I watched this with a smile😊Hope you guys enjoy. And remember, the Tatula is OVER!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UaV5YNP3cM

I'm not clicking on that video.

It is an interesting choice though for a company to undercut the price of their own reel with essentially the same reel.

That spool has always been the selling point of that reel, and it remains in the AL version. As much as I'm a fan of a reel being capable of using multiple spools, I'm not a big fan of only one spool trying to cover that big of a lure range (and many users have questioned if it effectively even does). You're really not going to effectively cover that range with one rod and you probably won't want to use the same line across that range. That's why the MG version was never appealing to me as there were multiple reels on the market that could be had with a second spool for less. The AL version at least attempts to close that price gap a bit.

I have 2 MG Ti's. I bought the 2nd one after the first one blew me away. I fished them both hard last year with zero issues. The AL looks to be on sale right now.

The issue is in marketing, which isn’t really an issue at all, but they’re trying to sell an idea that seems good on paper but doesn’t work well in reality.

Having one reel do everything sounds great (and is, with multiple spools) but there are big tradeoffs that have to be made when trying to accomplish it with only one spool.

For instance, spool depth. That’s a fairly deep spool, which it kinda needs to be for the thicker line diameters used in the upper half of its lure range. The problem is that line itself adds quite a bit of weight. That’s roughly a 7g spool. I’m guessing here, but I’d say it probably holds 5g or more in line weight, maybe even enough to double the initial spool weight itself.

For “normal” bass sized lures (7g+) that we’d throw in that size of reel that isn’t an issue, but when we’re trying to throw in that 2g range that’s a huge issue. Your only option is to try to severely underspool it to save line weight but now you’ve degraded its performance because it’s releasing/retrieving so little line due to its lower effective spool diameter. And, of course, simply underspooling it loses the versatility the reel sought to achieve in the first place.

For someone that just likes the reel itself and doesn’t care about all of that, at least this AL version saves a fair amount of money, but then it becomes odd that they even have two versions of what otherwise appears to be the same reel with some cosmetic changes. For a reel that’s already this light, the weight savings of MG is almost negligible.

Just got my AL Ti in. Yes it makes the Tatula feel junky. I own 2 Tatula 100s and a new Tatula X and the AL Ti feels as good as my Zillion. I have an MG12 and its great as I am sure the MG Ti is, but I think they hit a home run with the AL Ti. I'm not a Kastking fan boy. I'm just telling the flat out truth. The Kastking hate needs to stop. Honestly if you want to continue to crack jokes about KastKing the joke is on you. I'll list some of my current baitcasting arsenal so you know I am not full of bull. I fish these latest Kastking releases along side all my other reels and they are as good if not better than any of the reels I own listed below. For the money the AL Ti and the MG12 beats everything I have.

