23 Exist SF (Super Finesse)

[Cranky]

The new lightweight, light(ish) line king?

If you own a 22 Exist you pretty much know what to expect with additional weight reduction and reduced inertia. Certainly goes head to head with the 23 Vanquish with pluses and minuses between the two in the ultra-lightweight top tier.

SF2500SS with a Steez Real Control 68MH clocks in at 228grams with full line and Fuji hook keeper. Held 145M of #0.6 PE with a 2-layer skim of 5# mono backing. I was skeptical of the 150M/0.6 capacity rating but game on.

[dragon1]

Damn THAT'S HAWT!

And just incredible at ~ 8.0 oz!

[torm]

I'm on the fence with this and the vanquish. I heard this reel is very similar to it except the cost. Wanna get it for ul fishing panfish and maybe super finesse bass fishing.

[Cranky]

I think it would just come down to personal preference here. It’s clearly the top tier Daiwa reel but there’s no wrong choice between the two.

For me I would buy another SF before anything else, it’s very impressive… and if I’m doing the kind of fishing where I’m only bringing one spinning reel, right now it’s a SF too. It’s everything I loved about the standard Exist but even more refined (even lighter, even lower winding resistance, etc)

[tackleNbass]

Is this reel as smooth as the 2022 exist? I read a few comments that they rotate rougher than the normal 22 exist but find that hard to believe.

[Cranky]

The SF has lower winding resistance and is as smooth as the standard size. It’s possible someone can get a slightly rougher reel in any Daiwa model by random chance.

[tackleNbass]

Good to know. I might grab one and give it a shot. Thanks

[ras]

The SF has lower winding resistance and is as smooth as the standard size. It’s possible someone can get a slightly rougher reel in any Daiwa model by random chance.

WRT winding resistance, can you compare it to Steez Type I or 18 Exist FC?

[Cranky]

Lower than those too. They took sort of the same finesse concepts from the 18 FC (plus some very clever new concepts) but it’s using all the updated 22 model technology, which is more refined than the 18 to begin with.

[ras]

Thanks. That's a pretty high bar to clear. I've been eyeing 2000SS-P to join my Steez and Presso Ltd for area fishing.

[ras]

Picked up SF 2000SS-P. Very low starting and stopping inertia, lower than that of 19 Vanquish 1000SSSPG or C2000SSS (use them as reference because I have amazing copies of both). Very impressive. Winding resistance is on par with the Vanquish. As smooth as 22 Exist LT in that size, though just like 22 Exist LT it is not necessarily the smoothest reel out there (not really a negative, it's just hard to beat the normal or power gear Stella in C2000/1000 size). Excellent reel.