I went to my local tackle shop today while at the NJ shore and inquired about the Saltist reel that they had in stock, one the shelves, and altogether in my hands. I went looking for the 4500 size. So here is my analysis of that model. Picture is 6500. I wanted to give my honest opinion on the way it felt and some pro's cons about my experience holding the 4500, 5000, & 6500 size spinning reel. FIRST Impression: -Lightweight -Graphite feel, due to the matte black color of the frame -Powerful, muscular feel of the handle arm and its connection to the reel -Compact First Inspection: -I immediately un-winded the drag knob to take off the spool and look at the shaft and drag stack. I went for the cap and to my realization and surprise I found the knob to be "graphite" and "cheap" but lightweight. -I also notice an "o-ring" installed running along the underside of the knob. There was no hiding it, and I knew it was there to "seal" the drag from the top end. -I looked at the shaft and to my dismay couldn't find a bearing on the shaft. -I looked up the bottom end of the spool and wondered how the bottom half of the drag was sealed. -Digi gear and spool cup alike the saltiga's was sitting on the shaft. I was happy to see that similarity. -I was told there was an additional washer that came with the reel to ensure a customized line-lay much like the washers Shimano includes as extras in the box. Second Inspection: -Following the spool I locked the drag down and took a chance to turn the spool. I noticed the spool fits snug and there is minimal side-play or rocking of the spool while dialed down. Third Inspection: -Handle knob and bail arm have one thing in common. Handle Knob has a cheap medium-soft plastic feel. The knob seemed "bearing-less". -Bail arm seemed like it was plastic but I'm sure is "graphite". There are plastic pieces on the outer-side of both bail arms. The bail arm seemed "saragosa" grade. -Handle ARM felt great. Felt like a true one-piece design like the Saltiga. The power of such a design was felt as soon as I made some revolutions. -Bail arm is certainly of the Saltiga following. I liked it. It felt strong and stylish. "Unbreakable" Cosmetic Appearance: -The "blue" or "teal" looks alot better in person as some of you have mentioned that online or in pictures it looks awefull. I find that I actually like the blue. It's subtle enough and seems like it fits. -This is a low-key looking reel. Black itself makes it low key, however the matte finish gives it another appeal. Whether making it look "light" like graphite, or whatever, the matte makes it feel rugged. It's not the bling that attracts your eye to this reel, its the opposite effect. Detract the pro's and con's out of my initial impression. I think there are some great things coming along with this line. We will certainly know soon enough. For $209.00 retail, the 4500 has 22lb drag that would be more than enough for the usage you may want in this range spinner. No, not for tuna... but for anything else. Enoch
Kev, Thanks for taking the time to read it. I suppose it will help those people that are actually interested in a possible purchase.
enoch - ive played with it and done the same things you did as well. in the end of the day, how would you say it compares to a saragosa? i'm interested to see what you thought
I was with Enoch during this tackle show trip and soon after that we did some Tog fishing. I agree with Enoch on the observations and will add my own. As far as the color goes, the blue is indeed much better in person and not so "teal" looking. The handle would be a prime candidate for and after market supplier. As our conversation continued later that day on the drive to the fishing site we had a discussion of engineering materials. And the bottom line is I do not feel the graphite used in the bail arm would pose much of a problem due to the stresses on it would be all tension (and not compression). As far as "cheap" is concerned I disagree because the reel is designed to fit a two hundred dollar price point and for that class of reel, the materials used are on par if not exceeded. Like the Saragosa I am sure it will handle the occasional large Tuna or AJ. Looks like Daiwa borrowed a few concepts from the higher end class Saltiga line to the Saltist such as the beefy bail, the tappered spool, and the solid all metal body construction. Personally I prefer the more subtle looks of this reel, its not too flashy nor does it appear to pretend to be more than a solid saltwater budget reel. It fished within its capabilities it should be a solid performer. P.S. Another thing I noticed was how well greased the reel was. While we were taking it apart I noticed every potential friction point had some thick grease on it. It was lubed and ready to go. Regards, Ty
bret - I dont have a real comparison between the saragosa and this reel because I haven't got the chance to fight with it. The bail action of the Saltist seems more crisp. I feel more confident when using the bail arm. I'm pretty confident on using the Saragosa because I have fought good tuna on it. I'd say I'm less confident in the Saltist drag setup/cap then I am the Saragosa. But remember we had a problem with the Saragosa cap when the reels first released? Saltist is truly Digi Gear and so I feel it will translate to awesome power when fighting. Overall I think the reel embodies the Saltiga line's "power feel". this is just my opinion.
