Daiwa Tatula MQ LT.

[Just_Bass]

Have anyone service these reels yet?
I told myself I don’t need anymore spinning reels since I don’t use these often enough and still own 4 of the Daiwas. I don’t find the need of MQ body and MagSeal for my regular bass and crappie fishing and those add more complications when servicing the reel. I ended up order the new Tatula MQ FC LT2500SS to try new QD and to get used to with MQ body.
Unfortunately after ordered I search for side plate tool and end up with only one YouTube showing Zinc gear on these JDM Tatula. Very disappointed because I remember my Ballistic FW and Kage LT using Aluminum as main gear. Can anyone with USDM /JDM Tatula confirm this? This might be why there are someknocking sound from Tatula /ballistic MQ after using awhile.
If this is true I might sell the reel when it arrives and buy Stradic FM C2500S instead.

[HellaBread]

Have anyone service these reels yet?
I told myself I don’t need anymore spinning reels since I don’t use these often enough and still own 4 of the Daiwas. I don’t find the need of MQ body and MagSeal for my regular bass and crappie fishing and those add more complications when servicing the reel. I ended up order the new Tatula MQ FC LT2500SS to try new QD and to get used to with MQ body.
Unfortunately after ordered I search for side plate tool and end up with only one YouTube showing Zinc gear on these JDM Tatula. Very disappointed because I remember my Ballistic FW and Kage LT using Aluminum as main gear. Can anyone with USDM /JDM Tatula confirm this? This might be why there are someknocking sound from Tatula /ballistic MQ after using awhile.
If this is true I might sell the reel when it arrives and buy Stradic FM C2500S instead.

Yes it is a zinc main gear unfortunately daiwa recently has had a trend of either re-releasing old models as if they were totally new and/or cutting back certain features in new releases. They seem to love the zinc gear which they even put inside the saltist mq at that price. Funny enough they seem to be releasing the old non mq tatula lt which had the machined gears with more bearings as the tatula elite spinner at $300

[HellaBread]

Just found out that the current 2021 ballistic lt mq is also using the same zinc gear. There’s no machined gears until you get into the certate with this generation of spinners i think

[Just_Bass]

Have anyone service these reels yet?
I told myself I don’t need anymore spinning reels since I don’t use these often enough and still own 4 of the Daiwas. I don’t find the need of MQ body and MagSeal for my regular bass and crappie fishing and those add more complications when servicing the reel. I ended up order the new Tatula MQ FC LT2500SS to try new QD and to get used to with MQ body.
Unfortunately after ordered I search for side plate tool and end up with only one YouTube showing Zinc gear on these JDM Tatula. Very disappointed because I remember my Ballistic FW and Kage LT using Aluminum as main gear. Can anyone with USDM /JDM Tatula confirm this? This might be why there are someknocking sound from Tatula /ballistic MQ after using awhile.
If this is true I might sell the reel when it arrives and buy Stradic FM C2500S instead.

Yes it is a zinc main gear unfortunately daiwa recently has had a trend of either re-releasing old models as if they were totally new and/or cutting back certain features in new releases. They seem to love the zinc gear which they even put inside the saltist mq at that price. Funny enough they seem to be releasing the old non mq tatula lt which had the machined gears with more bearings as the tatula elite spinner at $300

Thanks, after I ordered mine and saw the release of Tatula Elite, I kind of figured it out. In order for Daiwa to keep cost down, Daiwa using Zinc gear and Zion V on Tatula/Ballistic instead of aluminum and regular Zion that used in Airity. The good part is Tatula MQ come with Zion V rotor which is lighter and lower inertial than Tatula LT. Luckily I still have Kage 2000 and just keep wondering myself which should I keep.
For those that wondering 2000 MQ body is not a lot bigger than old LT.

[HellaBread]

Have anyone service these reels yet?
I told myself I don’t need anymore spinning reels since I don’t use these often enough and still own 4 of the Daiwas. I don’t find the need of MQ body and MagSeal for my regular bass and crappie fishing and those add more complications when servicing the reel. I ended up order the new Tatula MQ FC LT2500SS to try new QD and to get used to with MQ body.
Unfortunately after ordered I search for side plate tool and end up with only one YouTube showing Zinc gear on these JDM Tatula. Very disappointed because I remember my Ballistic FW and Kage LT using Aluminum as main gear. Can anyone with USDM /JDM Tatula confirm this? This might be why there are someknocking sound from Tatula /ballistic MQ after using awhile.
If this is true I might sell the reel when it arrives and buy Stradic FM C2500S instead.

