Best All Around Reel: Chron. MGL / Cur. v Tat sv / Zil sv

[Bigguy]

I'm in a pinch (damaged reel) and need to replace the reel on a Destroyer Javelin with 15# flouro. I use it for a lot of techniques (moving baits / football jigs / pitching plastics). I also bring this rod with me on others boats - versatile - and bank fish with it.

Now - what reel? I was going to hold our for a Curado DC,but the stable is slim to begin with so I need a reel now. I am leaning heavily toward the Chronarch MGL, but I have a Zillion SV TW that is awesome (and a couple Alphas SV's).

How does the Chronarch MGL compare as a pitching/skipping reel to the Tat SV TW or Zillion SV TW? How does the Chronarch compare in other areas - distance / retrieve?

I like the idea of having a reel that can really bomb lures on this rod, but don't want to give up too much in pitching. Will the Chronarch let me have my cake and eat it too?

Thanks.

[freelancer27]

I dont have a Tatula (but have Zillion HD, Daiwa Coastal and Steez SV TW) but have the Chronarch in the 8 gear ratio.

I think it is a solid reel. It has a pretty wide spectrum of lures that can be thrown on it. I would say that it is a great all around reel! Get the 7 gear ratio and you should be set for most applications. Also the brass gears help for demanding tasks.

Check for a sale or buy a used one and you should have a great reel!

[LowRange]

If skipping is a priority then no centrifugal Shimano is going to hold a candle to a Daiwa let alone an SV spool Daiwa. If skipping is not a priority both the Curado K and Chronarch MGL are great reels by all accounts. If you have skipping covered with the SV Daiwas then why not try a Curado K? For the weight range you listed the MGL spool isn't going to be much help other than maybe an easier start up on a pitch. I'd go with the Curado K personally because it is not made out of plastic but that's me

[fishingandfords]

St he curado DC is already out so I would look for one.

I didn't like my chronach MGL so I sold it. It didn't impress like the bantam did

[DirtyD64]

Read my LONG review and shootout of the Zillion SV TW versus Chronarch MGL. The Chronarch MGL CAN skip, but it takes one hell of a thumb and some high set brakes.

viewtopic.php?f=65&t=76586

I love both of these reels, but recently I bought a Steez A so the Chronarch is getting demoted to either a 7'6"MH Villain or a 7'3"MH Tatula Elite rod. Not that I don't like the MGL, it is just better set for midsized and up baits even though still plenty capable with an eighth ounce shaky head. My Zillion SV TW's are on Medium powered rods for finesse tactics with light fluorocarbon and the Chronarch will end up with 14-16lb fluoro for slightly heavier techniques. I do use one Zillion with heavier fluoro on a MH rod though and I do honestly prefer it over the Chronarch slightly still.


To summarize, I LOVE both of these reels, but the Zillion offers a better balance of control/distance than the Chronarch MGL does. The MGL will cast slightly further but you trade off a little control.

[hoohoorjoo]

I'm a Daiwa guy, so I don't have an informed opinion of the Shimano reel's performance (though Shimano has always made a solid product). But I can say that the Zillion SV TW is among the finest reels I have had in my hands. The Tat SV is also a sweet reel and it gives up very little to the Zillion, except line capacity. If you will be using braid, then the Tat SV will be just fine, even with distance-casting. If using mono or flouro and bomb-casting, the Zillion is your best bet. If you are pitching/skipping, then line capacity isnt as much of a concern, and the extra cost wouldn't be justified for the Zillion. Again, this is my experience-your results may vary.....

[DirtyD64]

I'm a Daiwa guy, so I don't have an informed opinion of the Shimano reel's performance (though Shimano has always made a solid product). But I can say that the Zillion SV TW is among the finest reels I have had in my hands. The Tat SV is also a sweet reel and it gives up very little to the Zillion, except line capacity. If you will be using braid, then the Tat SV will be just fine, even with distance-casting. If using mono or flouro and bomb-casting, the Zillion is your best bet. If you are pitching/skipping, then line capacity isnt as much of a concern, and the extra cost wouldn't be justified for the Zillion. Again, this is my experience-your results may vary.....