13 Fishing

Concept A2

ARK

Gravity G8

ABU Garcia

Zenon MG LTX

REVO gen 4 SX

REVO gen 4 X

Max STX

Bates

GOAT 150

EDC 150

Daiwa

Steez A2

Zillion SV TW

ALPHAS SV TW 800H

Tatula 100

TATULA X

FUEGO CT

Fuego SV CS

Kastking

Mg12

AL Ti

Kestrel Magnesium

Zephyr BFS

Crixus Armor X

Mega Jaws Elite Shallow spool

Kistler

Chromium 200

Chromium 150

Lews

LFS

OKUMA

Helios

Hakai

Serrano

Piscifun

Torrent

Shimano

2025 Antares

Calcutta Conquest 30 SE

Metanium 100

Curado 150 MGL

JDM SLX 70 DC 2023 edition

SLX XT

SLX

CURADO 200D

CASTAIC super free

JDM Bass One XT

Quantum

ICON PT

I list this not to brag but to say that to call Kastking out as crap, you better be able to say you have compared them to the competition or else cut the fan boy crap out. Sorry but this brand bashing just because its not Daiwa or Shimano gets under my skin. There was a time that an Abu Garcia, Daiwa, and Shimano probably were the only reels worth buying but those days are long gone. Plus the games that Shimano and Daiwa choose to play by in some cases doubling the USDM price over the JDM price and them making the USDM model not in Japan while the JDM model is still made there should make anyone here in the states really upset. I only buy Diawa and Shimano through JDM sellers. Because paying less than 400 bucks for a Steez A2 is a lot better than the 750 it is being sold for here in the states. The truth is my AL Ti is just as smooth and feels juat as good and it cost 200 bucks. I challenge any of the Daiwa/Shimano fan boys to buy an AL Ti and say it is not better than a Tatula. If you do, we need to set up some Kool-aid interventions..

I have the MG-Ti Elite and so far so good. I have used it for lures down to 1/8oz up to 1/2oz with 8lb FC. It does a pretty good job of being a do all reel. Is it better than a BFS reel at casting light lures? No, but it's not too shabby at it. For the 1/2oz jerkbait I tried, it can sling it a long way. Is it better than a JDM Metanium? Not really but it's not too far off. It blows away any of the other Kastking reels I have tried.

I would say the drag clicker sounds cheep and the drag is nothing special. It does take a little getting use to fishing it though. It is super light and really smooth. It doesn't feel like a Kastking reel.

Overall I like it, but will this line of reels get rid of the Tatula? My experience with the Tatula is mixed. Some have been great and others not so much. I think it will definitely make a dent in Tatula sales but nothing significant. It will appeal to those that have had a bad experience of some kind and want to try something different. Parts, service, and warranty also play a part and I don't know personally if Kastking is there yet.

Other than the fact the maker of the video is a known troll, especially with regards to anything Daiwa, why are we calling out Tatulas, specifically? Most companies have reels in the price range of the AL-Ti.

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

I have the MG-Ti Elite and so far so good. I have used it for lures down to 1/8oz up to 1/2oz with 8lb FC. It does a pretty good job of being a do all reel. Is it better than a BFS reel at casting light lures? No, but it's not too shabby at it. For the 1/2oz jerkbait I tried, it can sling it a long way. Is it better than a JDM Metanium? Not really but it's not too far off. It blows away any of the other Kastking reels I have tried.

I would say the drag clicker sounds cheep and the drag is nothing special. It does take a little getting use to fishing it though. It is super light and really smooth. It doesn't feel like a Kastking reel.

Overall I like it, but will this line of reels get rid of the Tatula? My experience with the Tatula is mixed. Some have been great and others not so much. I think it will definitely make a dent in Tatula sales but nothing significant. It will appeal to those that have had a bad experience of some kind and want to try something different. Parts, service, and warranty also play a part and I don't know personally if Kastking is there yet.

