For those of you who have one, had one, or know people who do or did, would you please tell me your thoughts on and experiences with this reel, Daiwa's competition to Shimano's Tranx?
Performance, Maintenance, Feel, etc, please?
I think they're really nice reels. I have mine filled with 50#Izorline Spectra and mounted to a factory Seeker 809 trigger stick. Last month it handled a 60# WSB flawlessly! As for durability in the years to come, I can't say till then. I like the low profile of this reel compared to my Tranx. The Daiwa seems to fit my hand better and doesn't look as bulky. My buddy also has one but its mounted on a Phenix 809xhj & he was slaying the barracuda with this combo & a Tady AA light! We tried to test it out on the yellow but they would cooperate. I plan to try the Lexa 400 out on my Aug. 4 sayer on the Spirit. My 02.
I have the Lexa 300 and 400, both the high speed models with power handles. I use the 300 on a Phenix psw808mh and the 400 on a psw809h. Both have caught many Calicos, 'Cuda and YT. The 400 has YFT too. Since they cast so well out of the box, today I decided to reinforce that by removing a shield from the spool bearings and gave them a soak with TSI321. They spin even better than before and maint will be easier going forward!
My son's view is that the Lexa's cast best, the Curado's are the smoothest and the Abu NaCl's have the best drags and cranking power. I would agree that the Curado's are smooth... and cast great too, and his Abu feels good but I haven't fished it... yet. I would say the Lexa's aren't as smooth as the others but cast great and have strong drags. They're keepers! I've been using the 400 for surface iron, poppers and stick baits.
I have a lot of baitcasters...Calcutta's, both regular and TE's (250,300,400), Curado's (200,300), a Corsair and Catala 300, Daiwa Millionaire CVX253 and CVZ300, Lexa's (300,400), maybe more? One or more of the Lexa's go with me on every trip which is telling.
As best I can tell, the only advantage the Tranx has is it's the larger capacity. The Lexa 400 has more than enough capacity for everything I've asked of it and it's half the cost of the Tranx and doesn't have a white handle!
I use the 300HS-P and love the reel. It has worked flawlessly over the last 9 months. First thing to do when it's new is to lightly grease the aluminum frame, side cover, screws, and the top of the AR bearing to keep the saltwater at bay. The open bearings are optional but I do that with all reels.
It's a powerful strong reel..
The Lexa is not really competition for the Tranx as it is a much lighter construction overall and a much smaller reel.
The internals of the Tranx are really identical to a Trinidad whereas the Lexa is truly just a large baitcaster. This is reflected in their price of course, with the Lexa being hundreds less.
I am really fond of these large levelwind baitcasters for casting artificials and between the Revo, Lexa, Curado and Okuma Komodo there is little to distinguish each of them. They all really are excellent light reels.
Tranx is in another class with a heavier construction. I would be sure to get one in your hands as they are quite large when you actually examine one.
Not a fan of the Tranx because of its frame twisting on larger fish. Fish one and set the drags around 10 lbs or above and you may find what most do on laregr fish. The frame seems to tweek and you get loud gear rattle with a grinding noise, IMO not the most pleasent sound or feel as the gears seem to misaline. Many people take the Tranx on long range trips but you don't see them bring them back on their next trip.
Baitcasters have their place and fill a good spot in most pepoles fishing tackle but their still baitcasters and not ment to handle larger fish....no matter what the size of the baitcaster.
Here is a pic of my pops down in Baja fishing for Cabrilla, not looking for big game, when he gets bit by a yellowtail fishing his Lexa 400.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DA3mOaGlA0s/VIs-xHMTRJI/AAAAAAAAc88/49mj-akSa7Q/w630-h479-no/LoretoYellowtail.jpg)
That fish went 31 lbs and later in the day he lost a 25-30 lb yellow when his line went accross the prop with the fish at boat side. The Lexa 400 handled this other fish fine but the loss was due to user error not a reel issue.
If we were looking for the yelllows a baitcaster, no matter who makes it, would not be our first choice reel to fish.But if something like this may happen I'd take a Lexa 400 over the Tranx any day.
I know this is a older post but I'd thought I'd put my 2 cents in.
P.S. The reel in the front of the pic is not the Lexa as you can see it was the camera mans setup.
I have the CX-V 300, which is the precursor, and have used it for over 10 years to catch everything from bait to PNW halibut. I really love these reels.
Ron
I just ordered 2 of the 400 series low gear ones for Gulf fishing.
I'm very curious with this reel, I have a Revo NaCl 50 which I really like and use from light popping to ground bait fishing. Problem is the Revo I have has only 4-5kg at best for drag which I tested when the spool is full (ok, maybe I need to check to see if I can get more, but I'm not so optimistic).
