Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) > Tackle & Techniques

Daiwa Dogfight - what is it good for?

<< < (2/20) > >>

voodoo:
Cheers Brandon,

 I think your advice has pretty much sealed the deal for me.

Andrew Poulos:
The difference  that I heard as well was that other than the big thick main shaft was the gears and metal being stronger than that in the stella. Not that they stellas arent good, but over time, the dogfight was meant to last longer...and the daiwa was more waterproof....they look great too....problems against it..the only thing I heard was from one person having some bail arm problems but that was fixed. That was more of a one off problem rather than design flaw.

Luke Wyrsta:

--- Quote from: Andrew Poulos on April 04, 2007, 02:21:07 PM ---The difference  that I heard as well was that other than the big thick main shaft was the gears and metal being stronger than that in the stella. Not that they stellas arent good, but over time, the dogfight was meant to last longer...and the daiwa was more waterproof....they look great too....problems against it..the only thing I heard was from one person having some bail arm problems but that was fixed. That was more of a one off problem rather than design flaw.

--- End quote ---

Andrew, this is not a response directed at you, merely directed at some of the claims...

What the Dogfighter, was meant or is meant to do means nothing, it simply doesn't have the track record of the Stella, we all know that the Stella is the choice of a majority of Japanese GT pros. I would also be looking at the track record of the other Saltigas which have been tarnished by problems & breakages. Is this model supposed to completey supercede one of these models and have the issues been addressed?

I don't think the waterproof comment is really fair - more waterproof, how and where? To this date i have never heard a word about any issues in regards to Shimano Stella waterproofness. I even dropped my Stella 20k spool to the bottom of the ocean once, got it back, and all it needed was a rinse with freshwater and a bit more grease on the bearings. I dismantled the spool completely 6 months later to find a near perfect condition.

If i were considering a Dogfight i would first be making sure that they have addressed the issues from the past, not simply making seemingly unqualified comparisons to a reel with a near perfect track record. Be careful, beneath the beautiful black paint could be a lemon! But we know that it can catch good fish but time will tell if the real issues arise.

Brandon Khoo:
Luke - to be fair, the Dogfight can't have the track record of the Stella. As a new reel, that just can't be the case. Time will tell as to its longeivity.

Josh, the one thing i think you should consider is whether the premium they want for the Daiwa is worth it. I bought mine abroad so i didn't pay the ridiculous prices demanded by Daiwa in Australia but there is a significant diference in price between the two reels locally. I've seen the Stella at around $950 locally (see motackle) but the Dogfight is still at best around the $1250 mark - and the dealers aren't supposed to offer any discounts. I've seen it as high as $1450 - which would have paid for the reel and the three spare spools I carry!

What i can tell you from my experience to date is that the reel does the job well - but no better than the 10000 and as I pointed out below, the reason for my preference over the 10000 is not performance based - its cosmetic! If I was looking at a $300 difference between two comparable reels, I know what my choice would be!

Andrew Poulos:
Yep, I know where you are coming from Luke. I havent had as much experience with the reels to know, but its mainly been from people I have spoken too in various areas.

The breakages happened on a few reels where the owners put on the t bar handle which is only meant to be used with the overhead reels. This T bar and pushing the 4500s to the limit caused leverage issues and snapped a few at the stem. The dogfighter has brass inserts in the stem, but I don't know if they add to the structural integrity. I haven't heard of any such issues with the 6500 series of reels. Daiwa wont, or will give you a hard time if you try to do a warranty claim on a saltiga threadline that has had this t bar put on.
 
The waterproofness, was something that was meant to be better for the drags and the spool....never dunked mine so cant validate how much water gets in. There is a difference in the metal used between the 2 brands for the gears, and over time the daiwa was supposed to win out. Again, they havent been around long enough to prove it.

The dogfighter is the new kid on the block, and I chose to follow the different path based on people I spoke too, and lots of reading and research. I was going to start off with a spheros, then a beefed up spheros, to a stella, and then ended up going Daiwa. Im not questioning the stellas as they have a proven track record with these models or sound anti shimano as I have both brands.

Either way, both are exceptional reels, and I say alot of the  comments people make area bit like ford vs holden. These reels are in the top class of threadlines and perform as such.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page