4 hours ago, Tackleholic said:

I have lots of reels and don't frustrate myself comparing brands; if it's not a Daiwa I'm not interested.

There is one thing that is guaranteed about brand loyalty. If any company has enough of it they will make lesser product knowing their main customer base won't look elsewhere. Doesn't mean bad product, but it means it doesn't have to be as good as the competition.

16 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Side by side comparisons of new reels are valuable.

Side by side comparisons of five year old, heavily used reels would also be of value to me.

I know that is silly for new models, but thankfully I've never been an early adopter of anything. I'd not bash anything I haven't personally used, but I think (perceived?) longevity can have value.

Unfortunately, brands can be weakened by single, inferior models, even at the lowest end. I completely wrote off two mid-major brands because my first ones were the cheapest models and both failed me very early. Years later, both brands now comprise some of my favorite gear. Some new brands come out firing with low end product at appetizing price point and have trouble recovering for a while.

100 percent spot on. Kastking took the budget route to get into the market and are now working on becoming a legit brand known for making budget options along with higher end models to compete with the biggest names in the sport. You have to respect that. You see this with all kinds of companies. Samsung and Kia/Hyundai quickly come to mind when thinking about companies that took the same approach. I feel like if you want to bash any product you need to put your money where your mouth is. Or at least be honest and state that you don't own the product, but just giving your opinion based on whatever got you to that point. I've never owned a Cadence reel. It might be ok. I'm not going to call it trash because its not expensive. Honestly I would love to hear peoples experience with them.

The main selling points of the Tatula are it's a reliable workhorse reel, the T-wing, and the magforce brakes. None of the features of this reel are competing with those points.

I fish a lot of daiwa reels but I am hardly brand loyal. I have fished Shimano, Pflueger, 13, BPS, Lews. There's just not much this reel is offering that appeals to me other than the weight.

Now their line guide...ALMOST intrigues me, as someone who fishes a lot of braid. My main complaint with the T-Wing is it hangs up leader knots. I have been waiting for someone to design a line guide that tapers both on the cast AND the retrieve. They seem to have only one.

25 minutes ago, MassYak85 said:

The main selling points of the Tatula are it's a reliable workhorse reel, the T-wing, and the magforce brakes. None of the features of this reel are competing with those points.

I fish a lot of daiwa reels but I am hardly brand loyal. I have fished Shimano, Pflueger, 13, BPS, Lews. There's just not much this reel is offering that appeals to me other than the weight.

Now their line guide...ALMOST intrigues me, as someone who fishes a lot of braid. My main complaint with the T-Wing is it hangs up leader knots. I have been waiting for someone to design a line guide that tapers both on the cast AND the retrieve. They seem to have only one.

I don't believe your average joe buying a Tat cares about it being a workhorse, having a twing or the mag brakes. Everything is in the price, and how popular the reel is across the socials.

I'm just getting back into the sport after several years and looking to replace some of my lews speed spool LFS reels and tatula's from 2018ish. Would yall recommend the AL-TI or the new daiwa tatula X? I'm looking to get back into tournament fishing as a co-angler, so they'd be going on several setups.

33 minutes ago, JigMaster4 said:

I'm looking to get back into tournament fishing as a co-angler, so they'd be going on several setups.

If you'll be doing heavy duty fishing, then consider choosing a brand that has parts support. Meaning, you can call them and get any part for a reel in a reasonable amount of time.