So in my search for a baitcaster with a stronger drag I'm interested when I read about the Lexa 400, 22lbs stated by Daiwa is great but can anyone confirm the drag strength? And also if the reel has synchronized or non-synchronized levelwind?
I've also read on the new Revo Toro Beast which have a different drag stack design and is supposedly stronger than Revo Toro NaCl, but from reviews I saw they seem to have revised the design to non-synchronized levelwind...
Quote from: mahfudzmn on October 07, 2015, 09:06:29 AM
I'm very curious with this reel, I have a Revo NaCl 50 which I really like and use from light popping to ground bait fishing. Problem is the Revo I have has only 4-5kg at best for drag which I tested when the spool is full (ok, maybe I need to check to see if I can get more, but I'm not so optimistic).
So in my search for a baitcaster with a stronger drag I'm interested when I read about the Lexa 400, 22lbs stated by Daiwa is great but can anyone confirm the drag strength? And also if the reel has synchronized or non-synchronized levelwind?
I've also read on the new Revo Toro Beast which have a different drag stack design and is supposedly stronger than Revo Toro NaCl, but from reviews I saw they seem to have revised the design to non-synchronized levelwind...
Don't worry about the Levelwind. Neither the Lexa nor Tranx have a synced levelwind either. When you stretch the reel longitudinally and the height as well for capacity you don't need a synced levelwind with such narrow spools. They actually cast better than if you synced the LW mechanism.
The Revo Toro S competes best with the Lexa feature for feature, the Toro Beast is in another class being much nicer materials and features.
best
Quote from: johndtuttle on October 07, 2015, 02:22:32 PM
Quote from: mahfudzmn on October 07, 2015, 09:06:29 AM
I'm very curious with this reel, I have a Revo NaCl 50 which I really like and use from light popping to ground bait fishing. Problem is the Revo I have has only 4-5kg at best for drag which I tested when the spool is full (ok, maybe I need to check to see if I can get more, but I'm not so optimistic).
So in my search for a baitcaster with a stronger drag I'm interested when I read about the Lexa 400, 22lbs stated by Daiwa is great but can anyone confirm the drag strength? And also if the reel has synchronized or non-synchronized levelwind?
I've also read on the new Revo Toro Beast which have a different drag stack design and is supposedly stronger than Revo Toro NaCl, but from reviews I saw they seem to have revised the design to non-synchronized levelwind...
Don't worry about the Levelwind. Neither the Lexa nor Tranx have a synced levelwind either. When you stretch the reel longitudinally and the height as well for capacity you don't need a synced levelwind with such narrow spools. They actually cast better than if you synced the LW mechanism.
The Revo Toro S competes best with the Lexa feature for feature, the Toro Beast is in another class being much nicer materials and features.
best
Thanks for the input John!
I'm not worried about the casting distance synchronized/non-synchronized levelwind but its just that I prefer synchronized levelwind. I think it gives me security that the line guide is under minimal stress. But what I really want is something that puts out 7-8 kg drag off the shelf. Have you got any thoughts or measurement on the drag of the Lexa 400?
Quote from: mahfudzmn on October 08, 2015, 12:41:00 AM
Quote from: johndtuttle on October 07, 2015, 02:22:32 PM
Quote from: mahfudzmn on October 07, 2015, 09:06:29 AM
I'm very curious with this reel, I have a Revo NaCl 50 which I really like and use from light popping to ground bait fishing. Problem is the Revo I have has only 4-5kg at best for drag which I tested when the spool is full (ok, maybe I need to check to see if I can get more, but I'm not so optimistic).
So in my search for a baitcaster with a stronger drag I'm interested when I read about the Lexa 400, 22lbs stated by Daiwa is great but can anyone confirm the drag strength? And also if the reel has synchronized or non-synchronized levelwind?
I've also read on the new Revo Toro Beast which have a different drag stack design and is supposedly stronger than Revo Toro NaCl, but from reviews I saw they seem to have revised the design to non-synchronized levelwind...
Don't worry about the Levelwind. Neither the Lexa nor Tranx have a synced levelwind either. When you stretch the reel longitudinally and the height as well for capacity you don't need a synced levelwind with such narrow spools. They actually cast better than if you synced the LW mechanism.
The Revo Toro S competes best with the Lexa feature for feature, the Toro Beast is in another class being much nicer materials and features.
best
Thanks for the input John!
