New Luvias vs Certate

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flipper502
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New Luvias vs Certate

Post by flipper502 » Tue Aug 16, 2022 2:03 pm

Looking to upgrade the old magnesium Fuego on one of my Drop Shot rods and having a hard time deciding between the Luvias and Certate. I recently picked up a 2000 size Luvias for my crappie rod and that thing is lighter than any spinning reel I have owned. The FC 2500 is only 5 grams heavier. The 2000 doesn't feel as free as my Fuegos when reeling though maybe due to the mag seal?

The Certate being still made in Japan is also tempting. I have a few of the reel 4 era 2500 Certates and they are nice but so heavy that I hardly use them anymore. The MQ LTs seem to be a few ounces lighter but I have never fished one.

Thoughts appreciated.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by DirtyD64 » Tue Aug 16, 2022 3:56 pm

flipper502 wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2022 2:03 pm
Looking to upgrade the old magnesium Fuego on one of my Drop Shot rods and having a hard time deciding between the Luvias and Certate. I recently picked up a 2000 size Luvias for my crappie rod and that thing is lighter than any spinning reel I have owned. The FC 2500 is only 5 grams heavier. The 2000 doesn't feel as free as my Fuegos when reeling though maybe due to the mag seal?

The Certate being still made in Japan is also tempting. I have a few of the reel 4 era 2500 Certates and they are nice but so heavy that I hardly use them anymore. The MQ LTs seem to be a few ounces lighter but I have never fished one.

Thoughts appreciated.
Unfortunately you aren't the first person to say that about the Luvias. I have never personally tried one, but they catch a lot of negativity. The Certate on the other hand I have never seen a bad review and they are regarded as an amazing spinning reel. I personally was tempted by the Luvias a while back but a few people (from all over the web and in person) talked me out of it. Said I would be unimpressed versus a Stradic Ci4+. They also said the Luvias wasn't much better than the non-MQ Ballistic and Tatula spinning reels and that bothered me. A guy on youtube called i_fish didn't favor the Luvias well, and I have always enjoyed his content. I am a big fan of trying something different, would probably go for a Certate while they are still around and can be had for cheap. I noticed you said you owned a Luvias, wasn't trying to down your reel, again I have never had personal experience with one, just saying others scared me away from buying one.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by StymoDe » Tue Aug 16, 2022 6:04 pm

i have 2 Certate LT and almost all Daiwa higher end spinning reels including Luvias Airity, new Exist, Steez type 2. I also own new Stella. IMO Certate LT is right up there against any of those reels performance wise. I don't own Luvias LT but used my friends for a little while on the water. I would say for bass fishing it is a light and nice reel, nothing wrong, I just personally perfect metal body reels these days.

My Certate LT 2500 weights 205gram, but in my hands it doesn't feel much heavier than those in the 170-190 gram range...my 16 Certate weights 215 but noticeably heavier in hand. not sure why, maybe Certain LT has better balance? :big grin:

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by flipper502 » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:44 am

Thanks.

The Certates I have are from 2005 which were quite heavy around 9 ounces for the 2500. I think I will give the new Certate a shot. The 2500 Certate LT will still be lighter than the 2000 series magnesium Fuego I have on there. At the time I thought that reel was so light. Most all of my tackle is early 2000's vintage.

The new Luvias is not a bad reel. The weight pairs up nicely with the 2 ounce JDM rod it's on which was primary reason I purchased. None of the reels I had felt right on that rod.

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Thunderblack1984
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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by Thunderblack1984 » Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:37 am

I have owned Luvias, tatula LT, Kage, and Ballistic LT MQ. I know its not the Certate but the Ballistic MQ is something to keep in mind too. Its a killer reel!
Philippians 4:6

flipper502
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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by flipper502 » Wed Aug 17, 2022 12:00 pm

Thanks. Looking at the Ballistic specs it's similar to Luvias but with Zaion V body and a little heavier.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by DirtyD64 » Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:43 am

Thunderblack1984 wrote:
Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:37 am
I have owned Luvias, tatula LT, Kage, and Ballistic LT MQ. I know its not the Certate but the Ballistic MQ is something to keep in mind too. Its a killer reel!
See I assumed the Luvias and Ballistic MQ were close to the identical. I still would be interested in a Luvias honestly, but the Certate isn't much more cost wise now. $70-80 is worth all that aluminum in my opinion. There is also a Kage MQ, right?