I don't really understand what is so special about the Tatulas. To me they don't come close to my Curado MGL 150s and I think the Curado MGL 150 isn't all that great. They do cast well and have that Shimano feel but I have 4 of them and every one of them had noisy spool bearings and no grease out of the box. I had to service them right out of the box. In Shimano's infinite wisdom they put blue loctite on the screws for the handle side plate. One screw on one of the reels was so tight it rounded off. I had to drill it out and replace the handle side plate and screws on a brand new Curado. They definitely are not the quality of the old greenies and up through the E series. Thats what happens when you move the manufacturing to a facility that makes your low end reels. You get an expensive low end reel. Daiwa makes the Tatulas in Thailand and the USDM Zillion is made there.. You can pay 450 for a USDM Thailand made Zillion or buy a JDM one still made in Japan for under 300 from Digitaka. I think the Zillion is better than the Steez A2. So my argument for the new high end Kastking stuff is that right now you can get the AL Ti for 180. There are plenty of promotional 10 percent off codes to get it down from 199 to 180. I think its at least 90 percent the reel the Zillion is. The Tatula 100 doesnt come close for the same price range. You can buy 2 AL Tis for less than the price of 1 USDM Zillion and you can by 4 for the price of 1 USDM Steez A2. The MG12 is now 250 and that gets you into a magnesium frame and the AMB braking system. I believe the MG12 is as good as the Zillion and the AMB braking system is very very good. So you can get 2 MG12s for not much more than a USDM Zillion and 3 MG12s for the price of one USDM Steez A2. I think what everyone is missing here is that most people either can't or won't pay 400 dollars plus for a reel, but Kastking is now giving you 90 to 100 percent of that experience for a fraction of the cost. When someone trashes Kastking because its the cool thing to do they keep someone with a 200 dollar budget from getting the most for their money. I just don't see how that helps the sport of fishing. Right now the prices of tackle and boats are going through the roof and we all need to be open minded and embrace any tackle manufacture willing to give a lot of bang for the buck. One last thing, there was a time when any of these reel manufactures were not the top dog in the industry. Just like in the automotive industry a Genesis sedan is a long ways away from a Kia Sephia but every company has to start somewhere. Not everyone can be like Bates and come in swinging with 300 plus dollar reels. I think we are seeing Kastking develop as a reel company the same way that Shimano and Daiwa did through the 90s. You could say that the Megajaws Elite, AL Ti, MG12, and MG Ti are equal to the Coriolis, Citica, Curado, Chronarch lineup of the 90s. Nobody were calling those reels trash.

42 minutes ago, brophog said:

Other than the fact the maker of the video is a known troll, especially with regards to anything Daiwa, why are we calling out Tatulas, specifically? Most companies have reels in the price range of the AL-Ti.

I'm not sure why TheReelTest is thought of as a troll. I haven't found him to be wrong on a reel and I have bought several from watching his videos. I don't ever recall him calling out Daiwa as junk. When they put SV Boost on one of the Tatulas he was very complementary of that. I agree that Daiwas typically don't cast as far but are easier to use. If you are partial to Daiwa and don't throw anything else I could see where the thought that he's a hater comes from, but if you watch enough of his videos he shows a lot of Daiwa reels he owns. He can't be too much of a hater to spend his own money on them. But we do need to be honest about the Tatula line of reels. They are great reels and with proper maintenance they will last a long time. They are built to be dependable but not precision instruments. They are clunky when you shake them. Thats what makes them great. You buy them because they work. Daiwa fans would like to compare them to Curados but they are different sides of the same coin. The accomplish the same goal but from opposite sides of design.

Regardless of what reel you like and use, fishing is still fun. Let's keep it that way.

16 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

I'm not sure why TheReelTest is thought of as a troll.

You might be the only one then. If not precisely that, then he's a drama queen who lives in a world where he needs to stir shyte up with the "Daiwa crowd" as if that's something that actually exists. Perhaps only in his own mind or in some minor corner of the internet. Everyone serious that I fish with has reels from multiple manufacturers, and practically none have even heard of this person.

At this point in time nothing really "blows" anything else away if one is being realistic. Fish at night like I do where in that environment the actual margins in performance between reasonable quality reels is negligible, especially when one is simply focused on fishing.

Fish what you like and like what you fish. The rest is gravy.

I think this thread is goofy. Some guys seem way more invested in their fishing perception than their fishing reality.

Sounds like a Daiwa rep. got fired and was hired by CastKing.

You will always have folks that will always be brand loyal and never change their minds about anything.

1 hour ago, Tackleholic said:

Sounds like a Daiwa rep. got fired and was hired by CastKing.

Not sure who in this thread would be a Daiwa rep.

9 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

Not sure who in this thread would be a Daiwa rep.

I believe he's referring to the guy who made the video.

1 hour ago, ike8120 said:

You will always have folks that will always be brand loyal and never change their minds about anything.

