Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Reels are the hottest topic for TackleTour. Everyone wants to know what the latest and greatest is and how they compare to the old guard. What's the best for light stuff, or what's your suggestion for heavy cover. Do we really need different retrieve ratios? It's all in here.
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Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by BelDozer » Fri Jan 17, 2020 7:19 am

Morning all!

I’m curious to hear any opinions between these two reels. I have a couple zillion SV tws and I absolutely love them. Are the elites that close to the performance of the zillions that it justifies the $50 price difference? Or for the money, should I just go a head and pick up another zillion sv? It would be used as mainly a GP reel for jerkbaits, finesse spinnerbaits, shakey heads ect. Thanks!

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by hoohoorjoo » Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:17 am

The Taula Elite is a much more comfortable reel. It is smaller in hand and sits lower in the reel seat than the Zillion SV TW, which is the same frame as the Tat CT. The Elite is virtually the same frame as the Steez A, which is very compact. I sold all my Zillion SV TW in favor of the 2019 Tatula TTU 100 reels(same frame as Tat Elite). They can be had for half the price and perform excellent for me. In my opinion, the only thing gained with the Zillion is the 34mm spool interchangeability.
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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by BelDozer » Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:40 pm

Yeah, I guess I’m trying to figure out what market diawa is shooting for with the elite line of reels... On one hand, if I’m looking for something to just chuck-n-reel, than I’d be more inclined to buy a tat 100. If I’m throwing lighter baits, I want a more refined reel with better control. In which case, I’d be looking at the zillion.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by hoohoorjoo » Fri Jan 17, 2020 2:39 pm

Daiwa doesn't even know what market they are targeting. I think they are shooting for total market saturation with the Tatula name. It's gotten a bit old tbh, though I'm a fan of the 2019 Tatula myself.
Try not to let your mind wander. It is much too small to be outside unsupervised.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by MaxZmus » Sun Jan 19, 2020 2:26 pm

hoohoorjoo wrote:
Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:17 am
The Taula Elite is a much more comfortable reel. It is smaller in hand and sits lower in the reel seat than the Zillion SV TW, which is the same frame as the Tat CT. The Elite is virtually the same frame as the Steez A, which is very compact. I sold all my Zillion SV TW in favor of the 2019 Tatula TTU 100 reels(same frame as Tat Elite). They can be had for half the price and perform excellent for me. In my opinion, the only thing gained with the Zillion is the 34mm spool interchangeability.

In your opinion, do the Tatula Elites(long spool shaft)perform as well as the Zillion SVs(short spool shaft). Or did you make the jump to sell off your Zillions mainly based on comfort of the new Tats?
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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by hoohoorjoo » Sun Jan 19, 2020 6:33 pm

The 34mm spool is nice due to all the available spools, but the standard 2019 Tatula is 90% of the Zillion SV performance from 5/16 and up, so the Taula Elite is, by all accounts, a better caster than the Standard Tatula. I'm looking at practicality here, and we on TT don't always take that into account when the tackle money crawls on our backs. I have had to step back lately and evaluate what I spend. My wife and I have begun to help various charitable organizations like homeless feeding programs and training facilities for men who are released from prison, so I am trying to be a little wiser in my spending habits. I still have some nice gear, but I have also went with some older reels like TDZ's and TDX airmetals in lieu of costlier models. The performance is still there in those reels, and the Tatulas have surprised me, as well. If the Tatulas fail me at some point, I'll be the first to let you guys know, because I don't want to steer anyone here wrong. Due to this, I have noticed the law of diminishing returns much more....hence the selling off of the Zillion SV's, a couple of Steez CT's and some other pricier reels. The 2019 Tatula can be had for under $100 on that auction site now, and the Zillion SV just plain doesn't perform twice as well, especially when the Tatula is more comfortable in hand, to boot.
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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by M Perry » Thu Feb 13, 2020 3:07 pm

You can get the best of both worlds with the 2020 Tatula SV. Absolutely loving mine.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by hoohoorjoo » Thu Feb 13, 2020 3:17 pm

M Perry wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 3:07 pm
You can get the best of both worlds with the 2020 Tatula SV. Absolutely loving mine.
That's a nice reel, but with a 32mm spool, line capacity becomes an issue if using heavier mono/flouro. That's not a problem for me personally, because I use straight braid 99% of the time.
Try not to let your mind wander. It is much too small to be outside unsupervised.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by HobeyBaker » Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:10 pm

I'm with boohoorjoo on this. All but two of my casting rods have Tatula 100s. I have sold off Mets, Bantams, Steez A, and a Steez SVTW. There's just not much of a difference to justify the difference in price.

Spinning reels on the other hand are a different story. I feel like there's a noticeable difference between Stradic CI4/Tatula Lis and Certate/Exists.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by daiwafan » Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:50 pm

If you like the Tatula 100 give the Elite long cast a try. I know it's more money but the lighter spool and aluminum sideplate are worth the price of admission. I put a couple bearings on the levelwind and I swear that thing is smooth as silk and will definitely outcast a 100.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by HobeyBaker » Thu Feb 13, 2020 7:09 pm

I was thinking about getting one of those for a cranking reel. You might have sold it on me.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by johnD » Fri Feb 14, 2020 6:15 pm

I have a Elite long cast. I'm getting a couple more ft over the og Tat Sv with the same bait. Nothing earth shattering. Both reels have stock spool bearings flushed and lubed with yellow rocket fuel.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by HobeyBaker » Wed Feb 19, 2020 5:24 am

The Tatula Elite came in the mail yesterday. First impression is that it feels almost like the Steez A in hand. It doesn’t have the plasticy feel of the 100. The gears feel like they are super dry. I’ll need to crack it open prior to the season and put grease on the gears.

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by Johnny A » Wed Feb 19, 2020 5:47 am

Just had to check something based upon lurking on the topic, the RR. Even the 8.1:1 is only 33.9”/turn. Compare to Zillion 1516 XXH 9.1:1 40”/turn

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Re: Tat Elite vs Zillion SV

Post by johnD » Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:00 am

HobeyBaker wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 5:24 am
The Tatula Elite came in the mail yesterday. First impression is that it feels almost like the Steez A in hand. It doesn’t have the plasticy feel of the 100. The gears feel like they are super dry. I’ll need to crack it open prior to the season and put grease on the gears.
I wish someone could convince Daiwa to grease the gears from the factory.
I opened my Elite and the gears were completely dry.
It also has a bearing in it or something that doesn't feel right , I can feel a ticking , and it's not on every cast , which is odd.

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