I know there’s a lot of brand lovers and haters here, but I’m looking for as unbiased feedback as I can get. I like Lews reels a lot. I have a couple of Lews Customs that are at the top of my list. They have 10 bearings, great cast control, accuracy and distance. I find them to be durable and stay smooth for years. I have found them to be worth the money. But this year the price has gone up. They are now $199 and never go on sale. So I’ve been looking at Daiwa Tatulas. They are a little more expensive but I see them on sale a lot. I like the looks of the SV and the Elites. So to you that have fished both. How well do Daiwa Tatulas hold up? Do they stay smooth? I notice they have less bearings and lower drag. Which is better? The SV or the Elite? I’m scared SV wouldn’t give the distance and Elite wouldn’t have as good of control. I’m just thinking of trying one. If I have to spend $200 bucks, I may want to try something new. Or should I just stick with what I know?

I just looked at Digitaka and they have Zillion SV TW reels for sale at $225. Best bang for your dollar. The extra $25 in your budget is well worth it. For another $50 you can get the Zillion TW HD. I haven't tried an TW HD but many say it is worth the extra $50.

You won't be disappointed with any of the Tatula line reels, they cast well, are smooth, and can last forever, but the Zillion is in a whole different category. If you want a great dependable reel buy a Tatula, but your Lews reels already fit that category. If you want to go up a big step, then buy the Zillion from Japan. If you buy a Zillion, the only regret you will have, is you won't want to fish with any of your other reels.

@treble hook, you seem to be very happy with your experience with Lews and I know with products going up in price, it may sting a little but why not be happy and buy the tried and true rather than spend a little less for something that you end up forcing yourself being happy with?

I bought my Daiwa's 4 or 5 years ago and actually use them for saltwater fishing and they get rinsed with a garden hose and dried with an 18v leaf blower after every outing. An occasional drop of oil in season and a year end breakdown of cleaning, oil and lube and they perform well as when they came out of the package.

A reel is only as good as the maintenance they recieve.

Keep in mind, more bearing doesn’t mean better quality bearings.

2 hours ago, king fisher said:

I just looked at Digitaka and they have Zillion SV TW reels for sale at $225. Best bang for your dollar. The extra $25 in your budget is well worth it. For another $50 you can get the Zillion TW HD. I haven't tried an TW HD but many say it is worth the extra $50.

You won't be disappointed with any of the Tatula line reels, they cast well, are smooth, and can last forever, but the Zillion is in a whole different category.

Allright, you’ve got me looking at the Zillion SV from Digitaka. I’m watching some videos. None of our tackle shops have any to hold. I’m looking at palmability. Have any of you had them for a few years? Do they hold up? I’ve always thought Lews gave me a lot for my money. But with Lews going to 200 bucks, I’d go another 25 for something more premium. Thanks for putting me on that.

3 minutes ago, treble hook said:

Allright, you’ve got me looking at the Zillion SV from Digitaka. I’m watching some videos. None of our tackle shops have any to hold. I’m looking at palmability. Have any of you had them for a few years? Do they hold up? I’ve always thought Lews gave me a lot for my money. But with Lews going to 200 bucks, I’d go another 25 for something more premium. Thanks for putting me on that.

You’ll be looking at $247 shipped after the BS tariffs…

Lew's builds a fine reel - I have a pair of Super Duty G that aren't going anywhere.

But Daiwa has a decade improving the most simple and brilliant casting brake ever devised (and everyone else tries to copy its function).

SV is for casting 1/8 to 1 oz.

MagZ starts at 1/4 oz, and is the best at heavy weights, all the way to 2 oz.

You set the Daiwa linear mag scalar the same as casting Lew's linear mag, and the automatic non-linear start-up response eliminates start-up backlash - nothing to adjust there.

Bought my '21 Zillion the month it was introduced, fished (hard) only in salt, and here's the drive after 5 salt years.

My 2 cents worth - I have almost exclusively Zillions and Tatula Elites. The Zillions excel at skipping lures, they do that as well as the Steez SV TW I used to have. In fact, I traded the aging Steez off for a new Zillion. Then bought a second Zillion because I need 2 rods with the ability to skip without back lash. They are great for that.

However, the other dozen reels I have are Tatula Elites. They are not known to skip lures as easily although it can be done. But in every other way, I find the Elite to be superior to the Zillion. The Elites are just as smooth and absolutely launch lures significantly farther than the Zillions I have. I found them to cast even a little farther than Shimanos highly touted long distance MGL reels. Yes, I've owned several Shimano MGL's, still have a couple, but traded most off for Tatula Elites.

I can cast the Elites much easier and smoother at 80% effort, but I have the ability to reach back and get the extra distance when needed.

So there you have it… 2 Zilions and 12 Elites, and a couple Shimanos. I’d say if you plan to skip lures at all go for the Zillion. Otherwise, the Elite is a no-brainer.

13 minutes ago, treble hook said:

Allright, you’ve got me looking at the Zillion SV from Digitaka. I’m watching some videos. None of our tackle shops have any to hold. I’m looking at palmability. Have any of you had them for a few years? Do they hold up? I’ve always thought Lews gave me a lot for my money. But with Lews going to 200 bucks, I’d go another 25 for something more premium. Thanks for putting me on that.