I'm not worried about the casting distance synchronized/non-synchronized levelwind but its just that I prefer synchronized levelwind. I think it gives me security that the line guide is under minimal stress. But what I really want is something that puts out 7-8 kg drag off the shelf. Have you got any thoughts or measurement on the drag of the Lexa 400?
I didn't measure the drag on the one Lexa 400 I worked on because I didn't see the point. None of these reels have the frames to put out smooth drag much over 6 maybe 7kg. They might make more than that in a dead lift, but smooth performance is another thing entirely.
These are uber light reels so there is no free lunch. If you want those drag numbers smoothly for a real run by a real fish you need another class of reel like a Penn Torque LD or Okuma Makaira.
Really for 7-8kg you need heavier reels.
I caught a Wahoo a few days ago at the Ridge on my Lexa 400 with a Megabait. Hey, I didn't know there were Wahoo around the boat but it handled it fine.
Quote from: MarkT on October 08, 2015, 01:57:04 AM
I caught a Wahoo a few days ago at the Ridge on my Lexa 400 with a Megabait. Hey, I didn't know there were Wahoo around the boat but it handled it fine.
Exactly. They are perfectly fine for open water fishing....I just don't want to hype people too much on what they may or may not pull off on big'uns close to structure. ;)
Quote from: johndtuttle on October 08, 2015, 01:00:05 AM
I didn't measure the drag on the one Lexa 400 I worked on because I didn't see the point. None of these reels have the frames to put out smooth drag much over 6 maybe 7kg. They might make more than that in a dead lift, but smooth performance is another thing entirely.
These are uber light reels so there is no free lunch. If you want those drag numbers smoothly for a real run by a real fish you need another class of reel like a Penn Torque LD or Okuma Makaira.
Really for 7-8kg you need heavier reels.
Thanks again for your thoughts John! As a person who sees a few reels every week I kinda know what the limits on baitcasters are. Its just that I really like em that I'm looking for a reel I can cast poppers and stickbaits with a few more pounds of drag than the NaCl that I have currently.
I had a look at the Tranx few weeks back, man that thing is HUGE and heavy too. Perhaps that's that and the limit for BC reels for heavy casting, I'm probably too reluctant to let go of that very dim glimmer of hope haha!
The reel I recommend over the Lexa 400 is the Revo Toro S. Much more drag than a Nacl. I think you will like it too. ;)
I just got a Daiwa Lexa 400HD 7:1 and love it. I paired it with a Pheonix Abyss 808 (15-30lb). I use it for throwing jigs up to 6 ounces. I havent used it for tuna yet (soon I hope). This youtube video is why I got it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgS0e4R1510
I used it for Rock Cod and it cast a mile. I fits perfect in my hand.
(http://i423.photobucket.com/albums/pp312/edmartz/Mobile%20Uploads/8CCF9C2C-6208-4142-9771-4A51F9F1B6EC.jpg)
I picked up a TranX this summer and took it on my 10 day on the Excel at the end of Sept. I had it on a Phenix psw809xhj with a 50# leader and was throwing poppers with it. No love for me this year on the poppers but I did get a 20# YFT on it with bait. There were several guys with them including repeats from last year. One guy had two and had the handle snap on one of them on a wahoo. He caught a lot of YFT and wahoo on them with both poppers and bombs. As I said earlier, I've caught YT and YFT on both my Lexa 300 & 400 plus now a Wahoo on the 400. Both the 400 and the TranX will be on board again next year! The TranX for bombs and poppers on the 400.
BTW, my son got YT of 37 and 25# on a Curado 300ej a couple years ago at Cedros when we were panga fishing. You don't need a 400 size to get it done but a little more capacity would've been a good thing!
So much fun with these reels. Truly the future.
Quote from: edmartz on October 30, 2015, 02:27:41 AM
I just got a Daiwa Lexa 400HD 7:1 and love it. I paired it with a Pheonix Abyss 808 (15-30lb). I use it for throwing jigs up to 6 ounces. I havent used it for tuna yet (soon I hope). This youtube video is why I got it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgS0e4R1510
I used it for Rock Cod and it cast a mile. I fits perfect in my hand.
(http://i423.photobucket.com/albums/pp312/edmartz/Mobile%20Uploads/8CCF9C2C-6208-4142-9771-4A51F9F1B6EC.jpg)
What they do for the average guy is give him more versatility. Much easier to go back and forth between iron and bait than standard set ups.
I bought a few because of Mr. Tuttle's review.
You don't need a 400 for footballs that small, a 300 would handle them easily!
Has anyone done a break down review of the 400 HD ? I would love to see the internals compare to the older 400 reel side by side.
