Diawa Sealine vs Saltist

[spottybastard]

Growing up with my father I was always taught that you should try to buy products made in the USA or at least American brands so the profits come/stay in the US.  Well needless to say I've been awfully disappointed in my Penn's, the designs are outdated and now most are foreign made.  On my last couple of outing I was badly out cast my other passengers with Diawa reels.  After doing a little investigating I've come to the conclusion that this brand gives you a lot for your money but want I can't get strait is what is the difference between the Saltist line of reels and the Sealines?  Can any of you folks care to enlighten me?

[basto]

There are 2 things that I personally prefer about the Sealines. One is the gear ratios are lower and the other is that they have a sprung anti reverse pawl, but no roller bearing (instant anti reverse)
Some people prefer the higher gear ratio and instant anti reverse of the Saltist.

[day0ne]

Growing up with my father I was always taught that you should try to buy products made in the USA or at least American brands so the profits come/stay in the US.  Well needless to say I've been awfully disappointed in my Penn's, the designs are outdated and now most are foreign made.  On my last couple of outing I was badly out cast my other passengers with Diawa reels.  After doing a little investigating I've come to the conclusion that this brand gives you a lot for your money but want I can't get strait is what is the difference between the Saltist line of reels and the Sealines?  Can any of you folks care to enlighten me?

The first problem is which Sealines and which Saltists are you refering to. The original Sealines looked and were similar in size the Penn Senator line. Gear ratios 3.6 to one or lower, two bearings, etc. One advantage the Sealines have is they have an aluminum frame and side plates. Very tough reels.  Next comes the "slosh" series of Sealines. Graphite frames, 4 bearings, 6 to 1 gears etc. Great casting reels available in the smaller  20 and 30 sizes holding a bit over 200 yard of 20 or 25 pound line respectively. Next is the Sealine X series, which is similar to the "slosh" series with 3 bearings, graphite frames, a disengaging pinion, and some larger sizes. Has about 15-18 lbs drag. There were Sealine 2 speed lever drags (large) and many other Sealine variations over the years that are no longer produced.

Saltists come in many shapes and sizes. Currently there are 6 series of Saltists listed on the Daiwa web site ( http://daiwa.com/Reel/ ). One star drag series and the rest are lever drag reels, both single speed and two speed. The Saltist have a cast aluminum frame that is powder coated unlike the more expensive Saltiga, which has an anodized machined frame.

There are Sealines and Saltists for many different types of fishing and species of fish. It's hard to compare them without knowing which ones to compare

[alantani]

my big gripe against the saltists is the use of an ambassaduer-style dog.  not a big fan of those. 

[CapeFish]

If you compare say the saltist star drag with the Sealine Sl-SH range, the SL-SH does have the more re-assuring spring loaded anti-reverse, but the saltist has got a lot more cranking power and a stronger drag and the metal frame is great. The SL-SH also has a crumby handle. Line capacity in comparitive models is the same.

You can beef up the SL's drag with carbontex washers though. I am not a fan of the grand wave/Sealine X reels, the disengaging pinion does not exactly blow casting distance out the water and they are a bit on the soft side.

Penn has finally come out of the dark ages though with the introduction of the Fathom star drag and the new torque range. Nice reels, have a look.

[spottybastard]

Thanks for the replies, its has been very illuminating. 

I forgot Diawa has three lines, Sealine, Saltist and Saltiga.  I guess I should have mentioned what I'm currently working with now are 3 Penn Jigmaster 500 (with Tiburon frames), for my basic fishing and a 309m for rockfishing, and two 650SS spinning reels(jigging and flylining), all loaded with power pro spectra.  I also have 6/0 Senator with a Tiburon frame for trolling.  I really looking to replace the jigmasters with something that is at least as strong frame and drag wise (stronger drag wise) and is more castable.  I'm not the greatest caster in the world.

Thank again for the insights!

[CapeFish]

a saltist, saltiga and sl-sh in 50 class will have better drag and casting than a jigmaster. If you want to keep it  American, get the New Penn Torque 40 it should outcast them all and has a super drag and made in the US. I just got a Fathom 40 (made in China version of the Torque), won it as a prize. Took it for a test drive this afternoon. Casting is out of this world, beats a Saltist and SL hands down, I have owned both so can compare.

[basto]

For me, my old Penn Torque 200 has it all. (made in USA too). It has a disengaging pinion gear for super freespool.
It has double ,sprung dogs (the new Torque doesn`t).
It has stainless gears and gear sleeve, a ht100 drag, and a fully machined one piece frame and spool.

This would have to be the most durable star drag reel of all time...and you can find them at discounted prices.

[day0ne]

For me, my old Penn Torque 200 has it all. (made in USA too). It has a disengaging pinion gear for super freespool.
It has double ,sprung dogs (the new Torque doesn`t).
It has stainless gears and gear sleeve, a ht100 drag, and a fully machined one piece frame and spool.

This would have to be the most durable star drag reel of all time...and you can find them at discounted prices.

I like my Torque 100, especially the mag casting brakes. I use it to throw poppers and such to tuna. The torques were a little heavy but tanks