Anyone have some time on the new Alphas 800

[SSS]

Would've gotten one if they kept a 33mm spool diameter so i could swap spools with the og alphas.

Spool diameter is a moot point, since the spool is narrower than the og Alphas spool, as well.

I guess that as well, yea. I really am not a fan of Daiwa going sub 33mm for a general purpose reel. I feel like 33-34mm is perfect. If its a finnesse/bfs reel, that's fine, but i don't want a tiny spool for a platform that can/should handle heavier baits.

[ss30378]

I have 3 of the alphas 800s.

One which I've had since they were first released I turned into a "power bfs" reel. I added steez ct gears and clicking drag and a roro spool, weighs 5.7oz and is about as smooth as it gets. The gears/clicking drag were an easy swap and the reel has been solid after 100s of fish and pretty long fights since i use 6lb line with the drag set with as much as I can get away with.

My other two which are stock 7.1 and 8.1 gears have held up nicely. The only mod I've done to these is I added 90mm zillion handles to both. Casting vs the 30mm ct spool is the ct spool starts quicker but the 32mm is no slouch. If you want laser flat short range trajectory the 30mm ct spool is tough to beat especially with light lures but the 32mm does very well with 3/16 on up to about 1/2oz. Past that I prefer the 34mm zillion spool. Distance is like other sv spools, it's not as choked as the ss sv, but closer if not a bit more free than the original alphas sv/sv105. It does great all around, gets good distance and it's easy to adjust for windy conditions. Just don't expect to be bombing across the lake with it.

Palming vs the new zillion which I also have, the alphas is much smaller feeling in hand. Other than a few angular differences the outside dimensions match the steez ct. It's very small.

Adding drag pressure could be done with adding a larger surface area drag washer as stated above or a larger drag star to tighten things down a bit more but I haven't had the need for anymore.

[MeatHead]

How would the Alphas handle light inshore work? I've been thinking of selling one of my Tatula sv's and upgrading. Had thought of another new Zillion, but the price of the Alphas has me very interested. Would be used with either 20lb braid or 12lb fluoro for speckled trout and flounder, so not much drag pulling unless I manage to hook into a big redfish.

[hoohoorjoo]

How would the Alphas handle light inshore work? I've been thinking of selling one of my Tatula sv's and upgrading. Had thought of another new Zillion, but the price of the Alphas has me very interested. Would be used with either 20lb braid or 12lb fluoro for speckled trout and flounder, so not much drag pulling unless I manage to hook into a big redfish.

I think it would be great for that. The drag was flawless when I caught that ~6# bass on 20# braid. It never stuttered or stuck when the fish took drag, so I was able to land her pretty quickly.

[Freddie]

How does this reel do with the RORO spool for 3-6 gram baits?

[ss30378]

How does this reel do with the RORO spool for 3-6 gram baits?

That's right in the wheelhouse for the spool, I run 6lb line with my 3.6g 3" senkos mostly but it does great with that range of lures. It's a very controlled fixed inductor spool that had a great combo of control and distance with easy startup.

[MeatHead]

How would the Alphas handle light inshore work? I've been thinking of selling one of my Tatula sv's and upgrading. Had thought of another new Zillion, but the price of the Alphas has me very interested. Would be used with either 20lb braid or 12lb fluoro for speckled trout and flounder, so not much drag pulling unless I manage to hook into a big redfish.

I think it would be great for that. The drag was flawless when I caught that ~6# bass on 20# braid. It never stuttered or stuck when the fish took drag, so I was able to land her pretty quickly.

Appreciate the reply. Looks like I'll be making my first venture into the JDM waters very soon!

[chreim20]

I just got my Alphas and I'm very impressed with it. It's probably the best palming Daiwa reel I've ever owned. I think it palms much better than the new zillion, kind reminds me of a smaller 16 metanium. It's a lot of reel for the price they are going for right now.

[hoohoorjoo]

How would the Alphas handle light inshore work? I've been thinking of selling one of my Tatula sv's and upgrading. Had thought of another new Zillion, but the price of the Alphas has me very interested. Would be used with either 20lb braid or 12lb fluoro for speckled trout and flounder, so not much drag pulling unless I manage to hook into a big redfish.

I think it would be great for that. The drag was flawless when I caught that ~6# bass on 20# braid. It never stuttered or stuck when the fish took drag, so I was able to land her pretty quickly.

Appreciate the reply. Looks like I'll be making my first venture into the JDM waters very soon!

The Alphas 800 is also saltwater-rated, so it should serve your intended purpose very well.

[montey]

Thanks for all the relies people. I am waiting to sell some of my reels and want to pick one or two Alphas.
I think they are beautiful looking reels. I have three Zillion 1000 that are fantastic, and I am interested in the smaller platform.

[nossuc242]

Just snatched one and it palms very well. Holds enough 50lb PP MC to do 90% of all Bass applications. Might have to replace all the OG Core50 with this if it casts decent.

[hoohoorjoo]

Just snatched one and it palms very well. Holds enough 50lb PP MC to do 90% of all Bass applications. Might have to replace all the OG Core50 with this if it casts decent.

I would suggest flushing the spool bearings. I was disappointed in the casting distance....until a flush and relube. The reel seems to cast more freely and further every time I use it now. The bearings were absolutely packed with grease.

[DirtyD64]

Just snatched one and it palms very well. Holds enough 50lb PP MC to do 90% of all Bass applications. Might have to replace all the OG Core50 with this if it casts decent.

I would suggest flushing the spool bearings.i was disappointed in the casting distance....until a flush and relube. The reel seems to cast more freely and further every time I use it now the bearings were absolutely packed with grease.

I second this, my spool bearings weren't packed too bad, but the reel itself was crazy greased. When I first unboxed it and turned the dial to 0 for a handle spin it would barely move. Not a big deal, I appreciate the grease for protection, but it will sometimes give you a tight feel (and destroy distance if on spool bearings).

[LowRange]

Got mine in today. What a tiny little reel. That tiny handle and knobs got to go. Smoothness is good. I can hear a slight raspyness when spinning the handle but that will never be heard on the water and it is smooth and fluid cranking under load. That SV spool has a super strong braking profile with the flick test. It seems much stronger than my Alphas SVs which is fine becuse I got it as a close in bottom contact and skipping reel. If I was casting weightless plastics on open water I would for sure be doing a Ray's inductor swap. I did that to on of my old Alphas SV spools and that thing would cast off over a half spool of 10# flouro with a weightless super fluke. For a jig skipping reel I think I will be very happy.

[KP Duty]

Sweet. I'm ordering a pair when payday comes.