I just ended up with another 6'6" Light spinning rod from a warranty and actually considered building another panfish setup since the bass fishing has been so bad. A 2500 Ballistic MQ would work, they just hold so much extra line, not sure why they don't make high speed versions of the smaller sizes, I would assume that hurts their sales in the US.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by ss30378 » Thu Aug 18, 2022 7:27 am

The Kage MQ is a luvias with a different color scheme. I had the luvias and now I have 3 of the new caldia reels which are the jdm equivalent of the ballistic MQ. The caldia is a great bang for the buck, a bit heavier than the luvias but great on most bass rods.

My main issue with the luvias was the lack of parts availability. Daiwa doesn't offer a lot of parts in the luvias line for purchase which for me as someone who likes to tinker with reels is a no go. The caldia even though it's a newer model than the luvias has all parts available to purchase.

Comparing the luvias to something like the vanford I believe the luvias is a higher tiered reel. It is smoother in both retrieve and drag and just felt higher end. The caldia is super smooth as well but isn't quite as airy feeling as the luvias. I'll be testing the 3000 size caldia on speckled trout at the end of next month and see how it handles the salt. The 1000s and 2500s have done great with bass and a few other side catches.

The certate is an awesome reel, a bit heavier but would be perfect on a longer rod. If I was fishing salt more often or after some larger species I'd pony up the bit extra and get the aluminum frame.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by flipper502 » Thu Aug 18, 2022 4:46 pm

I went with a 2500 Certate since currently it seems like a better value. I do already have a few Certates in that size that I don't use but they are first gen and the 9.4 oz is a deal breaker on a light dropshot setup. The new Certate is actually a bit lighter than the old 2000 series magnesium Fuego I have on the rod currently and that seems to balance ok.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by Dan B » Fri Aug 19, 2022 2:59 pm

Certate 100%
Fantastic reel
Certate and Vanquish are my top two for high end bang for buck… as you go higher the price gets bigger and the features become less of a difference.

Vanquish should be another one you’re looking at too with JDM prices being where they are.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by Kurt L » Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:45 pm

You made a great choice with the Certate, it's my favorite of the MQ reels. I have 3 Luvias, 4 Certates and a Luvias Airty. and a 2500 in each model and I would take the Certate over the Airty all day. FYI the JDM Luvias MQ is a steal for the money and I think got a black eye by a lot of internet hero's that lacked experience to review a reel correctly, I_Fish (I like him )now uses his a lot and likes it but never revised his review that first slammed it! FWIW my 5.1:1, 2500 is much much lighter turning than my 6.1:1, 2000! My Luvias have been excellent.

It sounds like there will be a 23 Certate MQ soon, I'm tempted to buy another 19, 2500 just in case they screw the new model up :D the 19's are so damn good, Diawa got that one right!

Kurt

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by DirtyD64 » Sat Aug 20, 2022 4:24 am

Kurt L wrote:
Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:45 pm
You made a great choice with the Certate, it's my favorite of the MQ reels. I have 3 Luvias, 4 Certates and a Luvias Airty. and a 2500 in each model and I would take the Certate over the Airty all day. FYI the JDM Luvias MQ is a steal for the money and I think got a black eye by a lot of internet hero's that lacked experience to review a reel correctly, I_Fish (I like him )now uses his a lot and likes it but never revised his review that first slammed it! FWIW my 5.1:1, 2500 is much much lighter turning than my 6.1:1, 2000! My Luvias have been excellent.

It sounds like there will be a 23 Certate MQ soon, I'm tempted to buy another 19, 2500 just in case they screw the new model up :D the 19's are so damn good, Diawa got that one right!

Kurt
I feel bad cause I mentioned all the negativity when really I was close to trying one myself. I think the worst thing for me about the Luvias is that the Certate is so highly regarded and only costs about $70 more at the moment. Aluminum almost everywhere versus Zaion would be worth it for me for only $70.

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Re: New Luvias vs Certate

Post by flipper502 » Mon Aug 22, 2022 8:48 am

After fishing with the Certate MQ and Luvias MQ, I think the Luvias is right up there with the Certate. The Certate is slightly more refined with a little better tolerances in the handle while the Luvias makes up for it being so much lighter. The slight resistance from the mag seal that the Youtubers complain about in these reels is fading away with a little use.

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