Has the 21 Zillion made the Metanium & Aldebaran kinda irrelevant?

[iabass8]

9 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

But they have to be the same frame, right?

[Bandersnatch]

11 minutes ago, iabass8 said:

Exactly 

[FishTank]

10 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

But they have to be the same frame, right?

Been a long day.

 

Yes same frame but they fish differently.  Like I said,  it's just an opinion and it's something you have to experience yourself.  

 

2020 Met on the left and 100 on the right.  

 

 

Also, on paper I would say the 100 is Shimano's attempt at making the JDM 2020 Met closer to the US 2020 Met with the brass gears and a bigger spool. So money grab, maybe but not quite as close as this one. 2016 Daiwa Steez SV TW and the 2022 Steez SV TW Limited 1000S. Love both of them.

 

 

[Bandersnatch]

Thanks for the detail. Same frame, I’m out. The 2020 Mets just ruined me, they turned me to daiwa. IMO they need to move on from that frame and let the bantam be that style. 

[FishTank]

12 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

Thanks for the detail. Same frame, I’m out. The 2020 Mets just ruined me, they turned me to daiwa. IMO they need to move on from that frame and let the bantam be that style. 

What's weird is I love the frame on the 2020 but I wasn't a fan of this reel series until the this version came out.  For me, my dislike started with the JDM Metanium MG and the US Core equivalent. The Core was just a better feeling reel all around despite being made on the same frame design.   Also, years ago I worked on a few of the 2013 Mets and they really didn't do much for me back then. It kind of turned me off on them once more. I really didn't look at one again until the 2020 came out.

 

Another thought on the frame,  I'm right handed and use left handed reels. It just feels more natural to me. Plus, I broke my right hand and fractured my wrist. This left me with some limited mobility. The frame on the Met works better for how I need to fish a jig. Being able to palm the reel and turn it handle side down helps my wrist and hand throughout the day. 

[Gera]

It also made the Steez irrelevant TBH

[bulldog1935]

@Gera what you lose with Steez is a full ounce of weight in the forged magnesium frame.  

The only place I can tell the weight difference is on a long 73-g salt finesse rod.  

[Bigbox99]

24 minutes ago, Gera said:

It also made the Steez irrelevant TBH

The Steez reels are a luxury item.  The Zillion is a great functioning reel but isn't super high end in stock form.  I don't like the plastic nut retainer, the cheap plastic collars around the handle shaft and spool tension.  Not a fan of the paint finish either.  It's not bad paint finish but is boring.  The gloss black paint, nicer handle with a cleaner looking nut retainer and the metal drag star really make the Zillion HD feel higher end in hand to me compared to my  normal Zillion despite being the same reel.  

[Gera]

2 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

@Gera what you lose with Steez is a full ounce of weight in the forged magnesium frame.  

The only place I can tell the weight difference is on a long 73-g salt finesse rod.  

 

At lest for me, 1oz weight does not justify the $750 dollar price tag with the Zillion being such a good reel. The Metanium MGL is 0.5oz lighter and $80dls more expensive (than a zillion). The 2024 Steez SV TW being 1oz lighter will set you an additional $380 dollars. That is ~2.4 times more expensive per oz. 

 

If you add the fact that the Met is 4 years older than the steez.. I'm going to say that at leas for me the Zillion did make my Metaniums obsolete and completely made any plans for a Steez obsolete as well.  

[bulldog1935]

you're shopping on the wrong continent.  

 

 

and I still think oak pollen is the cause of all the recent contrary on BR - maybe a Claratin?  

 

I tried to check my Steez price on my Asian Portal account, but they're down for website facelift.  

[Gera]

2 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

you're shopping on the wrong continent.  

 

Totally agree, but I used TW prices to make a fare assessment.. Digitaka is the way to go.. 

 

 

 

[ABU is overpriced]

7 hours ago, Gera said:

It also made the Steez irrelevant TBH

It absolutely did. I didn't bother mentioning it because the Met was already more popular anyways.

[ABU is overpriced]

You replace those ugly plastic parts like the engine cover and the zero adjuster cap, and these reels are instanly much higher end looking.

[bulldog1935]

I got one for you

Ray's Studio SV spool, Momo zero adjust, ZPI Pentagram star drag, Avail STi2 handle.  