I have both the 300 and 400 hs-p. I have had then both for 3 yrs, in which time they have been very well used.I use them primarily for salmon fishing in the south island of New Zealand. The 300 is my river reel, so thousands and thousands of casts per season, mainly 1oz spoons being cast up to 50 odd yrds. The 400 is my surf reel, also cast thousands of times per season. This one is used to cast "irons" between 2-3 oz between 100-200 yrds. The conditions here vary from still warm days to rain, wind and dust on others. I can say that both these reels have caught plenty of fish up to 21lbs, and have performed impeccabley. If I have had any problem at all, it is the level wind mechanism. It seems that it is extremely sensitive to any foriegn matter, ie , weed, sand or dust getting into the worm drive. One speck and it will stop functioning properly. I have found that by flushing with oil, it can usually be made to function onsite, until a proper pulldown and clean can be performed. Neither reel exihibits any corrosion at all. My maintainance regiem consists of regular oiling of the spool bearings,level wind, some in the gears and a little in the spool tensioner. I very rarely wash them, as I believe that it usually just buries any sand etc deeper, instead I wipe them down with a cloth. At the end of the season, a full pulldown and clean and grease and oil is performed. So there you have it, 3 yrs on, well used but maintained and still going as good as the day I bought them. Awesome reels.
I have the Lexa 300 8x1 & I love the thing as much as my avets. Casts well, drag is strong & smooth, and the knob is perfecto.
When this thread started i had just purchased 2 of the Lexa 400 HP models.
I ended up using just one.
I use it for Cobia and Snapper fishing in the gulf. It has never been a problem. Plenty of drag for those fish.
But, I am beginning not to like the non syncing levelwind. Its great for casting but for straight down fishing with a 3oz weight the line struggles and strains the levelwind. Its something I had to get used to by centering the pawl.
Other than that it gets the job done and I can palm the reel.
Keith
On the Alan Tani '16 trip on the Spirit of Aventure, I caught 7 YT in one day throwing surface iron with my Lexa 400 on a 9' Phenix psw909xhj. I also got another Wahoo with the Lexa on my 10 day last Oct. with a Raider on a Phenix psw809xhj. The Lexa is still going strong!
Quote from: MarkT on February 18, 2017, 12:14:11 AM
On the Alan Tani '16 trip on the Spirit of Aventure, I caught 7 YT in one day throwing surface iron with my Lexa 400 on a 9' Phenix psw909xhj. I also got another Wahoo with the Lexa on my 10 day last Oct. with a Raider on a Phenix psw809xhj. The Lexa is still going strong!
You have to love using low profile reels to catch big fish. My son thinks im crazy.
Just tore my 400 Pwr(lower gearing) completely down. Anyone else notice that the cast control cap bushing's loose ona i.d. part? Didn't like that, 'cause I thought the bushing was there to support-align the spool shaft. Don't know though, after 2.5 yrs., still casts great, even down to 1/2oz. lures. Mabey the bushing is designed to do it's thing without excess friction?...Still think this reel's been worth every penny I paid for it.
Gfish
Quote from: Gfish on February 18, 2017, 10:47:40 AM
Just tore my 400 Pwr(lower gearing) completely down. Anyone else notice that the cast control cap bushing's loose ona i.d. part? Didn't like that, 'cause I thought the bushing was there to support-align the spool shaft. Don't know though, after 2.5 yrs., still casts great, even down to 1/2oz. lures. Mabey the bushing is designed to do it's thing without excess friction?...Still think this reel's been worth every penny I paid for it.
Gfish
Yea, the spool bearings do all the work in this design.
Quote from: mahfudzmn on October 08, 2015, 02:38:11 AM
Quote from: johndtuttle on October 08, 2015, 01:00:05 AM
I didn't measure the drag on the one Lexa 400 I worked on because I didn't see the point. None of these reels have the frames to put out smooth drag much over 6 maybe 7kg. They might make more than that in a dead lift, but smooth performance is another thing entirely.
These are uber light reels so there is no free lunch. If you want those drag numbers smoothly for a real run by a real fish you need another class of reel like a Penn Torque LD or Okuma Makaira.
Really for 7-8kg you need heavier reels.
Thanks again for your thoughts John! As a person who sees a few reels every week I kinda know what the limits on baitcasters are. Its just that I really like em that I'm looking for a reel I can cast poppers and stickbaits with a few more pounds of drag than the NaCl that I have currently.
I had a look at the Tranx few weeks back, man that thing is HUGE and heavy too. Perhaps that's that and the limit for BC reels for heavy casting, I'm probably too reluctant to let go of that very dim glimmer of hope haha!