Nothing wrong with brand loyalty, but bashing a brand because its not the cool brand or a "Name Brand" is not good for the sport. I have posted in the past about my disdain for Ark because of my customer service experience with them, but after I took care of the issue myself I have no problem saying that my G8 reel is fantastic. To me that's where we need to communicate with each other about products. Not just tear the whole thing down for just because.... we can all make better purchasing choices if we honestly praise good product and experiences and inform each other of bad experiences and products.

1 hour ago, ike8120 said:

You will always have folks that will always be brand loyal and never change their minds about anything.

This. I get alot of hate for a being an Abu guy but Abu has never let me down. I also don't expect them to be magic. I have surely owned a few that I wouldn't trust to sit next to my other Abus because I was afraid they would infect them with their crappiness. But on the other side of the coin my high end Abus are amazing machines. I love my brand and will likely never switch but I definitely admire other brands when they have quality models. There's really no need to bash brands in this day and age. All fishing reel manufacturers have good models and bad ones. It's like Ford or Chevy. Everyone has their favorite but in the end they will both get you to where you're going.

9 hours ago, brophog said:

Other than the fact the maker of the video is a known troll, especially with regards to anything Daiwa, why are we calling out Tatulas, specifically? Most companies have reels in the price range of the AL-Ti.

Well i imagine its because the Tats are extremely popular, especially the current 2024 model that even i am glazing (before the current model i was never suggesting anybody to get a tatula, and that since they launched in 2013).

1 minute ago, wvhunt said:

I believe he's referring to the guy who made the video.

TheReelTest does videos about everything. He just doesn't glaze Daiwa. I also haven't heard him bash them either. I think he just tells it like it is. I don't think anyone can say that Daiwa is bad. The Zillion is one of the best reels made. People get upset because he is not high and mighty on the Tatulas but its because they are a good reel but not a stand out in their price point. They work and will work for a long time but when you compare all the reels in that price point they are not going to lead the stats in any category with the exception of the Tatula X. For 150 bucks its a game changer.

19 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

This. I get alot of hate for a being an Abu guy but Abu has never let me down. I also don't expect them to be magic. I have surely owned a few that I wouldn't trust to sit next to my other Abus because I was afraid they would infect them with their crappiness. But on the other side of the coin my high end Abus are amazing machines. I love my brand and will likely never switch but I definitely admire other brands when they have quality models. There's really no need to bash brands in this day and age. All fishing reel manufacturers have good models and bad ones. It's like Ford or Chevy. Everyone has their favorite but in the end they will both get you to where you're going.

I agree with this 100 percent. Its ok to be brand loyal and still acknowledge there are good products made by other brands. Speaking of Abu Garcia, I miss the Gen4 frames. Not big on this Asymmetrical frame design. For me personally it limits comfortability for me using the Gen 5 reels on certain rods. I put the trigger of the rod between my pinky and ring finger. I bought a gen 5 Revo and sold it because of this. The reel itself was great and I hate it wasnt comfortable for me.

On 3/22/2026 at 9:35 PM, Micro Module Police said:

Tatula is OVER!

Easy now, thems fighting words.

10 minutes ago, CaughtMeABiggun said:

TheReelTest does videos about everything. He just doesn't glaze Daiwa. I also haven't heard him bash them either. I think he just tells it like it is. I don't think anyone can say that Daiwa is bad. The Zillion is one of the best reels made. People get upset because he is not high and mighty on the Tatulas but its because they are a good reel but not a stand out in their price point. They work and will work for a long time but when you compare all the reels in that price point they are not going to lead the stats in any category with the exception of the Tatula X. For 150 bucks its a game changer.

He bashes them constantly. Uses Temu brands, and tries to make his viewers believe that it's smoother than a zillion, or a steez tw is as goofy as it gets. He is incapable of making a single video without mentioning Daiwa in bad light. That doesn't bother me, though, it makes me giggle instead because i know that the extreme popularity of the Zillion and the Tat made his Curado/SLX and the Metanium significantly less relevant than what they were prior to 2021, and that bothers him greatly.

I agree: The Tatula is over. Please send them to me and I will dispose of them properly.