Buyer beware: Team Diawa TD Pro spinning reel...

[Skyler]

As some of you may know, I picked one of these up to ride on my St. Croix wacky style. Well, after less than a month of use, it is now back home at BPS. It started getting scratchy after a few trips, and started to make a horrible noise with the anti-reverse off. I took it back, and picked up one of these bad boys. Far better piece overall. More bearings, better worm drive, stainless gears, all metal, and has a saltwater rating. Only downside is no spare spool...

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/478382021msk.htm

Hopefully this one will hold its own.

[tacklejunkie]

Did you use it in the surf?
The salt will do a number on reels real quick.
I turned an OK sahara into a serious coffee grinder with one dunk in a wave. Didn't matter how much I cleaned it and polished the gears, it has been a "scratcher" ever since

Everything I bought has been arb or crbb since then, and even some sealed stuff.
My Sol can handle a dunk in the salt if I rinse 'er out real good when I get home.

[Skyler]

Did you use it in the surf?
The salt will do a number on reels real quick.
I turned an OK sahara into a serious coffee grinder with one dunk in a wave. Didn't matter how much I cleaned it and polished the gears, it has been a "scratcher" ever since

Everything I bought has been arb or crbb since then, and even some sealed stuff.
My Sol can handle a dunk in the salt if I rinse 'er out real good when I get home.

What's up, Casey? I did use it at NPH off the dock, and for about an hour off the bolsa chica rocks, and an hour at the talbert canal, but it didn't get dunked or anything, and I made sure to keep sand out of it. It was spotless when I reurned it. The outer bearings in it were supposed to be super crbb anyways, so something obviously wasn't right. The grindage seemed to be coming from the gearbox itself. If you cranked slowly enough, you could feel where it would "stop." Once you turned off the antireverse and reeled backwards, you could hear a weird clicking noise, and it actually sounded like something was loose when you shook it.

I hear you on the post-fishing rinse thing. I don't even wait to get home. I usually hit my reels and guides with the showers right there at the beach. I've used my Okuma Epixor in the surf for the last year, and it is still twice as smooth as that diawa was after only a few trips to freshwater. My Diawa regal is still smooth after being dunked like ten times in the salt too. I think I may have just got a defective reel, but I still like the new Affinity a bit better anyways. I'll let you know how it works out. It is certainly of higher quality IMO. The sealed drag is especially nice. Anyways, later.

[Vman]

As some of you may know, I picked one of these up to ride on my St. Croix wacky style. Well, after less than a month of use, it is now back home at BPS. It started getting scratchy after a few trips, and started to make a horrible noise with the anti-reverse off. I took it back, and picked up one of these bad boys. Far better piece overall. More bearings, better worm drive, stainless gears, all metal, and has a saltwater rating. Only downside is no spare spool...

http://www.boatersworld.com/product/478382021msk.htm
.

That is a common complaint with Daiwa 's Exceler and various similar models. I 've been interested in that new reel that you just bought but have too many Shimano reels in that size. I think they made by the same people that make them for Ryobi, which are only sold oversea in Asia. I like the all metal construction and simple but attractive body design.