Catalina review

[Mark Gwynne]

Makes for an interesting dilemma, especially with a new Stella not far away and no doubt a big price rise with that.

http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/cat11.html

[Luke Wyrsta]

Makes for an interesting dilemma, especially with a new Stella not far away and no doubt a big price rise with that.

http://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/cat11.html

What's the dilemma?

When has a new Stella heralded a big price rise? If anything the prices have remained on par, at least in Australia. Daiwa pricing seems questionable, given in the past the minimal upgrades of feature-sets and price deltas in comparison to past models.

Sure, Alan Hawk seems to know his craft when it comes to fishing reels and their engineering. Has anyone seen any proof of actual on water testing? This is simply a question.

[Mark Gwynne]

I have no plans to get one. At current prices if I was looking I would get a Penn Torque or a Stella.
Obviously it's only a prediction but I would not be surprised if the new model Stella will result in a price rise, at least for a while anyway where people just 'have to have one'.

[Mark Harris]

You can buy a Stella at almost the price of a Catalina anyway.

Reading Alan's review with great interest. What the new Catalina does seem to do is make the very expensive Saltiga seem of questionable value.

My reading would be that this Catalina is a reaction from Daiwa to the disappointing sales of the 2010 Saltiga.

[Brandon Khoo]

I have never been able to understand the extent of the price rise on the new Saltiga. On the counter, we saw about a 20% but at the time it was released, the AUD had just risen significantly against the JPY so the actual increase was actually much more than 20%

[Doug Lindsay]

Its a Daiwa. What happens when you need it serviced? Good luck with that. If its under warranty- you must have abused it. Either way, they (you) will have to wait for parts.
Excuse my negative attitude. Been there- done that

[Neville Haglund]

What's a 4500 worth in A$ just as a matter of interest?

[Christoffer Hansen]

Doug,
Daiwas servicing and parts department have greatly improved in the last few years. Shimano has gone the other way. I own both and get them serviced regularly.
Chris

[Jay Peterson]

I agree with you Chris, I had a great experience with Daiwa a few weeks ago.. Just received a 5000 Catalina which I purchased from PLAT in Japan they were having a sale @ 590 AUD, can't wait to use it.. I think they retail for around 850-900 though..

[Neville Haglund]

Thanks for the price guide,
Does anyone have an approximate date for the New Stella release down under and how does it differ??

[thomas + williams]

Has anyone given these a good working over? Do you think they will last?

[Steve Li]

I own both Saltigas and the Catalinas. They are both very good reels. As a reference (on water test), I fished these reels in Maldives, Indonesia as well as South Oman and they perform flawlessly. Landed some decent GTs from ranging from 30kg+ to over 50kg. They are still as smooth as new. No noticeable difference in performance too. My biggest GT in Oman was actually landed with the smaller size Saltiga 5000H.

If pricing is not in the equation and its purely about performance and reliability, I would say buy it with confidence. With Alan Hawk's review clearly demonstrating that the Catalina's engine is almost identical with the Saltigas, I'll probably buy the Catalinas instead of Saltigas from here on......  You can get 3 Catalinas for the price of two Saltigas!!!     

[thomas + williams]

The catalina does look the goods, and the difference in price makes purchasing one a lot easier. I might buy one as a back up for the saltiga. What size catalina were you using?

[Steve Li]

The catalina does look the goods, and the difference in price makes purchasing one a lot easier. I might buy one as a back up for the saltiga. What size catalina were you using?

I have fished the 4020H, 5000 and 5000H so far. Will have a chance to put the 6500H to a serious test text month! 

[Craig Dawson]

Steve was just wondering if you ever got to use that 6500 I am looking at purchasing one very soon but would love an on water review by somebody that has used it not just for a review