19 minutes ago, kayaking_kev said:

Fuego CT can usually be had at Walmart for $75 and I'm not sure how the Tatula compares to the Tatula XT, but the XT is/was on sale at Sportsman Outfitters for $70.

I’ll check. 
 

The question remains, is there any reason to pay more for the Fuego/Tatula rig than the Revo/Carbonlite. 
 

It’s so subjective that I’m not sure that question has a clear answer. 

For me the reel is the most important of the two, so I'll easily spend more on one. My thought process is I want one that will last years & I know a rod will not last as long.

 

Like you I'm still using older reels, Calcutta 100A. They're a little heavy but 100% dependable!

 

Rods is where I really get particular & even more so with Texas Rig & Jig-n-Craw rods. 

 

I don't think you can go wrong with any major reel manufacturer.

 

At that price I would have to buy at least 1, you'll like the Winn Grips.

If you like to put your finger under the line while fishing your t-rig avoid the T-wing at all costs. It lifts the line out of the T-wing and keeps it from spooling up correctly. 

I don't own any Fuego/ Tatula stuff, but everyone says they are good. Best thing may be to go to a shop that's well stocked and check out different brands of rods/ reels. There's so many nice ones now, it's hard to say what may be the best for you.

14 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

I don't own any Fuego/ Tatula stuff, but everyone says they are good. Best thing may be to go to a shop that's well stocked and check out different brands of rods/ reels. There's so many nice ones now, it's hard to say what may be the best for you.

 

Wish I could, but I'm at least 2 hours from any shop that would have a decent selection. And given the current craziness, it makes it even more tough. 

 

The reality is, I won't know what's "best" for me, even if I handled them in the store.... so I'll just have to start somewhere and start building my preferences. 

31 minutes ago, Lead Head said:

If you like to put your finger under the line while fishing your t-rig avoid the T-wing at all costs. It lifts the line out of the T-wing and keeps it from spooling up correctly. 

Interesting. I actually do that sometimes. 

8 hours ago, AmmoGuy said:

I’ll check. 
 

The question remains, is there any reason to pay more for the Fuego/Tatula rig than the Revo/Carbonlite. 
 

It’s so subjective that I’m not sure that question has a clear answer. 

Subjective, yes, but because it's not an apples to apples comparison. Daiwa's Magforce Z brake tech is different and performs differently compared to ABU's/Doyo hybrid brake tech. You'd really need to experience both to form an opinion. Daiwas aren't touchy until you're skating near the redline with the brakes turned down very low. A few clicks up on the dial and they're virtually trouble free.

 

I fish a bunch of different reels with different brake tech, and mostly at night which means I need to rely on sound and vibration way more than my vision when casting. I barely ever have issues at this point, but when I do it'll rarely be when I have a Daiwa in my hand. With Daiwas there're rarely issues with over runs or backlashes after the beginning of a cast, and those are unusual except for when running braid mainline. With braid, and an over zealous cast on low brake settings, a backlash can occur immediately, but is almost always easily sorted out because so little line has payed out from the spool and there are much lower rpms present at that moment.

 

Centrifugal brakes, even with linear mag brake supplementals, will get you into trouble in the middle and end of a cast because of much higher spool rpms at the moment of an over run.

 

The SX has a few technical features that the Fuego doesn't like ABU's version of a free floating spool. The ABU's pinion doesn't have dual bearing support and neither does the Fuego, but it does have a short axle spool tension shaft that supports the pinon and is independent of the spool's shaft. However, the ABU lacks a supplemental bearing on top of the anti reverse bearing for extra support of the driveshaft. The Fuego has that bearing, and that's a real plus. There're areas where bearings are less important. The driveshaft is not one of them.

 

A few technical pluses and minuses aside, you'll probably be fine with choosing one or the other. If you bought and used both at the same time you'd likely end up preferring one over the other, especially if you're sensitive to what are in reality quite subtle nuances. However, those are mostly nullified by good casting mechanics and a trained thumb.

14 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

 

Wish I could, but I'm at least 2 hours from any shop that would have a decent selection. And given the current craziness, it makes it even more tough. 

 

The reality is, I won't know what's "best" for me, even if I handled them in the store.... so I'll just have to start somewhere and start building my preferences. 

Interesting. I actually do that sometimes. 

Well, these guys can help you pick some good gear that will work for you. They probably know more about the newer tackle than I do. One reel I can recommend is the Lews LFS casting reel. I got one for Christmas this year, and it's a great reel for the cost. I like mine a lot so far. Good luck on your gear choices.

27 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Subjective, yes, but because it's not an apples to apples comparison. Daiwa's Magforce Z brake tech is different and performs differently compared to ABU's/Doyo hybrid brake tech. You'd really need to experience both to form an opinion. Daiwas aren't touchy until you're skating near the redline with the brakes turned down very low. A few clicks up on the dial and they're virtually trouble free.

 

I fish a bunch of different reels with different brake tech, and mostly at night which means I need to rely on sound and vibration way more than my vision when casting. I barely ever have issues at this point, but when I do it'll rarely be when I have a Daiwa in my hand. With Daiwas there're rarely issues with over runs or backlashes after the beginning of a cast, and those are unusual except for when running braid mainline. With braid, and an over zealous cast on low brake settings, a backlash can occur immediately, but is almost always easily sorted out because so little line has payed out from the spool and there are much lower rpms present at that moment.