LOL....my perception is precisely the opposite
"Wow those tranx reels are small and light" ;D I suppose it's just where you come from. I used 40 and 50 size Trinidads, SL50SH's, Speedmasters, Saltists, Saltigas etc. for many years and 3 years ago switched to using only My Tranx HG's and have not looked back. I must also say that I've had better service from them then I had expected.
Quote from: Cor on February 18, 2017, 06:05:44 PM
Quote from: mahfudzmn on October 08, 2015, 02:38:11 AM
Quote from: johndtuttle on October 08, 2015, 01:00:05 AM
I didn't measure the drag on the one Lexa 400 I worked on because I didn't see the point. None of these reels have the frames to put out smooth drag much over 6 maybe 7kg. They might make more than that in a dead lift, but smooth performance is another thing entirely.
These are uber light reels so there is no free lunch. If you want those drag numbers smoothly for a real run by a real fish you need another class of reel like a Penn Torque LD or Okuma Makaira.
Really for 7-8kg you need heavier reels.
Thanks again for your thoughts John! As a person who sees a few reels every week I kinda know what the limits on baitcasters are. Its just that I really like em that I'm looking for a reel I can cast poppers and stickbaits with a few more pounds of drag than the NaCl that I have currently.
I had a look at the Tranx few weeks back, man that thing is HUGE and heavy too. Perhaps that's that and the limit for BC reels for heavy casting, I'm probably too reluctant to let go of that very dim glimmer of hope haha!
LOL....my perception is precisely the opposite "Wow those tranx reels are small and light" ;D I suppose it's just where you come from. I used 40 and 50 size Trinidads, SL50SH's, Speedmasters, Saltists, Saltigas etc. for many years and 3 years ago switched to using only My Tranx HG's and have not looked back. I must also say that I've had better service from them then I had expected.
Heheh...and then you go into Bass Proshops and see the "100" size baitcasters and "2000" size spinners that trout and bass guys use daily....lol
Tranx is gigantic to a Trout guy, barely a bait reel for someone trolling for Black Marlin.
I have a 300 and I have to admit, it's the first reel in a long time that I was totally happy with right out of the box. When I buy an Avet I automatically swap out to a round jigging knob & clean/relube with a faster lube (for casting purpose), but the Lexa with the high gear ratio, great handle, it was ready to kill fish right off the bat. Holding up against the salt pretty well too.
Quote from: johndtuttle on February 18, 2017, 06:39:18 PM
Heheh...and then you go into Bass Proshops and see the "100" size baitcasters and "2000" size spinners that trout and bass guys use daily....lol
Tranx is gigantic to a Trout guy, barely a bait reel for someone trolling for Black Marlin.
The biggest I go for trout is a 1000 size spinner. I save the "big" 2000/2500 for LMB. I still have a few 500 size spinners spooled with 2# for trout too.
Mark T, exactly my thoughts. Stradic 1000's for trout and schoolie stripers. I have a couple of those tiny Shimano 500's too. I only do Crappie with them though.
Since this thread started I acquired a 300 size Lexa, but still haven't used it.
A few weeks back I sold my Lexa 300 and 400, both with power handles. I looked at the TranX 400 to replace the Lexa 400 but got the Lexa hd400hs-p instead. I didn't replace the Lexa 300 since I already have a Curado 300, Calcutta te300 (x2), Abu NaCl 50 (x3) and Revo Toro Beast 60. I guess I really don't need every 300 size reel. Why the Lexa over the TranX? Stainless gears, stronger drags, more capacity, external mag spool control.
I have 2 Lexa 400HD 7:1 reels, and I really like them. Caught plenty of YT and YFT (up to 20#) last year with no problems. I would like the extra capacity of the Tranx, but it's just a bit too bog for me. The drags on the Lexa has been very good. I'll be taking them on my 2 trips this year for surface iron, coltsnipers, etc.
Anyone have any updates on this thread......
I'm thinking of picking up a daiwa lexa 400 hs-p for yellowtail and small yft....
I recommended it to you on that BD thread this morning! I prefer the Lexa 400, especially the HD version, over the TranX 400 for the reasons I mentioned a few replies prior. I have both the HD and original versions of the Lexa 400.
Still got my Lexa 400Power-P, but I haven't used it in months. I wore mine a-little, 'cause I loved using it for reef castin, but it still works great. Decided to get the Revo Toro Beast60HS to get a higher retrieve speed for these hyped-up tropical species, and also I really wanted to check out that rather complicated non-lock-up on ya-when tryin to adjust under a load("active response")drag.
Like Mark say: the newer HD version. May be better than the old. I'd buy another one.