[ABU is overpriced]

1 hour ago, bulldog1935 said:

I got one for you

Ray's Studio SV spool, Momo zero adjust, ZPI Pentagram star drag, Avail STi2 handle.  

I find the ray's spool to look super cheap and the plastic collar and engine cover still being on the reel is destroying the looks of the zillion to me. 

[bulldog1935]

 

Any edition of this is going to be Greatly abridged - these and Many others were boated on the reel above, going strong into its 4th year.  

[Bigbox99]

2 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

You replace those ugly plastic parts like the engine cover and the zero adjuster cap, and these reels are instanly much higher end looking.

They have silver ones now?  Where?  

[ABU is overpriced]

31 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

They have silver ones now?  Where?  

Daiwa is too dumb to have em. Both were transfered from a steez a.

[Gera]

What kills the high end look of a zillion (or any Daiwa that I have purchased) for me is how terrible their paint is. That is the one thing I wish they learn from Shimano.. These reels paint peels off so easy!! 

I'm not a fan of extreme care of my fishing equipment, at the end they are tools and I treat them as such. the paint job in a Shimano will outlast a Daiwa by far.. I also think their knobs suck but that as easy fix. 

[Bigbox99]

11 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Daiwa is too dumb to have em. Both were transfered from a steez a.

Can't want for these reels to become dirt cheap so I can make a fraken Zillion. I did that to a Tatula Type R using an old last gen Zillion TW SV.  

14 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

You replace those ugly plastic parts like the engine cover and the zero adjuster cap, and these reels are instanly much higher end looking.

Nicest nuzillion I have ever seen.  Can't get over it.  

[ABU is overpriced]

1 hour ago, Bigbox99 said:

Can't want for these reels to become dirt cheap so I can make a fraken Zillion. I did that to a Tatula Type R using an old last gen Zillion TW SV.  

Nicest nuzillion I have ever seen.  Can't get over it.  

And the 12 ball bearings upgrade that i did, which are all the black bearings from the steez sv tw, this reel is so smooth under load that you're just not getting any smoother when going higher end.

[Bigbox99]

16 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

Daiwa is too dumb to have em. Both were transfered from a steez a.

Darn.  I know you can buy color parts from Kawa but that silver looks incredible and Kawa doesn't have silver.

[Dwight Hottle]

On 4/1/2024 at 7:50 PM, casts_by_fly said:

I have the zillion, met, bantam, and chronarch (and a bunch of abus). They are equally good reels in quality.  The preference between braking systems and shape might drive you to one or the other. At the same price point there isn’t much to choose between. BUT as you say, for $200 you can get a zillion right now. Last I checked a met or bantam was $260 jdm if you can find one. And at usdm prices it’s a no brained to get a jdm zillion.  You can practically get 2 jdm zillions for the price of a bantam and the aldebaran is even more expensive. 

 

 Do you think there might be a correlation between if you can find one & the market preference to having one? 

[casts_by_fly]

4 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 Do you think there might be a correlation between if you can find one & the market preference to having one? 

maybe.  But there are a lot of complicating factors. Preference doesn’t always indicate what the better thing is. Marketing and personal belief play in. We’re also talking about JDM market and US market put together with a weird exchange rate.  You also have each company’s supply and demand plans and capabilities. Get your demand guess wrong and you’re constantly out of stock. With all of those complicating factors, I wouldn’t equate availability with preference or quality. 

[PhishLI]

23 hours ago, Gera said:

These reels paint peels off so easy!! 

I'm not a fan of extreme care of my fishing equipment, at the end they are tools and I treat them as such.

Is popping on a reel cover "extreme" care? I walk around lakes with 5-8 rods slung over my shoulder like a stack of 2X4s. None of my reels have paint damage, with some being around 7 years old. Alot of those are Daiwas. They still look new. I suppose one could say a fishing reel is a tool, but it's actually a machine with a paint job, not a chrome plated wrench. I don't give a shyte if a wrench slips out of my hand onto the concrete, but I'd puke if I dropped a reel onto the same though. No company's paint can deal with much abuse. I sold a bunch of reels to one particular guy. A Tranx 300, a Curado 300, and a few Tats. Every one of those was mint when I sold them, but now they look like they rolled down a mountain. He just chucks them into his truck bed without a bed liner or has them clattering against each other in the bottom of his yak. Disgracefully chewed up, all because he's too lazy to put on a 4$ reel cover in about 5 seconds. Whatever.