Whether You’re into Heavy Saltwater or Ultralight Freshwater Fishing, Daiwa Makes Pretty Solid Reel
We won’t beat around the bush here, because that’s bad fishing practice. Daiwa like almost all fishing equipment companies, has made about a billion different kinds of fishing reels. It’s one of the more complex pieces of fishing gear, so it lends itself to constant experimentation and improvement, and Daiwa is no stranger to that process. Here’s a quick rundown of a few products of their efforts.
Strikeforce
These are not immediately impressive reels when you look at them on paper. They’re basically the same as the Crossfires but nowhere near as smooth with only one ball bearing and no locomotive levelwind system. The Strikeforce wins out solely on price. Usually coming in under $15, they make decent reels on a really tight budget, or for beginners who haven’t got their fishing arms yet.
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Crossfire
These are not immediately impressive reels when you look at them on paper. They’re basically the same as the Crossfires but nowhere near as smooth with only one ball bearing and no locomotive levelwind system. The Strikeforce wins out solely on price. Usually coming in under $15, they make decent reels on a really tight budget, or for beginners who haven’t got their fishing arms yet.
Crossfires are great when you need smooth, high end gear without emptying your wallet. You get everything you’ll see in the higher end lines, but under $30. They have a clean cast and good drag covering every weight you might need from ultralight to heavy. This series ranges from 500 to 4000. The primary difference you’ll find between each, other than the weight line and action, is the one touch folding handle. In 500 to 1000, you’ve got the regular folding handle, but the 2000 to 4000 you have the much more convenient one touch folding handle.
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Laguna
This is essentially one step up from the Crossfire series. They have about the same line capacity, drag, and gear ratio in every weight class. But if you ever use one after right after the other, you will definitely feel the difference. Daiwa added an extra ball bearing and a roller bearing to this series, which is going to make your casting and retrieval a lot finer.
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Opus
When you’re searching for more drag, the Opus series is definitely your destination. These are designed for the big catch. They have a multi-disc drag system to keep the line from snapping, and a huge line capacity from 14 to 40. They’re also much simpler machines with lower ball bearing counts and gear ratios, making them ideal for the big catch.
Legalis
We’re on the higher end of the Daiwa price tag here, but a Legalis reel is definitely worth the investment for the avid saltwater fisher. These are really fine-tuned machines with a high gear ratio (the lowest you can get in this series is 5.6:1), and a corrosion-resistant chassis. So it’s pretty durable and has a nice, smooth retrieval. It’s also lighter than your typical reel specialized for saltwater thanks to Daiwa’s Air Rotor, which has an over all more efficient design, using a little less material and and distributing the stress more evenly across the piece.