I’ve used and abused my Zillions for the last 4 years. I bought a USDM reel as soon as they launched to test and I was extremely impressed. Until there is another leap forward in smoothness, castability, and reliability I won’t be swapping them out. I’m rough on gear because I bank fish a ton and wade rivers chasing smallmouth. At this point I have 3 USDM reels and 4 JDM ones with a HD for punching and frogging. Love the size and I have medium to small hands, palming isn’t an issue.

1 hour ago, Swimbaitstud said:

You’ll be looking at $247 shipped after the BS tariffs…

The tariffs may be suspended. Anyone know for sure if the tariffs are still on, or what the percentage is?

1 hour ago, Swimbaitstud said:

You’ll be looking at $247 shipped after the BS tariffs…

Yeah, I put one in the cart and it went to $247. That is a bummer. I’m going to a big fishing show Saturday. I’m going to try to get one in my hand before pulling the trigger on one.

At Digitaka there is a place for a coupon code at checkout. Does anyone know a coupon code?

I would Not Pass Go on that purchase - it will be the best upper limit you ever busted.

I wouldn't suggest you to go from Lews to Daiwa because you will feel really really really bad having wasted years of fishing using Lews.

On a serious note, it's a no brainer. As i always mention, and others have already mentioned in this thread, the Zillion and the Zillion HD from Japan will open your eyes on what you've missed on, but the new Tats are awesome for the price, and you can't go wrong with them.

My JDM zillion feels, and performs, much better than its $250 price tag…If I knew 5 years ago, I’d have all zillions in my stable. I have Lews, Zillion, Tatulas, Curados and even a few 13 Fishing. They all serve their purpose, but I would trade them all in for some more JDM Zillion’s. I debated long and hard about the zillion or the metanium. Quite a few folks on here helped out, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention @bulldog1935 He and I had been going back and forth on DMs for a while about it and he was the one that finally convinced me. I couldn’t be happier.

21 hours ago, Swimbaitstud said:

Keep in mind, more bearing doesn’t mean better quality bearings.

The main reel manufacturers all use NMB stainless which are very high quality. Daiwa, Shimano, Isuzu, and Doyo (Abu, Lew's, BPS, etc) all use them. They really are great bearings, but the caveat is that NMB ships their products filled to 30% of the internal volume with a light grease according to their technical docs. This is because they are commonly used in other more stressful environments, like analog instrumentation, drive motors, and high speed tooling. The grease gives them a longer life in those conditions and when the bearings fail, they are simply replaced. Pull the shields from a NMB, clean the grease, and watch them really fly. NMB stainless and ceramic hybrid bearings are made in Japan and Singapore, while their chromed steel line-up is made in elsewhere.

These are the spool bearings from a Shimano Tranx 400 I serviced a few days ago, note the grease. The reel is an absolute screamer now.

Do the shields just “pry” off or what?

Just now, Smirak said:

Do the shields just “pry” off or what?

There are retaining rings for the shields that can be removed with an awl. I install spool bearings without shields because they are much easier to clean later on. Here's a pair of NMB spool bearings from a brand new unused Daiwa.

Thanks red…I worked in the bearing industry for about 5 yrs, but I was managing a procurement team for aerospace bearings…They were bigger and different…mostly not shielded.

Try a Concept A2 for $79. Very durable...cast far for 1/4oz and up.

https://www.basspro.com/p/13-fishing-concept-a2-baitcast-reel?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=BPS%7CShopping%7CPMax%7CFishing%7CGeneral%7CNAud%7CGoogle%7CNMT&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19856021896&gbraid=0AAAAAD1TgtdbZxAJagknsSLbI9xZGcb4T&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpv7NBhCzARIsADkIfWxnaGARP3GhFGzVfIR92hpiGcZZH-aJ84xgRekpb59GcKjSz_n-p3EaAisKEALw_wcB

Btw anyone knows where the NMB bearings can be purchased for a good price? I saw them on Aliexpress, but they're most likely fake?

7 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

Btw anyone knows where the NMB bearings can be purchased for a good price? I saw them on Aliexpress, but they're most likely fake?

Here is where I get them. https://zikuuke.shop35.makeshop.jp/

Funny enough, MinebeaMitsumi's North American HQ is near my home. Being a business, I contacted them to inquire about business pricing and they wouldn't sell them as cheap as the Japan shops unless I was buying in quantities of 1000. I usually buy them 100 at a time, and it's less than half the price importing from Japan even considering tariffs, duties, and shipping costs.

15 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Here is where I get them. https://zikuuke.shop35.makeshop.jp/

Funny enough, MinebeaMitsumi's North American HQ is near my home. Being a business, I contacted them to inquire about business pricing and they wouldn't sell them as cheap as the Japan shops unless I was buying in quantities of 1000. I usually buy them 100 at a time, and it's less than half the price importing from Japan even considering tariffs, duties, and shipping costs.

Prices seem reasonable. How about the shipping, or they charging a lot?

1 hour ago, redmeansdistortion said:

There are retaining rings for the shields that can be removed with an awl. I install spool bearings without shields because they are much easier to clean later on. Here's a pair of NMB spool bearings from a brand new unused Daiwa.

🤯 That looks like a Jello dish with chopped up nuts inside.

Here in the South, we love a good jello casserole. Put some fruit in it, and you’re good to go. Or, take a page from The Griswold’s and put some cat chow in there…

17 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

Prices seem reasonable. How about the shipping, or they charging a lot?

15% duty and shipping ran me about $35 through ECMS. You need to buy through a proxy service, I use Buyee.