Yes it is a zinc main gear unfortunately daiwa recently has had a trend of either re-releasing old models as if they were totally new and/or cutting back certain features in new releases. They seem to love the zinc gear which they even put inside the saltist mq at that price. Funny enough they seem to be releasing the old non mq tatula lt which had the machined gears with more bearings as the tatula elite spinner at $300

Thanks, after I ordered mine and saw the release of Tatula Elite, I kind of figured it out. In order for Daiwa to keep cost down, Daiwa using Zinc gear and Zion V on Tatula/Ballistic instead of aluminum and regular Zion that used in Airity. The good part is Tatula MQ come with Zion V rotor which is lighter and lower inertial than Tatula LT. Luckily I still have Kage 2000 and just keep wondering myself which should I keep.
For those that wondering 2000 MQ body is not a lot bigger than old LT.

I really don’t like this recent trend of daiwas behavior, Increasing prices and/or cutting corners on previously established models meanwhile the parts pricing if ordering from daiwa usa is now getting to a point where it’s actually absurd. There’s no reason why a replacement t wing should cost $66. I love daiwa reels but this actually makes me both sad and angry at the same time. If the yen wasn’t in the toilet atm we’d all be screwed

[LowRange]

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

[Tim Kelly]

The biggest disappointment for me with the newer lower end Daiwas is that they're going away from the air bail to a multi piece wire bail. Definite backwards step.

[HellaBread]

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

Some models available in the US market kinda fall under the general export market catalog umbrella for companies. I think the ali sellers are just chinese distributors who said f it and started selling them below msrp to make profit from volume. I just take this as a glimpse of what the actual margins are like in the tackle industry for vendors

[Just_Bass]

Add import tax plus warranty and insane return policy where some can buy then use it for a month and return which happen quite often in US.

Tatula MQ bail is one piece and not as thin as Shimano that bent easily. Old Tatula LT is also multi pieces.

[Stump jumper]

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.

[DirtyD64]

The Zinc gearing is a shame. Seriously, the supposed lesser companies don't even do that. I wanted to get one of the Gekka Bijin spinning reels, but if they share the same zinc gear I am out. This is even after I had a Stradic FM have issues. I would rather have a slight tick sound along with a smoother reel than an inferior metal. Well maybe... Is zinc that bad or am I making a hasty statement???

[HellaBread]

The Zinc gearing is a shame. Seriously, the supposed lesser companies don't even do that. I wanted to get one of the Gekka Bijin spinning reels, but if they share the same zinc gear I am out. This is even after I had a Stradic FM have issues. I would rather have a slight tick sound along with a smoother reel than an inferior metal. Well maybe... Is zinc that bad or am I making a hasty statement???

The zinc gears used to get a pass since they were usually found on the $100 and below spinners combined with the fact they were massive compared to anyone else gears at that price range. Seeing a cast zinc gear on reels up to the $300 saltist spinner though, is not ok….imo. I feel like all this cost cutting on the tackle side is to afford Daiwa Pier39’s existence because there’s no way that conpany is profitable.

[LowRange]

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 elements from other reels but I haven't seen anything close to a knock off. Too much effort I think so they don't bother. What they do have is USDM Daiwas for the chinease market sold in USD at JDM price discounts. $114 Tatula 80s with 90mm handles, $170 Tatula Elites and $140 Tatula 300s.

[HellaBread]

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 elements from other reels but I haven't seen anything close to a knock off. Too much effort I think so they don't bother. What they do have is USDM Daiwas for the chinease market sold in USD at JDM price discounts. $114 Tatula 80s with 90mm handles, $170 Tatula Elites and $140 Tatula 300s.

^this

To my knowledge there has never been any serious attempt at counterfeiting reels. At most you’ll get a very obviously Chinese manufactured oem reel with a daiwa logo stamped on it with the product page calling it an exist for $20. But there’s never been a full on attempt at producing a knock off daiwa/shimano reel that would pass anyone’s sniff tesf.

[LowRange]

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 elements from other reels but I haven't seen anything close to a knock off. Too much effort I think so they don't bother. What they do have is USDM Daiwas for the chinease market sold in USD at JDM price discounts. $114 Tatula 80s with 90mm handles, $170 Tatula Elites and $140 Tatula 300s.

^this

To my knowledge there has never been any serious attempt at counterfeiting reels. At most you’ll get a very obviously Chinese manufactured oem reel with a daiwa logo stamped on it with the product page calling it an exist for $20. But there’s never been a full on attempt at producing a knock off daiwa/shimano reel that would pass anyone’s sniff tesf.

I think some Chinese brands are allowed to use Daiwa and Shimano branding on their cheap fishing glasses and they are also slapping that branding on reels. Almost all of these reels have fishing sun glasses with them branded the same as the reel. I had a pair of Daiwa branded fishing glasses at one time before losing/destroying them like all my sunglasses.