Daiwa Lexa (400) - Your Thoughts Please ?

Started by Wildman, March 26, 2014, 08:43:40 PM

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Wildman

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?

tgbtguy

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.

MarkT

#2
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!
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

handi2

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..
OCD Reel Service & Repair
Gulf Breeze, FL

johndtuttle

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.

SoCalAngler

#5
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.


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.

Ron Jones

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
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

handi2

I just ordered 2 of the 400 series low gear ones for Gulf fishing.
OCD Reel Service & Repair
Gulf Breeze, FL

mahfudzmn

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...

johndtuttle

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

mahfudzmn

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?

johndtuttle

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.

MarkT

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.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

johndtuttle

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.  ;)

mahfudzmn

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!