Shimano V's Daiwa

Ahhh the great debate.
The old Ford V's Holden argument. While this is purely based on personal preferences i do however think there are some facets that can either tilt the odds one way or the other...all depends how you view fishing.

With all things the margin for improvement is minimal when you consider how good fishing reels are by todays standards as compared to the ugly wobbles of 20 years ago. In the upper range of both Daiwa and Shimano the cost of reels rises significantly as extra corrosion-resistant ball bearings are added, new composite matrials are used, and new technologies are introduced. much of this is out of the league of most anglers budgets, and to a certain extent, would be pretty much lost on the average punter anyway.

take for instance a fisho whose new to lure fishing, would he recogise the benefits of having a reels with aero wrap II or a over-sized tubular bail arm which allows easier line pick up which feeds onto the roller bearing more efficiently??? Probably not. I would go so far as to say even an experienced angler will have problems determining the benefits of these features, especially in liu of the price tackle companies ask for these features.

For some paying upwards of 800bux for a spinning reel capable of catching snapper and kingfish sounds a little obscure. Some people even pay as much purely for catching bream. To non-fishos this will sound a little crazy. Sounds crazy to me too...but i still pay the bux anyway.

So which is the best reel??? The answer is not and basic as the question sounds. I will outline my observations here and hopefully steer some of you in the right direction. To preface this, i am in no way affliated to any tackle company and actively buy both Daiwa and shimano. I havent figured this out for myself yet.

1) Smoothness - Straight out the box i feel that Daiwa is a smoother reel. The Digigear technology is superb and feels quite robust. The reel handle is a one-touch design and takes next to no inertia to wind from start-up. The gears are well meshed and designed to be strong which usually has the effect of making gears cluncky.

Shimano make a smooth reel too, but only the reels manufactured out of Japan. The new designed reels out of Malaysia are not my favs.

2) Wear and Tear - an interesting point. There are a few reels i am currently running up against each other to gauge certain aspects, one of them is longevity. Early indications are Shimano have a better wear factor. I base this purely on the bearing wear and tear. Shimano have sheilded bearings in the handle as opposed to daiwa's unsheilded. If your reels are susceptible to salt spray...as mine are with a low-sided boat... the daiwa's loose thier inital smoothness quicker than shimano. things like good maintenance will prolong this but a simple baring swap will sort this straight out.

Wear and tear on gears is no issue as both rate very well here.

3) Functionality - Up until shimano re-designeed thier spool lip daiwa killed them in cast ability. Shimano were notorious for wind-knots, especially in the 1000 size. They have sorted this out somewhat now with the new FD stella's. Daiwa also seems to lay the line better, especially under minimal tension, as most retrieves do using plastix. loose loops are a downside with all light lure fishing but daiwa seem to show less hassles here.

4) Warranty - A huge factor these days. If you have to re-mortgage your haouse to afford a new reel, you want to be sure the company will fix it if something goes wrong. I have had the misfortune to send reels back to both suppliers. Here shimano rules the roost. The warranty is hassle free and completed in quick time. Daiwa on nthe other hand is a diff ball game. I sent a reel back in warranty period with worn bearings (see wear and tear)and they tried to charge an arm and a leg for repair. Now i understand bearings are a perishable part but geez, 4 months to wear out a set is a little excessive in my book.

So there you go. Just 4 quick points to consider before buying a product. Daiwa are smoother out of the box but wear quicker, whereas shimano are not as smooth out of the box but last longer. I still havent figured out what suits me yet. I just can't seem to go past that initail smoothness daiwa has, but shimano will always give value for money. That's probably why i seea need for both types.

For your reference i am testing a few reels against each other currently;

Daiwa Certate V's Shimano Sustain
Daiwa Exist V's Shimano Stella FD/ Shimano Aspire
Daiwa Luvias V's Shimano Stella FB

Next test;

Daiwa Zillion V's Shimano Chronarch