 

Centrifugal brakes, even with linear mag brake supplementals, will get you into trouble in the middle and end of a cast because of much higher spool rpms at the moment of an over run.

 

The SX has a few technical features that the Fuego doesn't like ABU's version of a free floating spool. The ABU's pinion doesn't have dual bearing support and neither does the Fuego, but it does have a short axle spool tension shaft that supports the pinon and is independent of the spool's shaft. However, the ABU lacks a supplemental bearing on top of the anti reverse bearing for extra support of the driveshaft. The Fuego has that bearing, and that's a real plus. There're areas where bearings are less important. The driveshaft is not one of them.

 

A few technical pluses and minuses aside, you'll probably be fine with choosing one or the other. If you bought and used both at the same time you'd likely end up preferring one over the other, especially if you're sensitive to what are in reality quite subtle nuances. However, those are mostly nullified by good casting mechanics and a trained thumb.

Fantastic info. 

I didn't realize the SX lacked the "support" bearing on the drive. Hmm. 

 

I can see where this is headed.... Which is me ending up with one of both, lol. 

 

I keep hearing that the Daiwas are so much more forgiving. I've been throwing baitcast reels since I was about 8, so at first glance it's not really a selling point to me, but at the same time, "work smarter, not harder" right? Ha. 

Can someone give me the lowdown on the Tatula CT VS Tatula 100? 

Doesn't seem like much other than the frames? 

8 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

Palms better.  Whole new platform but uses the same spool.

The CT palms better? 

Never been a huge concern. I'm 6'6" with gorilla mitts, and I'm used to palming round reels, haha. 

 

Mechanically/performance speaking, does one have an edge over the other? 

The carbonlite 2.0 rods are great if you want to step up the reel. Get the currado k combo with the carbonlite, from bass pro it’s $269. You can do just about anything with it. 

3 minutes ago, Derek1 said:

You can do just about anything with it.

Except for throwing reasonably lights baits as well and as consistently as any Daiwa within it's orbit. There's a reason they made the Curado 70 with a lighter spool.

12 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

Except for throwing reasonably lights baits as well and as consistently as any Daiwa within it's orbit. There's a reason they made the Curado 70 with a lighter spool.

I was talking about the abu combo. On a medium heavy rod you can go down to a weightless senco easily with the currado. Not that it is real light. But how light are you trying to go on your mh rod. 

20 minutes ago, Derek1 said:

The carbonlite 2.0 rods are great if you want to step up the reel. Get the currado k combo with the carbonlite, from bass pro it’s $269. You can do just about anything with it. 

The Curado K is $110 better than a Revo SX?  

Just now, AmmoGuy said:

The Curado K is $110 better than a Revo SX?  

That I don’t know. 

To be honest I do t know the price on the abu combo

13 minutes ago, Derek1 said:

That I don’t know. 

Well you’re the one that suggested it? ?

 

But the Abu SX combo is $159. They are basically giving you the Carbonlite 2.0 rod free. 

44 minutes ago, BaitFinesse said:

The new 100 palms better and is resistant to inadvertent mag brake adjustments when palming.

Gotcha. Thanks. 

43 minutes ago, Derek1 said:

I was talking about the abu combo. On a medium heavy rod you can go down to a weightless senco easily with the currado. Not that it is real light. But how light are you trying to go on your mh rod. 

Here's what the OP wrote in his post "ETA: I throw a lot of TX rigs, Baby 1-, and smaller spinners lately."

 

The Curado K200 isn't the best choice for those baits regardless of which rod it's on.

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

Here's what the OP wrote in his post "ETA: I throw a lot of TX rigs, Baby 1-, and smaller spinners lately."

 

The Curado K200 isn't the best choice for those baits regardless of which rod it's on.

Soo.. I guess you could say then, that it is NOT worth an extra $110. 

?

Welp... I caved. 
I ordered one of the Corbonlite/revo BP combos, and a Tatula CT from eBay (one of the sellers mentioned in this thread).  Just need to pick a rod for the Tatula reel. 
 

I’ll share my thoughts on the two setups soon. 
 

I’d have gone with the Fuego CT, but I’m interested in trying the T wing.

I didn’t put a ton of thought into it until now, but both reels are 7.3:1. I know -7:1 ratios are popular these days, but would I be better off with -6:1 ratios for multi-use rigs? 

29 minutes ago, AmmoGuy said:

I didn’t put a ton of thought into it until now, but both reels are 7.3:1. I know -7:1 ratios are popular these days, but would I be better off with -6:1 ratios for multi-use rigs? 

Nah.

Well, I guess I'm glad I snagged the Carbonlite/Revo SX combos... I tried to show it to a buddy just now and it is no longer on the BP site?  Maybe it will return? Or maybe it's gone? 

I gotta say, these Winn grips are NICE. 
 

One of the reels is scuffed up a good bit because BPs packaging was terrible, but I guess it’ll get scuffed up anyway. looking forward to putting some time behind these. 
 

I'll say this... there is very little difference in the backbone of the Carbonlite 2.0 M vs MH. It's there, but it's very subtle. The MH is just a little tip heavy with the Revo on it I'd say, but overall they have a great feel to them.