I thought the Tatula SV and Zillion SV TW were the same line capacity???

The only differences between the Tatula SV and Zillion SV TW I have found are the extra bearing support on the pinion (free floating spool versus long shaft), few grams lighter spool on the Zillion, Zaion sideplate over basic graphite on Tatula, knobs, and mainly the Zillion isn't quite as over braked. From my experience, the extra support on the pinion and overall design of the free floating spool will yield a slightly more refined retrieve. The Tatula does offer more gear ratio's and can be found for a crazy price if you look even slightly.

[hoohoorjoo]

I'm a Daiwa guy, so I don't have an informed opinion of the Shimano reel's performance (though Shimano has always made a solid product). But I can say that the Zillion SV TW is among the finest reels I have had in my hands. The Tat SV is also a sweet reel and it gives up very little to the Zillion, except line capacity. If you will be using braid, then the Tat SV will be just fine, even with distance-casting. If using mono or flouro and bomb-casting, the Zillion is your best bet. If you are pitching/skipping, then line capacity isnt as much of a concern, and the extra cost wouldn't be justified for the Zillion. Again, this is my experience-your results may vary.....

I thought the Tatula SV and Zillion SV TW were the same line capacity???

The only differences between the Tatula SV and Zillion SV TW I have found are the extra bearing support on the pinion (free floating spool versus long shaft), few grams lighter spool on the Zillion, Zaion sideplate over basic graphite on Tatula, knobs, and mainly the Zillion isn't quite as over braked. From my experience, the extra support on the pinion and overall design of the free floating spool will yield a slightly more refined retrieve. The Tatula does offer more gear ratio's and can be found for a crazy price if you look even slightly.

Nope, the Tat SV spool is 33mm O.D. and the Zillion spool is 34mm O.D. If the Tat SV had a free-floating spool, any Alphas spool would drop right in(except the Alphas Air spool). My Tat SV held about 8 yds less 14# mono than my Zillion SV. My spooling station counts out the line as it winds onto the spool. 25' doesnt sound like much of a diff, but is very apparent at the end of a long cast. While making roughly the same distance cast on each reel, there was 6 or 7 line wraps left on the Tat SV, while the bottom of the zillion spool was still fully covered.

[DirtyD64]

I'm a Daiwa guy, so I don't have an informed opinion of the Shimano reel's performance (though Shimano has always made a solid product). But I can say that the Zillion SV TW is among the finest reels I have had in my hands. The Tat SV is also a sweet reel and it gives up very little to the Zillion, except line capacity. If you will be using braid, then the Tat SV will be just fine, even with distance-casting. If using mono or flouro and bomb-casting, the Zillion is your best bet. If you are pitching/skipping, then line capacity isnt as much of a concern, and the extra cost wouldn't be justified for the Zillion. Again, this is my experience-your results may vary.....

I thought the Tatula SV and Zillion SV TW were the same line capacity???

The only differences between the Tatula SV and Zillion SV TW I have found are the extra bearing support on the pinion (free floating spool versus long shaft), few grams lighter spool on the Zillion, Zaion sideplate over basic graphite on Tatula, knobs, and mainly the Zillion isn't quite as over braked. From my experience, the extra support on the pinion and overall design of the free floating spool will yield a slightly more refined retrieve. The Tatula does offer more gear ratio's and can be found for a crazy price if you look even slightly.

Nope, the Tat SV spool is 33mm O.D. and the Zillion spool is 34mm O.D. If the Tat SV had a free-floating spool, any Alphas spool would drop right in(except the Alphas Air spool). My Tat SV held about 8 yds less 14# mono than my Zillion SV. My spooling station counts out the line as it winds onto the spool. 25' doesnt sound like much of a diff, but is very apparent at the end of a long cast. While making roughly the same distance cast on each reel, there was 6 or 7 line wraps left on the Tat SV, while the bottom of the zillion spool was still fully covered.

