TackleTour

Lots of talk about the Zillion1000, and that's the reason i got it, for how smooth everyone is saying this thing is, so i can't wait to test it when it arrives. What is the smoothest stock Daiwa reel that you've ever used (under load of course)?

Easily the J Dream.. EASILY

My Daiwa line up only consists of Tatulas. My original Tatula SV is one of the smoothest reels I own. It’s as smooth as my Bantams, Met DC, and Metanium Bs. The new 2020 Tatula Sv is lighter but has a hollow feel, regardless I still love it. I’ll eventually add a new Zillion 1000 Sv TW, it sounds like a winner.

The Steez CT has to be in the mix for me. I'm putting in more time with the new 21 Zillion G SV TW, but so far, those brass hyper drive gears are very impressive.

TD Zillion in Megabass IP68 flavor

Steez CT.

I have a tuned TDZ that is crazy smooth.

The Alphas CT SV is also up there.

Steez CT.

I've had both the JDM and USDM zillion 1000 and I think the JDM is a touch smoother than the USDM myself. The USDM may stay smoother longer but I've never had an issue with daiwa aluminum gears.

Smoothest Daiwa is a loaded question. My definition of smooth means I feel nothing when retrieving with or without load. I'm not talking about the amount of resistance since that varies based on gear ratio spool size and handle length and so on.

But based on the above definition my top smoothest reels are (not necessarily in order):

-Alphas Air TW 8.6
-Steez CT 8.1
-Alphas SV TW with Steez CT 8.1 gears
-JDM Zillion 1000 8.5
-OG Zillion PE special 6.3
-Millionaire CT 7.2

All of these are smooth to the point you look down to make sure the spool is actually spinning.

Haven't compared reels. As far as I know the used Alphas ito 103-Ai I picked up several years ago is stock. First time I used it my initial thought was "This reel is like snot on ice."

It tends to get blurry when people start talking about smooth, connected, etc. It's subjective imo, as everyone can have a different interpretation of what this means and feels like. My idea of smooth would come from some of the older Zillion models as people have already mentioned. Even the TD Advantage was smooth as butter, but it had zero connected feeling.

Pluton... Exist LT... Current Zillion

Ryoga 1520

TDX 103HVA


There's a reason Denny Brauer won the classic on them and Tak still uses a bunch of them.

TDZ 100HA over a decade old with countless fish caught and better than all of the new Daiwa's I've bought. All I've had to replace were the side plate bearing and the drag washer aside from routine cleaning.

The Millionaire CT SV 70 is definitely up there in my mind