Brand Loyalty?

[MK49]

I bought my first baitcasting reel in 1980. It was the first low profile baitcaster from Daiwa, if I remember correctly.



Since then, 95% of reels that I've bought were Daiwa. I bought a few Shimano and Abu Garcia, but everything else was Daiwa.

My first baitcaster was about $100, which was a lot for a 10yrs old boy. I spent a month to decide if I should buy a Daiwa or a Shimano, which was also their first low profile baitcaster. Then, my fishing buddy bought a Shimano, and I didn't want to buy the same reel. That's why I bought the Daiwa. I'm pretty sure I'm a Shimano guy, if my friend bought a Daiwa, then. I just thought about it tonight, and I thought it's kinda funny how it went. I have no regret, though.

[Cal]

Unless you're getting money back from Daiwa each time you buy a reel, I think you mean "loyalty"

[Dalleinf]

Unless you're getting money back from Daiwa each time you buy a reel, I think you mean "loyalty"

…would be nice

I see no reason to be “loyal” to a brand.
Get what you need, want, like, can afford…

[hoohoorjoo]

I fish Daiwa because the braking system likes my casting style. It works for me, but I think Shimano makes a great product. Just my 2c.

[SSS]

Prefer daiwa because of spool swaps, no need of any internal adjustments, lots of limited reels that don't look silver/black/red accents and they have more better looking frames than Shimano.

[DarkShadow]

I bought what I could afford back in the day. Had some issues with some brands, and came across Shimano mid end products and they performed flawlessly with all the abuse I gave them as a kid.

When I could finally buy something high end, stuck with Shimano.

"Don't fix what's not broken" or something.

[tincanary]

Kinda.

[godshippy]

First baitcaster I ever purchased was the first gen Abu Revo SX. Goodness...it took a couple weeks and 3-4 hours each day to really figure it out. Second baitcaster I bought was the Shimano Curado 200E7--it was returned because I didn't like how loose it felt. There was some handle play and it just didn't feel as solid. Ended up getting a gen 1 Revo STX.

Eventually ended up buying another Curado 200E7 and found it was more consistent and not as squirrely as the Revos. Bought some more Curados and then the Chronarch 100D7 was introduced and went all in on those.

Dabbled with some of the OG Zillions and Sol but they were never really my fancy. I have a few Tatulas that I've purchased over the years that I got insane deals on that don't really see much use.

Then the Zillion SV TW G...this reel is the deal. I have 6 of them now and they are just fantastic. I really don't see myself moving on from these guys and they have replaced my beloved Chronarchs now.

[MK49]

Unless you're getting money back from Daiwa each time you buy a reel, I think you mean "loyalty"

Corrected.

[MK49]

Prefer daiwa because of spool swaps, no need of any internal adjustments, lots of limited reels that don't look silver/black/red accents and they have more better looking frames than Shimano.

That's right. I have more than a few extra spools. And, a cool thing is the same spool can be used with TD-Z and Steez. So, I didn't need to waste a few extra spools that I bought for TD-Z, when I started using Steez.

[dragon1]

First reel I ever fished was my dad's massive Daiwa SW spinning reel, the silver one below the black & gold...before then it was my grandmother's sewing thread tied to small garden worms catching minnows and then monofilament tied to pieces of shrimp bait catching blue crab and small fish in the rocks in Galveston TX. None of these had any influence of a brand moving forward.

My first reels purchased with my own money were cheapo off brand OEMs (Sportfisher and others I can't recall) from Sears and Kmart, etc., that just got me by...then my dad bought me a Zebco 6010 spinning reel, the gold one that Tom Mann popularized, and that reel was responsible for lots of my young days of bass fishing success, paired with a Berkeley Cherry Wood spinning rod...then I added a Quantum Q20(?) Spinner IIRC, it was black and gold and had a massive rear drag dial. I paired that to a Berkely Lightning Rod 6'0" MH and it was my beef stick and was responsible for my first 6lb bass caught May 1995 trolling from a canoe (that a somewhat friend named Brad was paddling) right before sunset off of the rock dam on Hayden lake in Boulder CO. I was using 10lb Trilene XL and a Bomber 7A in fall crawdad.

