Bit the bullet...... hard

[NAGG]

So

As mentioned in a previous thread - I've been in the hunt for a new mid sized spin reel . ...... Ultimately it will be a impoundment barra spin reel for my trips up north & my soft plastics snapper reel back in NSW

I had in mind a Daiwa Certate of some description but I wanted to compare it with the new Penn Authority ..... which I did . For what I wanted .... it wasn't going to be the Penn .

Fortunately or unfortunately I had the chance to play with several reels including the latest Shimano Stella & Daiwa Exist ....... - I left the store without making a purchase but I knew what the choice lay between ....... bye bye Certate

I was in awe of the 5000 sized Stella & Exist ...... but that Exist felt like something else - Lighter & smoother . ..... it was something else - So after a restless night ( watched a few Youtube comparisons) then hit my local store which just happened to have the LT5000D-CHX in stock .......... after some negotiations , I walked out with it .

Once I got home - I fitted the reel to my Millerod Beast buster LM ....... wow - It hardly felt there was a reel even on it - it's a match made in Heaven . for comparison I threw on my Daiwa Certate HD4000 SH ...... which was massive & heavy - compare the pair ..... the little Exist pumps out more drag 10kg Vs 8kg than the certate but holds 30m less of 20lb braid ...... it's close to half the weight
Daiwa comparison.jpg

Yeh sure - it's a lot of coin ....... but gee it feels like one heck of a reel .

No doubt when it comes to fishing tackle ....... you really do get what you pay for

Chris

[Billy C]

Incredible how reels that weigh a little over 200g can withstand 10kg of drag. Good luck with it I will be keen to hear a report on it.

Cheers

[CT]

What were your thoughts on the Authority?

[NAGG]

Incredible how reels that weigh a little over 200g can withstand 10kg of drag. Good luck with it I will be keen to hear a report on it.

Cheers

Quite amazing isn't it ?

From my perspective

Daiwa have been at this game a hell of a long time so I have no concerns about their flag ship small / medium spin reel being able to cut the mustard . The previous model was / is a great reel ...... Daiwa just ramped it up again.

With this reel , there is some high end metallurgy going on & high tech design ..... pretty unique stuff .

I'm certainly looking forward to giving it a serious work out in a couple of months .

Chris

[stevej]

Why didn’t you get it from china alibaba for $49 ?

Can still break them if you don’t know how to fish and you use them as a winch
I would have gone exists just too many line classes to cover so went Luvias and have 8-9 of them

[NAGG]

What were your thoughts on the Authority?

For me - Nah not for how I like to fish . ...... but that's a me thing .

If someone was after a hard core heavy duty brawler ....... I reckon you would be hard pressed to find anything better - Also depending on the size of the reel you want ..... you may not find anything better .
If weight is not a concern & you dont mind that typical Penn feel .... heavy start up inertia - it will win a lot of fans . It's better than the Slammers (looks better too). .... but nearly double the price .
The range is huge - so you could cover so many species & fishing styles . You guys fishing the reefs & shoals up north ...... these would be great reels that I doubt you could break.
I thought I would be looking at a reel to compare to the Daiwa Certates ...... nah . Daiwa have moved further to creating lighter , sweeter versions of the previous models - progression . Penn on the other hand have worked on a tough reel that will go the distance ...... & a reel that you can service yourself - You cant do that with a Certate or the Exist I just bought .

I think these reels have their own niche ....... to me it would be like a 79 series Landcruiser compared to a Landcruiser 200 or 300 series .....

Oh & I've been assured now by 3 dealers that the Penn reels will become smoother over time .

But hey .... if you want a tough reel & dont want to pay $400-$600 more for the refined reels like Stellas , Saltigas , Exists - these would be a really good choice (IMHO) .

Chris

[NAGG]

Why didn’t you get it from china alibaba for $49 ?

Can still break them if you don’t know how to fish and you use them as a winch
I would have gone exists just too many line classes to cover so went Luvias and have 8-9 of them

I thought about it ...... I just didn't want to wait .

The Exist is very much a finesse reel ...... which is what I wanted when slow rolling placcies for Barra - or fishing placcies for Snapper . ..... It's this application that the Penn wouldn't do anywhere near as well.