Hello All! This would be my first post on this forum, but I've been lurking for awhile now. Joined because I'm starting to spark a real interest in offshore fishing! I've read all the reviews because I've just ordered one (Saltist 6500) from Tackle Direct. But I'm wondering how much different is it than the Exceler 6500? I haven't ever handled one before, but the two of them seem identical except for the bail and the color. Any opinions?
Welcome to the forum! I thought about the same question. There are some other threads that talk about this comparison with the exceler. The difference is bail arm, paintjob, weight, and 1 bearing I believe. Well. . . did you research it before buying the Saltist online?
Today at The Borgota show I spent a lot of time in the Diawa booth - it cost me I have two of each 5000,6000,6500 saltists on the way - looks great for the price. Entry level for sure but I like it and it lets more people get into the game and they can certainly upgrade later. I have 4 Dogfights coming in Tuesday of next week - can't wait to try them out on Bluefin! Also took 4 of the Saltiga 20s, and 30T's - sweet Also bought the line of Electric reels for Tile and Sword deep dropping.
Welcome to the forum! I thought about the same question. There are some other threads that talk about this comparison with the exceler. The difference is bail arm, paintjob, weight, and 1 bearing I believe. Well. . . did you research it before buying the Saltist online? Thankyou Enoch! Yes I did what research I could do online, however limited it was. Since nobody's really had a chance to really test it, there wasn't much available. I'm hoping to put it to the test sometime this month. We'll see...
I did a good job yesterday beating this reel up on the surf and rocks It didnt seem to have much problems with being washed up in saltwater. I was getting 4 foot waves at times crashing the end of the jetty and at one time, me, my gear, and the reel were drenched. The reel did keep on spinning and I was happy to say that "drags were sealed". I was particularily happy with the way that it casted. It seemed like the spool would lay line perfectly in a concave up dimension. This is due to Daiwa's design of how the spool and shaft washers build are placed. I recon my reel isnt as durable to sand as my vanstaal was years ago. I did have problems with sand entering the spool and in the coupling. I'm sending it back to Daiwa to get re-lubed. They seem to do a great job at lubing this particular reel. Out of the box, it was ready to go. No fish on this one yet.
I did a good job yesterday beating this reel up on the surf and rocks It didnt seem to have much problems with being washed up in saltwater. I was getting 4 foot waves at times crashing the end of the jetty and at one time, me, my gear, and the reel were drenched. The reel did keep on spinning and I was happy to say that "drags were sealed". I was particularily happy with the way that it casted. It seemed like the spool would lay line perfectly in a concave up dimension. This is due to Daiwa's design of how the spool and shaft washers build are placed. I recon my reel isnt as durable to sand as my vanstaal was years ago. I did have problems with sand entering the spool and in the coupling. I'm sending it back to Daiwa to get re-lubed. They seem to do a great job at lubing this particular reel. Out of the box, it was ready to go. No fish on this one yet. ive always like the way daiwa spinners cast. all of my daiwas including surf reels(sealine x and grand wave z's) have held up well with the salt and i always dunk my reels when in the surf. low maintenance and no worries. all run smooth as they did out of the box
Hello to all, this is my first post. I'm wondering what's the difference between the Seagate (JDM), Saltist and Exceler. Beside the gear ratio, basically is only the number of bearings on it? I don't think so, the Seagate price is almost the twice of the Exceler, and as far as I know, JDM reel have a better quality (see the Stella's example). So my questions is, why the Seagate is much more expensive? Is it a better reel (material, quality, etc.....) Thanks in advance Henrique
Good job of spotting that Satkunas The seagate looks nicer and if you look at the pics closely it also has the removable engine plates as oposed to the saltist. Largest size only appears to be the 4500 listed on some Jap retailers. I was going to get both the 4500 and 6500 saltists one released here but now I think I will go the 4500 segate and the 6500 saltist. The segate looks to be better value in Jap then the 4500 saltist will be here locally too
Personally I hate the anti-reverse switch, more stuff to break and allow saltwater to enter the reel. The Seagate spool has also some holes on it. Like other JDM products, they care a little bit more about quality..... Maybe someone who has both can give us a better option. I will get the Seagate next month for jigging.........for casting I'm in doubt between the Seagate H version or Saltist 4500. Looking further for more comments.
