TackleTour

are there any differences between getting the us version or jdm for steez sv tws?

Gear ratio is the #1 item for me, why Daiwa does not bring the high speed versions of their higher end reels to the USA is a mystery to me

Kurt

Kurt L wrote:Gear ratio is the #1 item for me, why Daiwa does not bring the high speed versions of their higher end reels to the USA is a mystery to me

Kurt

Agreed! Is the JPDM bigger than the USDM (I can not believe that)?

The only difference is the spool and gear ratio. They're all made in Japan for all markets. For whatever reason, Daiwa hasn't brought the 8:1 to our market. It is It just has a shallower spool, and purple trim to designate the ratio.

Do the US models have that tiny 80mm handle??? If so, what is a good looking handle to replace it with and what lock plate works best?

DirtyD64 wrote:Do the US models have that tiny 80mm handle??? If so, what is a good looking handle to replace it with and what lock plate works best?

Yeah the US version does have the 80mm handle on both the 6.3 and 7.1. You can get a 90mm version of the same handle from Japan, comes with the knobs too.

VinnyOA wrote:You'll get more lemons if you buy a jdm reel over a USD reel.Quality control for USD reels is more severe than jdm reels.

Interesting!

Anywho, to answer the OP's question, warranty is probably the only difference.....oh and instruction papers might be in Japanese if ordering JDM lol.

VinnyOA wrote:You'll get more lemons if you buy a jdm reel over a USD reel.Quality control for USD reels is more severe than jdm reels.

I have it from a reliable source that the JDM reels have a much tighter QC process than the USDM models, even ones made on the same assembly line. This was told to me by a gentleman who actually works in one of these very factories in Japan. It makes sense if you think about in Japan, shops actually loan reels to potential customers to try out. A reel purchase there is more carefully considered than a car purchase here in the States. The Japanese culture has revolved around fishing for thousands of years, so I would tend to believe my source regarding the stringency of the QC process there.

VinnyOA wrote:It doesn't make sense.The north american/USDM market is where they sell the most reels,why would they sell us reels with looser tolerances?I don't think they'd ship out reels to north America that are "lesser",knowing all the warranty/returns problems it would cause.Whereas jdm reels stay in japan so returning them to the supplier/factory is easy.This is what the Canadian distributor for a certain company has told me.

VinnyOA wrote:It doesn't make sense.The north american/USDM market is where they sell the most reels,why would they sell us reels with looser tolerances?I don't think they'd ship out reels to north America that are "lesser",knowing all the warranty/returns problems it would cause.Whereas jdm reels stay in japan so returning them to the supplier/factory is easy.This is what the Canadian distributor for a certain company has told me.

A Canadian distributer telling you to buy USDM (Canadian market included) products is what they are paid to do. You have to take where you get your info from into any equation when deciding.

I have two of the same model reels, one of them is a USDM while the other is JDM. If I didn't tell you where each one came from, you wouldn't know the difference.

To the OP,

In my experience (and not with Daiwa), the only real difference if there is going to be one is usually with spool depth. Our USDM reels seem to hold more line. And you can typically get a reel from a JDM site for a lot cheaper than here which appeals to many even if there is no warranty. If you want that faster ratio, your options are limited to JDM though.

VinnyOA wrote:It doesn't make sense.The north american/USDM market is where they sell the most reels,why would they sell us reels with looser tolerances?I don't think they'd ship out reels to north America that are "lesser",knowing all the warranty/returns problems it would cause.Whereas jdm reels stay in japan so returning them to the supplier/factory is easy.This is what the Canadian distributor for a certain company has told me.

Simply put, the US market is overflowing with less-discerning consumers. There are many people who are happy to fish OEM equipment here that is made in Korea(Abu, Pfleuger, Lew's, just to name a few), while anything produced in Korea for the Japanese market is considered second-class. Again, that is straight from a friend who lives in Japan and works at a Daiwa factory. Case in point, Quantum even had some of their most expensive US market reels made in Japan back in the mid- to late 90's, just because of the quality and attention to detail that the Japanese manufacturers have. Those Quantum reels are still highly-regarded in Japan to this day, and were the only Quantum reels ever well-received there. Conversely, the mid-tier Quantum reels from the same era were produced in Korea, and those reels are what gave Quantum a bad reputation that still persists today.

I bet they are all made the same, same QC, same line, same workers...

All my reels are made in Japan from Japan except my Curado 201I and they are all excellent and I'm very picky
with tolerance, smoothness, power and overall feel.

VinnyOA wrote:You'll get more lemons if you buy a jdm reel over a USD reel.Quality control for USD reels is more severe than jdm reels.

Most "USD" reels are made in Thailand, Korea, or China. Your higher end offerings are coming from Japan factories. Strangely enough, that same can be said for "JDM" reels. Why? They're made in the same factories with subtle differences for different markets such as spool depth, riveted handle knobs, etc. You're actually more likely to see a product with bushings and riveted handle knobs in a USDM reel because they market here dictates it. The Japanese go balls out with what they buy and cleaning, tweaking, and customizing is HUGE there compared to the US market. The US is known as a buy it, abuse it, and toss it market that also likes to put 300yds of line on the reel, so thats what they build for us here. As for warranty returns, they are done here in the states if the reel is sold on the US market. No need to send them back to Japan as they have authorized service centers here to do the work for them. You've been fed a lot of misinformation.

In my experience, most everything made in Japan that I've encountered has better build quality than from most everything else. And that's certainly not limited to fishing gear. It's the Japanese culture of quality control and materials. They take it to another level of precision rarely seen elsewhere. Which market it was produced for is irrelevant. Made in Japan is made in Japan.

VinnyOA wrote:Talking about made in japan USDM reels.

Ok, let's go that route. A perfect example is the Millionaire CV-Z 253 vs the US model CV-Z 253A. The US model has riveted knobs and a bushing for the main drive shaft. The JDM model has 4 bearings in the knobs, cork knobs and a bearing for the drive shaft. Also, I beleive that the drag star on the JDM model is forged as 1-piece, while the US model has a pressed, 2-piece design(can't remember for sure, but I think that's right).
Another example is the JDM Zillion H vs the USDM Zillion HA. US model has riveted knobs with ridges like the old Advantage reels. The JDM version has 4 bearings and smooth black knobs with "Zillion" printed on them.
And speaking of the Advantage, the US model HST had 2 bearings, one under each knob and the knobs were ridgy, hard rubber. The JDM counterpart, the Alphas 150 had a swept handle with 4 bearings and the smooth black knobs like the OG Steez reels. I can go on with several others, but I think the point is clear-the US models are almost always watered-down.