The Zillion TW 150 was dropped a few days ago https://www.daiwa.com/jp/product/rn0d8x7

In other news, I have this old American Rodsmiths David Fritts 7'11" cranking rod that's been sitting in the corner forever that just suddenly started randomly twitching and I can't figure out why.

I feel like this reel is pointless. The 100 size can do everything other than chunking baits over ~2.5oz. This one ain't gonna be hot for anything over 2.5oz either, so why is a 150 size needed? Should have released a 200 size so there's an option for a higher end Tatula 200.

Daiwa new announcement is boring, and so are Shimanos.

Not totally pointless, anything needing thick plastic line and/or bomb casts. It's a little niche, but I can think of a few things it would do a lot better than a 100:

Oversized cranks

A-rigs

C-Rigs

Football jigs

Swing heads

Long range frogging

1-3oz swimbaits

Light pike/musky

Basically the Zillion HD wasn't HD enough and Daiwa saw the market finally understand the Zillion HD 1520. Loads of swimbait dudes use that reel. The capacity is the only meh against the current Zillion and this solves it.

7 hours ago, webertime said:

Basically the Zillion HD wasn't HD enough and Daiwa saw the market finally understand the Zillion HD 1520. Loads of swimbait dudes use that reel. The capacity is the only meh against the current Zillion and this solves it.

100%. That reel has been trading at a premium on the secondhand market since it was discontinued. It was due for a comeback.

As to the line capacity of the Zillion 150…Shimano just released the Conquest DC, which is a 200 size reel that holds 110 yards of 14 lb Fluoro. The Zillion holds 110 yards of 20 lb. I don’t think line capacity is going to be the limiting factor for throwing big baits, personally.

7 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

Not totally pointless, anything needing thick plastic line and/or bomb casts. It's a little niche, but I can think of a few things it would do a lot better than a 100:

Oversized cranks

A-rigs

C-Rigs

Football jigs

Swing heads

Long range frogging

1-3oz swimbaits

Light pike/musky

Everything you've mention there can be easily done on something like a zillion HD, steez A or a Bantam. Or could simply go to a 200 size, and handle 1-3oz swimbaits, and light duty musky/pike better.

8 hours ago, WetBlanket said:

Daiwa new announcement is boring, and so are Shimanos.

I don’t think reels can get much better than they already are. So are you really surprised??

11 hours ago, WetBlanket said:

Should have released a 200 size so there's an option for a higher end Tatula 200.

They basically did if the listed specs are to believed, the new Zillion 150 is dang close to a Curado 300 in terms of line capacity. It holds significantly more than the deepest 34mm mag-z boost spool that will fit in the current zillion frame.

2 hours ago, MiceNReets said:

I don’t think reels can get much better than they already are. So are you really surprised??

Sure. You can always improve looks, and have completely skipped that department. And the Zillion is five years old, which is pretty old at this point. I would assume they'd improve the frame like they improved it with the 24 steez that was based on the zillion. Nothing was done, not even a different paint color.

53 minutes ago, Peacedivision said:

They basically did if the listed specs are to believed, the new Zillion 150 is dang close to a Curado 300 in terms of line capacity. It holds significantly more than the deepest 34mm mag-z boost spool that will fit in the current zillion frame.

Its just another 36mm spool from daiwa, there's nothing impressive there.

Found more info:

Brand new 36mm Mag Z boost LC spool.
Brand new drag system.
Newly redesigned T wing.
New elongated body.
New 95mm solid handle.
Double stopper mechanical clutch lock.
Only weighs 1 ounce more than 100 size

Definitely made for the 15lb+ line user

It's a sub 8 oz version of what you could call a Shimano 275 sized reel.

15 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

The Zillion TW 150 was dropped a few days ago https://www.daiwa.com/jp/product/rn0d8x7

In other news, I have this old American Rodsmiths David Fritts 7'11" cranking rod that's been sitting in the corner forever that just suddenly started randomly twitching and I can't figure out why.

Set the hook

8 hours ago, WetBlanket said:

Everything you've mention there can be easily done on something like a zillion HD, steez A or a Bantam.

Yes you could, you could also move a fridge in a honda crv (I've done it), but everything I mentioned is better done on a reel with more line capacity than a 100 imo (assuming 15lb+ line). Bigger heavier lures that require long casts, especially hard pulling one like big cranks are better off with bigger gears + bigger handle = more torque, it's simply better for the types of things I listed above. Not even to mention that ipt nosedives with big line on a 100.

8 hours ago, WetBlanket said:

Or could simply go to a 200 size, and handle 1-3oz swimbaits, and light duty musky/pike better.

Everything you've mentioned there can be easily done on the zillion tw 150 😉

But for me a 200 is pointless since I don't swimbait anymore, and there's no musky or pike near me.

1 hour ago, Bass Rutten said:

Yes you could, you could also move a fridge in a honda crv (I've done it), but everything I mentioned is better done on a reel with more line capacity than a 100 imo (assuming 15lb+ line). Bigger heavier lures that require long casts, especially hard pulling one like big cranks are better off with bigger gears + bigger handle = more torque, it's simply better for the types of things I listed above. Not even to mention that ipt nosedives with big line on a 100.

Everything you've mentioned there can be easily done on the zillion tw 150 😉

But for me a 200 is pointless since I don't swimbait anymore, and there's no musky or pike near me.

Well, the 200 is perfect for Stripers as well, so there's that. What i am saying is that 100 size can handle pretty much everything 150 can, so the 150 size has much less reason to exist when compared to the 200 size.

