10,000 lakes Bassin Posted January 11 Posted January 11 I haven't pulled the trigger on a Zillion HD because for some reason there is a hang up in my brain when I hear the Heavy Duty and I don't think it will cast lighter baits well. Others on this forum have said that this isn't an issue but I'm still worried about it for some reason... Quote
Bigbox99 Posted January 11 Posted January 11 40 minutes ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said: I haven't pulled the trigger on a Zillion HD because for some reason there is a hang up in my brain when I hear the Heavy Duty and I don't think it will cast lighter baits well. Others on this forum have said that this isn't an issue but I'm still worried about it for some reason... Aren't you looking to throw 17lb fluoro and bladed jigs? This lines up well with the Zillion HD. It has the TWS and braking profile to let the slinky you will be spooling the reel up with flow out easily and controlled without having run a bunch of spool tension unlike the Metanium 100 you were looking at in another thread. The Met is a great reel but you should play off it's strengths and stick to free flowing lines, minimal to zero spool tension and baits that cast like rockets IMO. For spooling up with 17 lbs fluoro and chucking bulkier baits the Zillion HD will allow the fluoroslinky to exit the reel in a controlled but unrestricted manner allowing the rod tip to stay unloaded as the baits flies. This will also dispense sufficient line on the cast to get a vertical sink instead of the bait penduluming back at you had the line been yanked tight between the spool and bait on the cast by spool tension. A smidgen of spool tension can work to add some slowness to a fast spool without having adverse affects to how the rod feels on the cast or tightness in the reels retrieve but its still a case of "you bought the wrong reel" if you have to do that to a reel for your intended application. Its better to play off the reels strengths than to compensate to shortcoming. Centrifugals including Shimanos absolutely send baits on bomb casts using line and baits that are conducive to this type of cast (free flowing line like braid and compact baits) while the more agressive braking profile Daiwas like the Zillion HD excel at managing stiff plastic lines and bulky baits. You can spool up a Zillion HD with braid (mine is) and sling frogs far but a centrifugal will beat it in pure distance and ease if the two were compared side by side. You can spool Metanium to 20 lbs fluoro but you are going to have to use line conditioner and run bunch of spool tension to slow the reel down enough to get the line to flow out of the reel. When armed with the understanding of braking profiles and braking systems of the reels then why use them that way? 1 Quote
ABU is overpriced Posted January 11 Posted January 11 1 hour ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said: I haven't pulled the trigger on a Zillion HD because for some reason there is a hang up in my brain when I hear the Heavy Duty and I don't think it will cast lighter baits well. Others on this forum have said that this isn't an issue but I'm still worried about it for some reason... How light are we talking about? Not to mention that with that reel, you have acess to the highest amount of stock and aftermarket spools of any other reel platform, so if you need to cast 1/8oz, plenty of spools for that. On aliexpress alone you can grab a cheapo one for $30 that can cast light baits np. Quote
10,000 lakes Bassin Posted January 11 Posted January 11 32 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said: How light are we talking about? Not like BFS light, something like vision 110 jr. will the stock spool handle that? Quote
ABU is overpriced Posted January 11 Posted January 11 23 minutes ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said: Not like BFS light, something like vision 110 jr. will the stock spool handle that? lol that ain't even remotely light. Any 100 size spool can cast it without any issues, let alone newer spools, which also tend to be lighter than older ones. You'll be perfectly fine with its stock spool. 1 Quote
10,000 lakes Bassin Posted January 12 Posted January 12 54 minutes ago, ABU is overpriced said: lol that ain't even remotely light. Any 100 size spool can cast it without any issues, let alone newer spools, which also tend to be lighter than older ones. You'll be perfectly fine with its stock spool. okay thank you. For some reason I was thinking that reel was only for heavy punching and stuff. If the HD has brass gears, a better handle, better looking paint, the same casting distance and is only slightly more $ why are people buy standard zillions? Quote
MiceNReets Posted January 12 Posted January 12 16 minutes ago, 10,000 lakes Bassin said: okay thank you. For some reason I was thinking that reel was only for heavy punching and stuff. If the HD has brass gears, a better handle, better looking paint, the same casting distance and is only slightly more $ why are people buy standard zillions? Because they don’t know better 3 Quote
Super User Darth-Baiter Posted January 21 Author Super User Posted January 21 To close this thread, I picked a reel. As luck would have it, a friend/coworker’s wife is in Shinjuku - Tokyo. She is buying him a combo and they asked for my advice. We are both getting a Zillion SVTW. she texted and the shop had a righty (me) and a lefty (Dave), in stock! For Dave he is also getting a sick travel rod. Mainly because she didn’t want to deal w a full lengther. thanks everyone for the awesome advice. Always appreciated. man stuff is affordable over there! Even more so in-person! 3 Quote
softwateronly Posted January 21 Posted January 21 3 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said: To close this thread, I picked a reel..... man stuff is affordable over there! Even more so in-person! Just reading this thread made me buy another Zillion. scott 1 1 Quote
MiceNReets Posted January 21 Posted January 21 3 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said: To close this thread, I picked a reel. As luck would have it, a friend/coworker’s wife is in Shinjuku - Tokyo. She is buying him a combo and they asked for my advice. We are both getting a Zillion SVTW. she texted and the shop had a righty (me) and a lefty (Dave), in stock! For Dave he is also getting a sick travel rod. Mainly because she didn’t want to deal w a full lengther. thanks everyone for the awesome advice. Always appreciated. man stuff is affordable over there! Even more so in-person! Naw… still cheaper for me to pay shipping for gear than a plane ticket to go myself. Quote
ABU is overpriced Posted January 21 Posted January 21 Makes me wonder for how much the HD can be had directly while being in Japan, when its already cheap through amazon for $240. 1 Quote
Gera Posted January 21 Posted January 21 Flip a coin, you will win either way... Between these two reels you can choose the one that looks best on your rod. 2 Quote
Super User Darth-Baiter Posted January 28 Author Super User Posted January 28 On 1/21/2025 at 7:47 AM, MiceNReets said: Naw… still cheaper for me to pay shipping for gear than a plane ticket to go myself. Japan might be my favorite vacation of all time. I once got a bug to find Hanso's shrine. got miserably lost. I saw a lady cleaning an entry way and she waved me over...I got there with my wife and the smell hit me. it was a tonkatsu restaurant.!! I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and when I opened them, she was giggling at me. she showed us to a table. menu was all Japanese. she led me around the room and pointed at other customers plates..I saw the one I want and pointed. wife made her choice by pointing at words she couldn't read. hahah.. what a fun delicious meal. when we left, a chef pointed us in the right direction and we just started walking. that trip, covid had not happened and I wasn't into fishing yet. the pandemic was the catalyst for me. now when I go back, I am walking my butt into a fishing store. for me, the Japan experience first, and I happen to be in the country that makes my flavor of fishing gear. my friends wife doenst get back until 2nd week of February. booooo...she is in Thailand now. and so is my Zillion. hahahahah 1 Quote
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