Daiwa Vs Shimano Spinning reels who's #1

[BRONZEBACK32]

Shimano only for me.

I used a few daiwas in the past and had problems with the reels keeping there smoothness, after just a few trips out my
daiwa sol spinning reel felt like a meat grinder.

I love the how most daiwa reels look, but I will keep my shimano reels that keep going and going.
My Shimano stradic 3000 FJ has been amazing, I tend to use my Vanquish more now days but both are excellent.

[Kurt L]

Shimano only for me.

I used a few daiwas in the past and had problems with the reels keeping there smoothness, after just a few trips out my
daiwa sol spinning reel felt like a meat grinder.

I love the how most daiwa reels look, but I will keep my shimano reels that keep going and going.
My Shimano stradic 3000 FJ has been amazing, I tend to use my Vanquish more now days but both are excellent.

This is the same problem I have had with Daiwa in the past, I have two Whisker SS reels (700/1300) and they have been great I caught more Salmon and Steelhead than I can remember on those reels, But since then I bought three different Daiwa spinning reels and all of them had rough gears within a month and all of them were returned. I'm hoping the Ballistic will hold up now that the gears are coated and hardened. The gears on all of my Shimano's have held up very well but the Knocking and clunking from the spool oscillation worm gear sucks, I have a number of Stradics that I can't stand to use because of it, I just set those aside for bait reels or guest that are newbie's. I was looking at the Vanquish and chickened out because I don't want pay an additional $100.00 + for a reel that will potentially knock like a Stradic/Sustain.

Kurt

[susQbassman]

I have 8 daiwa sol spinning reels 4 daiwa fuego type a spinning reels and they have never been apart not one problem and if you want to talk rocky rivers almost all my fishing is done on the Susquehanna river in Pa.

[oops]

I own Shimano spinning reels that I have used as far back as since I was 7 years old or so (I am 30 now). The majority of them have never been serviced, a handful have seen moderate saltwater use (with little to no maintenance) and the ones that my dad and I used for catfishing have been beat to hell and back. Out of probably 30+ reels, all but two are mechanically fine, and I suspect at least one of those two could probably be fixed by me with relative ease.

I'm sure Daiwa has lots of good options out there (the very few I have owned or used seemed great to me), but on the rare occasion that I want a new spinning reel, I buy Shimano with the confidence that they build things that constant abuse by a child and decades of fishing abuse can't destroy.

[JWY]

The gears on all of my Shimano's have held up very well but the Knocking and clunking from the spool oscillation worm gear sucks, I have a number of Stradics that I can't stand to use because of it, I just set those aside for bait reels or guest that are newbie's. I was looking at the Vanquish and chickened out because I don't want pay an additional $100.00 + for a reel that will potentially knock like a Stradic/Sustain.

Kurt

Sounds like it's the anti-reverse bearing issue. I have had mild knocking sound in one of my Stradic before. Quick clean and very light lube fixed the issue.

[RGMatt]

I have 8 daiwa sol spinning reels 4 daiwa fuego type a spinning reels and they have never been apart not one problem and if you want to talk rocky rivers almost all my fishing is done on the Susquehanna river in Pa.

Never used a daiwa fuego spinner so i can only speak from my buddies and my experience with the sols. We are fishing the main stem SUSQI, NB SUSQI, and delaware rivers. Most, well almost all of our fishing is on those 3 rivers. You either have the absolute best luck or we have the worst LOL Either way, some of these reels took a couple years for the AR To fail and others started after 6 months. Some were sent back to daiwa and some were not even fixed yet. I have one that been on the shelf for 2 years at least. I actually forgot about that one. Its not an unheard of problem with the sols , a google search comes up with numerous results.

Glad your sol reels are working flawlessly for this type of fishing, for me i couldnt take the AR failing again while a big smallmouth takes a dive under the boat
Good luck on the river
Matt

[aquaholik]

I've had AR failure with the Sol and replaced it with a brand new AR. That also failed very quickly. I then took the old one apart. Unfortunately you can't service them like you can the Shimano AR. Then I decide to oil the new AR lightly. Problem solved. No grease in AR but it takes a little bit of oil for those parts to fall quickly back into place and work like it should.