That's cool, I am always glad to learn something. I figured it was a 1016 size with a shaft sticking out and slightly cheaper materials/components used. The fact that they list that way on TW and the frames are the size threw me off. Too bad you cannot source the Zillion SV TW inductor to the Tatula SV, that would make one hell of a reel for around $160 street price...

[hoohoorjoo]

That's cool, I am always glad to learn something. I figured it was a 1016 size with a shaft sticking out and slightly cheaper materials/components used. The fact that they list that way on TW and the frames are the size threw me off. Too bad you cannot source the Zillion SV TW inductor to the Tatula SV, that would make one hell of a reel for around $160 street price...

They did that so that we couldn't just buy a Tat SV spool and swap it into a Tat CT.

[Bigguy]

I'm a Daiwa guy, so I don't have an informed opinion of the Shimano reel's performance (though Shimano has always made a solid product). But I can say that the Zillion SV TW is among the finest reels I have had in my hands. The Tat SV is also a sweet reel and it gives up very little to the Zillion, except line capacity. If you will be using braid, then the Tat SV will be just fine, even with distance-casting. If using mono or flouro and bomb-casting, the Zillion is your best bet. If you are pitching/skipping, then line capacity isnt as much of a concern, and the extra cost wouldn't be justified for the Zillion. Again, this is my experience-your results may vary.....

I agree with your opinion of the Zillion and have heard that the Tat SV's performance is very close to the Zillion's. I went for the Tat SV over the Zillion, because I am trying to take it easy this year on gear purchases. My initial impression is that I'm not going to be disappointed from a value perspective. That being said, I'm interested to see how the Tat SV does in adverse conditions (like a really windy day in the fall), because that (and skipping) is where the Zillion shines as a caster.

Also, I'm not a Shimano guy (not by design - it just crept up on me)- this Tat replaces my only Shimano.

[DirtyD64]

I'm a Daiwa guy, so I don't have an informed opinion of the Shimano reel's performance (though Shimano has always made a solid product). But I can say that the Zillion SV TW is among the finest reels I have had in my hands. The Tat SV is also a sweet reel and it gives up very little to the Zillion, except line capacity. If you will be using braid, then the Tat SV will be just fine, even with distance-casting. If using mono or flouro and bomb-casting, the Zillion is your best bet. If you are pitching/skipping, then line capacity isnt as much of a concern, and the extra cost wouldn't be justified for the Zillion. Again, this is my experience-your results may vary.....

I agree with your opinion of the Zillion and have heard that the Tat SV's performance is very close to the Zillion's. I went for the Tat SV over the Zillion, because I am trying to take it easy this year on gear purchases. My initial impression is that I'm not going to be disappointed from a value perspective. That being said, I'm interested to see how the Tat SV does in adverse conditions (like a really windy day in the fall), because that (and skipping) is where the Zillion shines as a caster.

Also, I'm not a Shimano guy (not by design - it just crept up on me)- this Tat replaces my only Shimano.

I'd say the Tatula SV is 90% the reel in casting, except for extremely light lures and distance, and by distance I would assume it's not much. I think the Tatula SV spool is like 12-13 grams whIle the Zillion listed at 9.6 grams (that's from a Project T video though so I figure it is without bearing weight).

[BARRAMANIAC]

Daiwa Steez A gets my vote as a work horse reel, add a zillion sv spool and its even better.

[DirtyD64]

Daiwa Steez A gets my vote as a work horse reel, add a zillion sv spool and its even better.

Still really liking mine, want to add an even faster spool now than the Zillion SV TW spool. I'm surprised and happy so far at how smooth this Steez is with aluminum gears. That was the main thing that worried me because I bought the JDM XH. I'm pretty sure the 7.1 gears work as a direct swap if needed though.

[wirinhar]

Daiwa Steez A gets my vote as a work horse reel, add a zillion sv spool and its even better.

X2

Daiwa SteezA SV.jpg (260.77 KiB) Viewed 359 times

Lucky and I get an extra spool for my Red Ryoga

Daiwa Ryoga SVG1 Spool.jpg (246.06 KiB) Viewed 359 times

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