I know its come up in conversation before but I cant figure out WHY daiwa decided to market the CG80. The CR and CC both kinda fill a spot in the line up, but the CG80 directly competes with what may well be the best reel at the price point, which they also make. The difference being the CG is completely out classed by the fuego. It's a little smaller and lighter, but has bottom end brakes vs the fuego's game changing brakes. Even the casitas out classes the braking system for the money, though I think the msrp on the casitas is a little higher. 

 

I see it like GM making a geo metro, it's a good idea unless its the same price as the Chevy cavalier. I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around what they were trying to accomplish. Thoughts?

Younger Market for the CG80? It’s bright red, I’m pretty sure the SLX is geared towards the young generation as well so they could be competing with Shimano. 

Smaller, more easily palmable, more affordable reel for a younger crowd. 

37 minutes ago, TylerT123 said:

Younger Market for the CG80? It’s bright red, I’m pretty sure the SLX is geared towards the young generation as well so they could be competing with Shimano. 

From what I’ve seen of the two the SLX looks much nicer. I can’t comprehend buying a CG80. If I wanted a Doyo at $99 I would buy a LFS every time. Plus it’s just ugly

The only thing either of the two have on the fuego is size. They're both pretty stinkin small. But at the same time they have completely different braking systems and both are out classed by the magforce Z brakes of the fuego. If I had to choose between the SLX or the CG80 I would pick the SLX's centrifugal brakes but I would pick neither over the fuego for the same money. 

 

I guess at this point it's just a marketing battle. 

7 minutes ago, GReb said:

From what I’ve seen of the two the SLX looks much nicer. I can’t comprehend buying a CG80. If I wanted a Doyo at $99 I would buy a LFS every time. Plus it’s just ugly

The SLX is a sweet reel! IMO the best $100 reel on the market. It's an awesome reel and you'd be surprised at the reels feel and performance.

3 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

Why not axe the Fuego CT and replace it with an inferior reel that is much cheaper to have made?  Who cares if you sell less because it is worse if the profit per reel more than makes up for it?  It sucks for us but Daiwa only cares about the bottom line.  What this also means is that if no one buys the CG80 reels then they will axe it and possibly offer a Fuego on the new Tatula platform.  They also may have no intention of replacing the Fuego CT and will continue to offer it alongside the CG80 until a next gen Fuego is released in the future.  It would be stupid to kill off the Fuego CT now that Shimano is stepping into the ring at the price point with a dedicated platform.

 

Another factor to consider is as the Tatula CT gets phased out it will become increasingly more expensive to produce the Fuego CT as may have to single handedly bear the burden of the operation costs of the production lines dedicated to its production instead of sharing that with the Tatula CT and Tatula CT Type R reels.  

 

They may be able to offset some of the Fuego CT production costs because it does share a lot of parts with the older Tatulas and they are still going strong in many variants.  The CT platform and old Tatulas are more or less the same reel with the CT having a different frame and spool.  The sideplates and most of the guts are swappable between the two platfroms. 

 

 

Yea I think the direction you’re going to see is the Tatula becoming their $175 offering and Fuego around $125. The profit margin per unit for the $99 Fuego have to be very low compared to the rest of their lineup 

3 hours ago, GReb said:

Yea I think the direction you’re going to see is the Tatula becoming their $175 offering and Fuego around $125. The profit margin per unit for the $99 Fuego have to be very low compared to the rest of their lineup 

Yes, especially when Fuego CTs can be had for almost half of that $99 price point when the right sale is around.

13 hours ago, BaitFinesse said:

Another factor to consider is as the Tatula CT gets phased out it will become increasingly more expensive to produce the Fuego CT as may have to single handedly bear the burden of the operation costs of the production lines dedicated to its production instead of sharing that with the Tatula CT and Tatula CT Type R reels.

You know, you make a really good point here. As daiwa rolls in the tatula 100 and rolls out with the tatula ct they really are in a good position to release a fuego 100 for a few bucks more. That would make a perfect home for the cg80 in the price slot. Hopefully they won't shoot themselves in the foot and expand the fuegos success rather than try to bleed every last cent out of it. I cant see that being a sound business move. However, with the price of the new tatula being released significantly higher than the old one, that looks like exactly what they're going to do. 

 

I suppose it's not all bad though. While its certainly not a feature rich reel or a hidden gem, the OEM has been making some not terrible reels. Alot of those reels have caught a hell of alot of fish.

21 hours ago, Big-Bass said:

Yes, especially when Fuego CTs can be had for almost half of that $99 price point when the right sale is around.

Just purchased an 8:1:1 for 53.76