[RGMatt]

I've had AR failure with the Sol and replaced it with a brand new AR. That also failed very quickly. I then took the old one apart. Unfortunately you can't service them like you can the Shimano AR. Then I decide to oil the new AR lightly. Problem solved. No grease in AR but it takes a little bit of oil for those parts to fall quickly back into place and work like it should.

Good info. I'll keep that in mind when i finally get around to fixing those reels.
Thx
Matt

[Kurt L]

I was back on the water last knight with the FK4000 to give it another shot, I tried throwing a #6 Vibrax spinner and it was clear that it is defective! it was nocking really hard under load, every transition point of the worm gear let me know it was there! I will be sending it back under warranty, Bummer since King Salmon season will be all but over before I get it back. Good news is it's replacement the Ballistic 3000EX I ordered should be here tomorrow!

Kurt

[susQbassman]

Yes maybe my luck is good with the daiwa reels but I fished the reels since 2004 never serviced them smooth waterproof drag air bail .I was checking out new reels that are 12 years newer and don't see replacing them until they fail tackle tour rated them high in performance and design.

[RGMatt]

No doubt they are very nice reels and if they are working for you then no need to replace them. When i fix them im gonna go the oil route on the AR mentioned above and go from there.

[Kurt L]

The Ballistic showed up today and feels pretty darn good!, hopefully I will get it on the water tomorrow. Durability is my concern though I will give it a good workout and see how it goes, In a vast majority of the reviews I have seen the Ballistic EX has received very good reviews, we'll see though I have not had very good luck with Daiwa spinning reels since the SS series.

My Stradic FK feels butter smooth with no load on it... if it was that smooth under load I would be one happy cat and I would not need the Ballistic. I should have known better than to buy an all new model the first year. But Shimano has a great warranty so hopefully they can fix the nocking.

Kurt

[Kurt L]

Ok my first impressions of the Ballistic after a couple of hours on the water are good, two things bothered me about it, first the "T" shaped handle knob is plastic not rubber so it's slippery and second it KNOCKS to! although it is much less bothersome than my Stradic FK. the Ballistic softly nocks twice at the top of the stroke and twice at the bottom.
So here is my opinion of how they match up, same rod, line and lures.
Ergo's: is a wash
Refinement: Shimano, the Daiwa almost feels loose in comparison, it's just as tight as the FK but doesn't feel like it.
Smoothness (gears): wash
Cranking power: Daiwa
Fish ability: Daiwa feels much lighter and responsive, and the bail opens and closes easier and the clickers are louder.
Drag: I give this one to Daiwa, Stradic is rated to higher lbs but it has very small washers for a 4000 size reel. both are very smooth.
Casting: this was a surprise to me but the Daiwa cast better, maybe it's the larger diameter spool.
Durability is the big unknown at this point but if past Stradics are any indication the Shimano will be hard to beat.

So my opinion today is... If I could only have one it would be the Daiwa Ballistic EX!, This from a guy that has way more Stradics than his wife knows about

Kurt

[Markanthony404]

Ok my first impressions of the Ballistic after a couple of hours on the water are good, two things bothered me about it, first the "T" shaped handle knob is plastic not rubber so it's slippery and second it KNOCKS to! although it is much less bothersome than my Stradic FK. the Ballistic softly nocks twice at the top of the stroke and twice at the bottom.

Kurt

Hopefully the knocking doesn't bother you. My experience with Daiwa spinning reels is mostly positive expect for the noise you mentioned. I have 2 of the 2014 Ballistics and both of them knock at the top and bottom of the oscillation cycle. It has gotten worse with age and every once in a while I can feel it knock.I serviced both reels this winter and that didn't help. I have fished them both around 30 times, but they are my live bait rigs for trout and don't get used very hard. If anyone on here has a fix for this I would love to know?

[toddmc]

Take off the knob cap and check to see if the handle knob is attached by a screw. Put on an I-shape knob and bearings if you don't like the T-shape knob and it's not riveted on. All of my larger Daiwa spinning reels have had the T-shape knobs replaced with the cork I-shape knobs.