After I started working at age 13, I was able to feed my wants to toys better (BB guns to bikes, knives, flashlights, tackle boxes) and by 14 I had a paper route and was also selling paper subscriptions three times a week. This allowed me to save for my first into "big boy bass fishing combo" which was circa 1986 when I ordered my first BC combo via mail catalog from Bass Pro...it was like $69.99, a Daiwa HT1000 and BPS Pro Comp 6'0" medium glass composite pistol grip BC rod. I learned everything I could about how to baitcast with that combo, and gleaned as much info about crankbaits, topwaters, spinnerbaits, t-rigs from Outdoor Life and Filed and Stream. I did get my first high end spinning reel that never broke or failed on me...it was a beautiful burgundy red Daiwa spinner with a push button release spool and Autocast trigger and rear drag, a long with picking up one of the Zebco/Abu Cardinal (6?) spinners of that time as well that I gifted to my dad.

I then moved to California in 1987 and really refined and fishing techs and got into higher end gear there...I upped to Daiwa Procasters with Daiwa Glass pistol grip rods, added a Shimano Baitrunner to a Daiwa Powermesh spinning rod for baiting stripers on the Delta, and Shimano Chronarch A and Calcutta 250 with GLoomis GL3 and IMX rods. Added a beautiful dark blue Daiwa spinning reel (with a rear digital readout for retrieve speed that was on the back of the reel stem) to a Shimano Fightin' Rod, paired an Abu Pro Max 5600 to a Shimano Canis 7'0" Heavy flipping stick...good stuff.

Anyway, I digress and really miss the good old days...and I'm not brand loyal per se, I am product and needs focused and then I make sure it matches my budget and ability at the time.

So long as I get to really escape and enjoy this wonderful pastime while my body, mind, and soul are still cognizant and functional.

[Oktayne the Red]

It's more brand "trust" for me, and over the years the list of brands I trust has grown and a couple have fallen off the list. Lost faith in modern Penn and Ambassadors mostly. I still have, use, and love some older stuff from both of them though. I've also picked up Quantum and Okuma spinners that are cool.

Shimano or Daiwa, doesn't matter to me. Neither would be where they are if they made crap. It's just more Ford vs Chevy, McD's vs BK, Coke vs Pepsi nonsense.

It's Shimano, Daiwa, Accurate, Avet, and some old Penn and Ambassador stuff. I don't really need anything that list doesn't provide, and not a lot of interest in anything else. Where's that leave me loyalty wise?

[Dalleinf]

It's more brand "trust" for me, and over the years the list of brands I trust has grown and a couple have fallen off the list. Lost faith in modern Penn and Ambassadors mostly. I still have, use, and love some older stuff from both of them though. I've also picked up Quantum and Okuma spinners that are cool.

Shimano or Daiwa, doesn't matter to me. Neither would be where they are if they made crap. It's just more Ford vs Chevy, McD's vs BK, Coke vs Pepsi nonsense.

It's Shimano, Daiwa, Accurate, Avet, and some old Penn and Ambassador stuff. I don't really need anything that list doesn't provide, and not a lot of interest in anything else. Where's that leave me loyalty wise?

Sensible and promiscuous

[Junk Fisherman]

It's more brand "trust" for me, and over the years the list of brands I trust has grown and a couple have fallen off the list.

Great point. I have primarily Daiwa reels because they have proven to be high performers and reliable over the years. I have had a few Shimano reels over the years and they have been excellent as well. Definitely it is trusting a brand moreso than being loyal. I'm not sponsored by anyone. I buy the best item that fits my needs at the price I'm willing to pay.

[slipperybob]

It was also be partial to brand familiarity. After you get used to a few certain models, you either grow to appreciate it or just find something really annoying about it.

When I was young, I coveted Pflueger but had to settle on the cheaper counterpart of Shakespeare. I grew on Shakespeare spinning reels and yeah, I bought a new one almost every other year because they get worn out. I did also had Quantum, Diawa and some Shimano cheap spinning reels about $50 price range. By chance I saw a Shimano Stradic 4000FG on sale for clearance and bought the last two the local tackle shop had for $100 each. As a matter of fact it sat there for nearly two months and since no one bought it, I finally did so. After using them and they were so amazing. For one thing for sure was line management and winching power. I notice the subtle differences in casting accuracy and control. After using these reels, I never say to another person who's got a more expensive reel that it will not outperform the cheaper reels, cuz they really does outperform in so many ways. The most important thing about this particular model was that I used it hard for nearly 15 years and used it occasionally another five years with them binding up in the rain. I've only recently retired them a few years ago and replaced with a Stradic 5000FL and Twin Power 5000FD.