If this was a new frame, a new NON UGLY color, 200 size with brass gears, this would be the most talked reel in 2026. Instead, this will be released, be well received cuz you know, it's a zillion so of course it will be good, but it won't be doing massive numbers sales wise, and i am not seeing it being popular either.

12 hours ago, WetBlanket said:

Sure. You can always improve looks, and have completely skipped that department. And the Zillion is five years old, which is pretty old at this point. I would assume they'd improve the frame like they improved it with the 24 steez that was based on the zillion. Nothing was done, not even a different paint color.

Its just another 36mm spool from daiwa, there's nothing impressive there.

The fish don’t care, :)

1 hour ago, MiceNReets said:

The fish don’t care, :)

Yea, well, the fish aren't the ones paying money lol.

On 7/7/2026 at 10:31 PM, WetBlanket said:

I feel like this reel is pointless. The 100 size can do everything other than chunking baits over ~2.5oz. This one ain't gonna be hot for anything over 2.5oz either, so why is a 150 size needed? Should have released a 200 size so there's an option for a higher end Tatula 200.

Daiwa new announcement is boring, and so are Shimanos.

I wouldn't say it's completely pointless, but the appeal is limited IMO. It's like a reel designed by a committee, that doesn't want to commit to making it an HD/200 or power finesse 100 size, so they split the difference. Its probably just filling a gap where Daiwa feels that they have no direct competitor to Shimano within a certain price range. Or Daiwa could have a heads up on something that Shimano is putting out next year, and Daiwa just wants to have something similar. Sometimes I feel like Daiwa just throws something at the wall, just hoping for it to stick. Im not saying its junk. In fact, it's probably great, but IMO versatility isn't its strong suit.

I can definitely see how people want 36-mm spool for heavy niches.

For me, I'm boned up on 37-mm mid-frame Ambassadeur bench mods, and 34-mm Daiwa floating spool, Steez, Zillion, and Ryoga 100. The 34-mm Daiwas are more versatile.

That said, Ray's Studio makes a 1514 honeycomb SV braid spool that fits the Zillion 150.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/112859854086

51 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

I can definitely see how people want 36-mm spool for heavy niches.

For me, I'm boned up on 37-mm mid-frame Ambassadeur bench mods, and 34-mm Daiwa floating spool, Steez, Zillion, and Ryoga 100. The 34-mm Daiwas are more versatile.

That said, Ray's Studio makes a 1514 honeycomb SV braid spool that fits the Zillion 150.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/112859854086

I have this spool. It's more general-purposed, and tougher, than it looks.

22 hours ago, webertime said:

Found more info:

Brand new 36mm Mag Z boost LC spool.
Brand new drag system.
Newly redesigned T wing.
New elongated body.
New 95mm solid handle.
Double stopper mechanical clutch lock.
Only weighs 1 ounce more than 100 size

Definitely made for the 15lb+ line user

It's a sub 8 oz version of what you could call a Shimano 275 sized reel.

Also, full aluminum body, including both sideplates. And aluminum gears to save weight.

@newapti5 Ray's gets "cheapened" on some forums, but they copied KTF Kahen spool, who invented SV inductor and let Daiwa copy it. But Ray's went one better and invented their tapered SV inductor, which functions like SV Boost. I treat all my Ray's (and KTF) spools as general purpose for the thicker end of threadline braid.

22 hours ago, WetBlanket said:

Well, the 200 is perfect for Stripers as well, so there's that. What i am saying is that 100 size can handle pretty much everything 150 can, so the 150 size has much less reason to exist when compared to the 200 size.

If this was a new frame, a new NON UGLY color, 200 size with brass gears, this would be the most talked reel in 2026. Instead, this will be released, be well received cuz you know, it's a zillion so of course it will be good, but it won't be doing massive numbers sales wise, and i am not seeing it being popular either.

The zillion 150 has almost 10% more line capacity than the the curado 200, and more than every other 150 reel that exists, seems more like a compact 200 to me. And looks didn't stop the 21 zillion from becoming the best in class.

10 minutes ago, Bass Rutten said:

The zillion 150 has almost 10% more line capacity than the the curado 200, and more than every other 150 reel that exists, seems more like a compact 200 to me. And looks didn't stop the 21 zillion from becoming the best in class.

The 21 Zillion isn't ugly, it's just the used silver paint is as dull as it gets. Why would you reuse the same paint five years in, on a completely new reel? Kinda crazy if you ask me.

A 200 size Zillion would find more use globally than a 150 one. That's all there is to it.

The answer is obvious, they saw a small hole in the market, and their bean counters calculated they could fill it using a whole lot less r&d and resources than it would take to make a brand new reel. That's all there is to it.

20 minutes ago, Bass Rutten said:

The answer is obvious, they saw a small hole in the market, and their bean counters calculated they could fill it using a whole lot less r&d and resources than it would take to make a brand new reel. That's all there is to it.

That would be a smart thing to do when you've already covered the 200 size. Taking 5 years to expand zillions, and aim for the nichest size is not a smart decision at all.

Nothing to complain on my part, the Z2020 is my main 200 reel, with the IMZ as a new addition. But for Daiwa, A Zillion 200 would've been a massive cashcow in NA and Japan, and they messed it up. Not too surprised, though, Daiwa skipped a 200 size Ryoga for two generations in a row, knowing d**n well how popular a 200 and 300 Conquests are.