Tell me about older Diawa Alphas, TD and other reels

[montey]

Hi Guys

I have been fishing for ages, but never knew anything of these Alphas, TD, and other more "esoteric" reels that are very well respected. I say esoteric only because I know nothing about them.
Many posts people say that Daiwa moved in the wrong direction with the newer reels.
Tell me what differences you feel make these reels better than newer reels.
I'd be interested in trying one out, if I get some good info as to where to start.
I'd want a good general purpose bass reel. Jigs, t rigs, spinner baits, swimjigs......

thx

[hoohoorjoo]

I'm a huge fan of the original Alphas and TDZ platforms. The USDM TD Sol and TD Fuego reels were based on these platforms, respectively. Daiwa got a lot right with both these reels. They are rock-solid, smooth and dependable. With proper maintenance, they will last practically forever. There are SO MANY spool options for the TDZ that you can do just about any technique with them. The only downside to the TDZ is that you're limited to a 6.3 gear ratio on the top-side. Other gear sets for the TDZ are 5.7 and 5.1. The Alphas/Sol has 5.8, 6.8 and 7.2 gear sets available. The og Steez and Zillion are 2 other old-school platforms that are still relevant and practically bulletproof.

[bronzefly]

I'm a fan of the older TD-Z platform in particular. It was way ahead of its time when it was introduced and is still highly regarded and used by many today. You can go up to a 7:1 in the TD-Z if you use left handed reels through a conversion kit offered by The Tackle Trap. I still have a bunch of them, mostly collectors versions, but a couple that I use regularly as well. If I was going for an older Daiwa, it would be a clean TD-Z.

I don't think Daiwa has been going in the wrong direction with their new reels at all. The Steez CT, Steez SV TW, Steez A in particular are their top 3 low profile reels and are all three spectacular performers. The Zillion SV TW is a great reel, the new Tatula Elite Long Cast, Pitch/Flip, and SV are all really nice reels too. I know some folks don't like the "Tatula" name being used so much, but it's a legacy brand name and it is here to stay.

[LowRange]

A good place to start
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwazilliontws.html

[montey]

I'm a fan of the older TD-Z platform in particular. It was way ahead of its time when it was introduced and is still highly regarded and used by many today. You can go up to a 7:1 in the TD-Z if you use left handed reels through a conversion kit offered by The Tackle Trap. I still have a bunch of them, mostly collectors versions, but a couple that I use regularly as well. If I was going for an older Daiwa, it would be a clean TD-Z.

I don't think Daiwa has been going in the wrong direction with their new reels at all. The Steez CT, Steez SV TW, Steez A in particular are their top 3 low profile reels and are all three spectacular performers. The Zillion SV TW is a great reel, the new Tatula Elite Long Cast, Pitch/Flip, and SV are all really nice reels too. I know some folks don't like the "Tatula" name being used so much, but it's a legacy brand name and it is here to stay.

That's great info! thank you.

[bronzefly]

That's great info! thank you.

You're welcome. I'm glad to help anytime and you're welcome to PM as well of course. I was feeling a bit nostalgic today having just gone through my entire I'ze Factory Personal Order collection one by one for the first time in a long time

[Fishing4Fun]

I am not a fan of any of the newer Daiwa reels. For the money you can’t beat the OGs.

If you want to cover a wide variety of apps get yourself one from each family:

1. Pixy for BFS use with light weights
2. Alphas variant for mag finesse
3. Steez for bottom contact
4. TDZ for all around use
5. Zillion for cranking and resistance baits.

Fish any of these reels for a while and you can see why there is a cult following for all the OG platform reels.

[Cal]

A good place to start
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwazilliontws.html

Thank you

[SSS]

Outside of the Steez TW, i find the tdz/pixy/alphas platform to be better than everything Daiwa has been pumping since the cancerous Tatulas were introduced.

[BigG]

I am not a fan of any of the newer Daiwa reels. For the money you can’t beat the OGs.

If you want to cover a wide variety of apps get yourself one from each family:

1. Pixy for BFS use with light weights
2. Alphas variant for mag finesse
3. Steez for bottom contact
4. TDZ for all around use
5. Zillion for cranking and resistance baits.

Fish any of these reels for a while and you can see why there is a cult following for all the OG platform reels.
[/quote
Ditto for me. Nothing against the new stuff, but got everything like I wanted and don’t see need to change.

[Steffen_82]

There is nothing wrong with the new daiwa reels. Yes they are pricy but so were the OG Steez when they first came out. I love my OG steez and all my Steez SV based on the old platform ( SV 103 TN, SV 103 and the SV 105 ) They are all phenomenal reels that perform awesome out of the box.
However I do love my older Alphas as well. Just picked up a mint Alphas Type R threw a MB BFS Zonda spool in and now have a bfs monster that gave me the chance to put my hedgehog zonda in the shelf.
All in all you cant go wrong with the older Alphas and there are a few spool options out there to go bfs if you want to. I believe the Alphas SV spool fits into the older Alphas platform as well ( someone correct me if I am wrong) the only thing that borderline bothered me is that the Alphas had not spool tension clicker stock but there should be several upgrade kits available.