

ive got one question for the viento owners....

i noticed on ebay some reels are described as being a model( viento-l) & some models are listed(viento-l td)...i want a lefty but is their a difference with the models with the td in them?is the viento-l last years moel or are they the same.i have 2 examples below

any help would be great.....thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/Daiwa-Viento-L-Baitcasting-Reel-Twitchin-Bar-Left-Hand_W0QQitemZ250042545120QQihZ015QQcategoryZ108153QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Team-Daiwa-TD-Viento-L-Left-Hand-Baitcasting-Reel-New_W0QQitemZ260027154005QQihZ016QQcategoryZ108153QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem