Or maybe, just a maybe, they sell the ones that not quite pass QC or B grade from brand name manufacturers. I would think twice before spending money on higher end reel or 200 and up from this market. I’d rather spend 20-30 bucks more from Japan vendor just for a piece of mind. It's the same stuff ...

What I don't understand is why I can buy USDM reels in USD on Aliexpress for way less than anywhere in the US. A lot of counterfeits on Ali. Not reels though. They'll put SHIMANO on a ad for some chineasium reel and the reel itself won't look like any Shimano reel. They also will borrow styling ele...

What I don't understand is why I can buy USDM reels in USD on Aliexpress for way less than anywhere in the US. A lot of counterfeits on Ali. Not reels though. They'll put SHIMANO on a ad for some chineasium reel and the reel itself won't look like any Shimano reel. They also will borrow styling ele...

What I don't understand is why I can buy USDM reels in USD on Aliexpress for way less than anywhere in the US.

Looks like a new plastic platform to replace the old Casitas platform. This particular reel looks like the bottom of the barrel version like a Bass One but at Casitas money. Hard pass.

They look nice. It's not cutting edge or modern in looks but it looks nice for a Loomis rod. I like it better than the last gen. That one always struck me as someone timidly trying to make it look modern but didn't try hard enough like "let's put some carbon fiber accents on it WHOA WHOA just one li...

Thanks for your reply. From everything I've read, Shimano suggests adding the additional weights for extremely light lures. Seems ass-backwards to me. I got the reels (Aldebaran BFSs) initially because I thought they'd handle lighter baits (baisa, etc) a bit better than my Aldebaran MGLs and they d...

I have a Zillion TW SV 1000 and a 12 Exsence DC. The latter my go-to reel for costal shore fishing 3/4-1 oz slim baits on a 9'6" -1 1/4 oz rod. Have tried the Zillion for this costal fishing as well, they cast about the same, safe and fairly good distance. The DC often feel a bit over breaked at "m...

No doubt about it. Often over looked by the newer platforms. This one has an Ian tuned TDZ 105 spool and 8# copoly. It checks all the boxes for me for medium(ish) moving baits. The spool has great control and distance for the few baits I have tested with it the one day this spring I have been able ...

One thing for sure, look at the price increase since this thread was created. Yeah but the quality has gone though the roof. Those early spools shipped came cardboard packaging with ads featuring the spool imposed and hovering over a stock photograph of a spinning reel like a UFO. They had inductor...

What kind of a sane person uses a quality carbon handle with that kind of nut retainers? :laugh1: It looks like one of those cheap chinease handles that sort of look like an RCS carbon. Still the plastic nut retainer is dumb. I bet Daiwa got a lot of negative feedback from the US about the colored ...

It's an Alphas Air for the US market. Daiwa doesn't call Alphas, Alphas in the US because we can't handle the name and end up calling it an Alpha. Sol, SV105 and now PX are the USDM Alphas reels.

The Piscifun Alloy M reel is a solid option. I wouldnt pay the $90 full price for it, but for the $66 shipped that I paid for it, its a good reel. It was never slick-smooth, but again, still a good reel for what I paid. I suspect that the lower ratio reels would be smoother. Mine is 8.4 ratio. Have...

^excelent post. I think another issue is people new to BFS especially from the US where a 3/8 oz 5" senko is considered a light bait gravitate towards a ML rod and then think they need a modern BFS reel because they are special reels for casting light weight baits. What they haven't realized that mo...

I have a few to scratch my budget/beginner reel enthusiast itch. I like to be well versed in the cheap stuff to recommend to new anglers and I frequently use them as loner reels and on kayak fishing trips. They can spend months strapped to the headliner of my Honda Element. Anyways the one truly goo...