Nothing wrong with the Luvias (Bream & Bass ... sweet) but I've noticed that they have become quite pricey with the new 21 Luvias Airity nudging $900 . Also they dont do a 5000 size in either Luvias models . ...... but yeh great reels .

It will be interesting to see how the Exist handles big rampaging impoundment barra ....... it will be fun testing it out .

Chris

[stevej]

lt luvias and arity luvias are two different reels
im a daiwa tragic so am biased

[NAGG]

lt luvias and arity luvias are two different reels
im a daiwa tragic so am biased

Yep understand they are different - but even the std Luvias is now pressing $600.

Yeh Ditto on the Daiwa thing ..... I still believe for the last decade they produce better spin & baitcast reels than Shimano with very few exceptions ....... Even the overheads (Saltiga's) have crashed the Shimano party & probably surpassed everything up to the Tiagra .

Daiwa is still pushing the envelope - Shimano not so

Chris

[stevej]

i got them all from japan before the world went to shit $379 aud delivered

ive never liked shimanos bail arms, although i do have 4 saragossas still for when i get offshore in the salt

[Lovey80]

Nagg, how do you think the exist will last in the salt environment? If it’s getting salt water on it a lot from offshore work do you think a Stella or Saltiga is better?

[gunna]

Chris - have you tried any Pflueger reels. I bought a couple 1500 size a couple years back and have been very happy with them.

[NAGG]

Nagg, how do you think the exist will last in the salt environment? If it’s getting salt water on it a lot from offshore work do you think a Stella or Saltiga is better?

That was my big concern - & why to this point of time not spent the coin on an Exist ...... always gone from Certate straight to Saltiga

With this reel - the sealing is next level & they are using the mag seal technology to stop water getting into the body - All bearings are CRBB .

Daiwa are promoting the 2022 Exist in Australia for bream , snapper & mulloway ........ so I guess you wouldn't do that unless you were pretty sure that your flagship light medium reel would be up to it . http://daiwafishing.com.au/pages/exist-showcase

This reel is next level technology - small & light .... but pumping out 10kgs of drag ...... but I wanted finesse - the only direct competitor is the Stella 5000 FK (silver one). Once you move into the black Stella's & Saltiga ..... you lose the light weight & feel . I have a Saltiga 4500 & it''s massive / Heavy - not a reel you would use for snapper & barra plastics .
This photo shows the size difference between my 4000 Certate , 4500 Saltiga & 5000 Exist ...... it gives you an idea of where I'm coming from .

Daiwa spin reels.jpg The Exist will still hold 300m of PE2 Varivas Avani + backing .

No doubt though , this is a reel that requires attention .... so every couple of years it will go back to Daiwa .

Time will tell.

Chris

[NAGG]

Chris - have you tried any Pflueger reels. I bought a couple 1500 size a couple years back and have been very happy with them.

Hi Pete

I've owned a couple of Pfluegers & used several over the years ...... how can I put it ? - It's like going from a Porsche GT3 to a Hyundai I30N ...... the I30N is plenty capable but it's not a GT3 .
Besides - A reel like a Patriach cant handle salt water ...... drag capacity is pretty low too

It's one of those things - where if you can afford to buy high end & get all the advantages why not buy the high end reel ? . I've certainly found that buying the better reels - they last & they are always enjoyable to use ....... I'm still using 1500 , 2000 & 3000 size Certates & Stellas that I bought in the mid 2000s . I'm not one to replace reels for the sake of replacing them with something newer - but will if there is something considerably better .

Chris

[Lovey80]

Thanks for that Chris. Please give us an update if you have any issues.

for a reel that expensive, I wish they would give a spare spool. With so much refinement in the reel and carbon rods now days having beautiful light tips but plenty of grunt in the lower sections, you could be using the same real with sub 10lb braid for whiting and bream and bass. Then with a spool change to stronger braid be straight into Barra, Jew and Spannish spinning. What’s a new spool worth $300? That then gets very expensive for one reel.

I know they want you to buy a 2500 and a 5000 but I just wonder how many extra sales they’d get as people convince themselves they’re killing two birds with one stone that way.