"All metal construction" = plastic rotor? Thanks daiwa

[Three se7ens]

Well, my first Daiwa purchase may well be my last.  I bought an Exceler 4500t advertised as having all metal construction, and rated at 22 lbs of drag.  I put in carbontex drag washers, spooled it with 55 lb braid, and tested the drag.  I nearly had to lock down the drag to get to 13 lbs, and at that, the rotor touched the spool.

Pathetic.  My okuma trio 40' which is half the size and weight, flexes less at 13 lbs of drag, and it will actually hit 20+...

[0119]

Daiwa's Zaion or shimano's graphite, whats the difference.  Hey use shimano's disposable magnesium stella!

[Tile]

Now there are full metal spinning reels that are well made and won't break the bank: Fin-Nor Offshore reels and Lethal 100, Penn Spinfisher Z reels and the old SSM series with brass geartrain. These are fishing reels not fashion reels.

[Three se7ens]

Now there are full metal spinning reels that are well made and won't break the bank: Fin-Nor Offshore reels and Lethal 100, Penn Spinfisher Z reels and the old SSM series with brass geartrain. These are fishing reels not fashion reels.

I have 3 all metal spinners already, including a lethal 100.  I bought this one for its light weight and smoothness, which is excellent by the way.  It's just not strong enough to handle some of the fish I come across fishing the wrecks here.  It would be great for seabass, etc, but I just don't think it's capable of the cobia or occasional shark that also get caught. 

It is a really nice reel, and would be perfect for someone who won't be fishing more than 12 lbs of drag.  I'm just really frustrated by the advertising that explicitly stated "all metal construction".

[nelz]

Well, my first Daiwa purchase may well be my last.  I bought an Exceler 4500t advertised as having all metal construction, and rated at 22 lbs of drag.  I put in carbontex drag washers, spooled it with 55 lb braid, and tested the drag.  I nearly had to lock down the drag to get to 13 lbs, and at that, the rotor touched the spool.

In all fairness to Daiwa, all the other manufacturers have gone mostly to graphite rotors and they ALL suck! They all over-rate their drags too.  Click on my logo below to see my write-up on a two of my favorite all metal spinners The Daiwa Sol and Pflueger Supreme.  Both remain light in weight, although I have nothing against tanks like the Slammers depending on the situation.  Neither of those are 22lb class drags though.

[Three se7ens]

Well, my first Daiwa purchase may well be my last.  I bought an Exceler 4500t advertised as having all metal construction, and rated at 22 lbs of drag.  I put in carbontex drag washers, spooled it with 55 lb braid, and tested the drag.  I nearly had to lock down the drag to get to 13 lbs, and at that, the rotor touched the spool.

In all fairness to Daiwa, all the other manufacturers have gone mostly to graphite rotors and they ALL suck! They all over-rate their drags too.  Click on my logo below to see my write-up on a two of my favorite all metal spinners The Daiwa Sol and Pflueger Supreme.  Both remain light in weight, although I have nothing against tanks like the Slammers depending on the situation.  Neither of those are 22lb class drags though.

I had a stradic fj8000 with a plastic rotor that was nearly as stiff as a metal rotor. Flex was almost non-existent. Daiwas own air rotor is pretty stiff. My problem isn't in the use of graphite, it's the misleading advertising. If I knew it had a plastic rotor, I wouldn't have bought it.

I have found that most spinning reels can create far more drag than the reel is capable of surviving for any amount of time.

[basto]

It is a bit ironic that some of the older Daiwas that did have all metal rotor and bodies only had half the drag capacity.
I have a couple of Banax 5000sx reels that are very strong, long lasting reels, but they are only good for 20lb mono because they only pull about 15lbs of drag. They have all brass gears and a very reliable dog and ratchet AR system that looks like it could handle 25 lbs of drag easily.

[Glos]

saltiga has metal rotor and it can make problems
if stresses are to high
and once out of line, it doesn't go back, unlike plastic

[mo65]

They all over-rate their drags.

   This has become the norm...manufacturers satisfying a public that thinks it needs 30lbs. of drag to catch a 5 pound fish on 20lb. line. Just look at those numbers...it doesn't even add up! A higher drag number than the line strength number? I guess they figure the average fisherman will never crank it tighter than 10-12lbs. anyway...so let 'em believe in what sells. Meanwhile, the hardcore fisherman buys the reel expecting those advertised numbers, and well, here we are!

[MarkT]

On Daiwa's website (today!) the Exceler doesn't claim to be all metal.  Just the body.

[foakes]

It is OK for manufacturers to lie in their claims of product function and construction -- after all, no one cares enough to call them on it -- and there are no legal remedies -- that make sense for an item that may cost between $50 to $200, or in the case of a Stella -- North of $1000.

We need to remember -- 99% of the angling world consumers do not understand or even appreciate 5% of what you guys know on Alan's website.

So...buyer beware.

Remember what Reagan said about the Russian government -- "Of course I trust them -- but we will verify everything they tell us before moving forward".

Personally, I am grateful for companies like Penn, and a few others -- who represent their products accurately.

Just my opinions...

Best,

Fred

[handi2]

Well, my first Daiwa purchase may well be my last.  I bought an Exceler 4500t advertised as having all metal construction, and rated at 22 lbs of drag.  I put in carbontex drag washers, spooled it with 55 lb braid, and tested the drag.  I nearly had to lock down the drag to get to 13 lbs, and at that, the rotor touched the spool.

In all fairness to Daiwa, all the other manufacturers have gone mostly to graphite rotors and they ALL suck! They all over-rate their drags too.  Click on my logo below to see my write-up on a two of my favorite all metal spinners The Daiwa Sol and Pflueger Supreme.  Both remain light in weight, although I have nothing against tanks like the Slammers depending on the situation.  Neither of those are 22lb class drags though.

The Pflueger Supreme is a smoother Penn Fierce/Battle. Same gear train and internals. Many of the external parts fits also. They are made in the same plant along with many others.

[Midway Tommy]

I'm glad I'm a "freshwater" guy, and vintage reel guy, to boot. Drag weight is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Smoothness of the drag mechanism is all that really matters to me because I never crank the drag down tighter than the line weight I'm using, and I use the appropriate size reel and line relative to the fish I'm chasing. Now that doesn't mean that I won't tie into a 30# musky, northern or catfish while fishing for walleyes, but a quality reel with 6 or 8# test line and a quality drag setup will usually win that battle with a little persistence and patience.  To me, all those drag poundage claims are just a bunch of hyperbole.  

[Gfish]

Got the Shimano Stratic 8000fj & 3000fj. Good $200 reels. The graphite(plastic) rotors do flex a bit with alota pressure, but as  Three se7ens indicated probably stronger than most. I's always hopin the flex might provide relief to some other structural components, possibly keepin them from breaking or permanently deforming, could it be? Or could it be that this flexing might directly cause problems I'm unaware of? Any experience with something like this?
Gfish

[Three se7ens]

On Daiwa's website (today!) the Exceler doesn't claim to be all metal.  Just the body.

This reel was the previous Exceler T series, which was basically a low gear version of the old Saltist, and was available in sizes 4500-6500.   Their advertising did specifically mention "all metal construction", and on the 5500 and 6500, the rotor was aluminum.  But the 4500 had a weak plastic rotor, but was advertised as no different in construction than the larger sizes.

They have another Exceler series that is inshore and freshwater sized reels.  This is an entirely different product line, and not the subject of my rant.

Graphite rotors can be very good, and Daiwa's airrotor and the ones on the mid level shimano's are perfectly adequate to what the reels were designed for.