Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

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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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Thenewrick » Thu May 25, 2023 7:56 am

I wasn't particularly chasing the best price. I bought a rod from this vendor before called JDMtackleheaven. It all went fairly smoothly.

I don't go cheap generally. I'm just trying to get the best reel and I just thought it was what I was getting. But now I'm having difficulty with the vendor.

I never tried to go cheap to begin with. I am buying a top of the line reel after all.

I'm just so confused at this point.

Is there any way to figure out what I actually bought? What I added to my cart is different from what's in my order confirmation. And beyond that there's so many variants with the same model number it seems. I feel like I could be getting anything at this point. It's so bizarre. Why don't they just use model numbers that have identical parts between them? :x :?
Last edited by Thenewrick on Thu May 25, 2023 7:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Cal » Thu May 25, 2023 7:58 am

Well, hopefully it will work out. :)
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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Thenewrick » Thu May 25, 2023 8:04 am

Is it true that JDM Steez CT SV don't get the hyperdrive gears and other upgrades and still use the old 2016 era reels?

Any Daiwa JDM experts out there? Why would they update USA models and not JDM ones?

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Thu May 25, 2023 8:09 am

Thenewrick wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 7:56 am
I wasn't particularly chasing the best price. I bought a rod from this vendor before called JDMtackleheaven. It all went fairly smoothly.

I don't go cheap generally. I'm just trying to get the best reel and I just thought it was what I was getting. But now I'm having difficulty with the vendor.

I never tried to go cheap to begin with. I am buying a top of the line reel after all.

I'm just so confused at this point.

Is there any way to figure out what I actually bought? What I added to my cart is different from what's in my order confirmation. And beyond that there's so many variants with the same model number it seems. I feel like I could be getting anything at this point. It's so bizarre. Why don't they just use model numbers that have identical parts between them? :x :?
I gotta agree with Gary on this one. Ordering from Japan has many advantages. It does take responsibility from the customer to thoroughly know what they are getting when clicking "Add to Cart". There is also an inherent gamble with any order from Japan. Some companies less of a gamble than others.

Warranty. Most people who buy gear from Japan assume the risk of having to fix the reel themselves if something goes wrong.

The Executive Service Program seems like a fair insurance.

My time with the Steez CT had me lean the reel being more of a finesse reel. I'd go 1/2oz tops and wouldn't put the reel in a position to have to hammer fish home. Most open water techniques. The benefits of such a light reel and that shallow SV spool dwindle when put into heavy demand situations. Kinda like buying a Lambo to tow the boat.
IG @hobie_wan_kenobi_fishing

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Thenewrick » Thu May 25, 2023 8:51 am

I know it's meant for light lures but I'm not sure what's marketing and what's reality.

I don't need long spools because I cast light lures. I plan to cast a 1/4 frog with it mostly and that type of stuff.

People say, get the heavier reel for that but why? Will my gears legitimately shatter because it's meant for smaller fish that don't bury into weeds?

I guess I'm trying to differentiate assumptions from reality. Is a sv lightweight reel really more likely to break fighting a fish out of cover?

If no, then I'd much rather have the further casting, lighter reel.

It's like when people say they like good ol fashion full steel cars that weigh 5000 lbs because they're safer than these new fangled 3000 lb cars when in reality the lighter cars are actually much stronger and more rigid and safe.

I can't tell what is folklore and what is reality with this stuff.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Cal » Thu May 25, 2023 8:58 am

Thenewrick wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 8:51 am
People say, get the heavier reel for that but why? Will my gears legitimately shatter because it's meant for smaller fish that don't bury into weeds?

...

If no, then I'd much rather have the further casting, lighter reel.
You fit right in... welcome to TackleTour :lol:

For me, it's always about line capacity. As long as you can get enough of the line you want to use, spooled onto the reel, all the techniques are fair game.
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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by LowRange » Thu May 25, 2023 9:02 am

Thenewrick wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 8:04 am
Is it true that JDM Steez CT SV don't get the hyperdrive gears and other upgrades and still use the old 2016 era reels?

Any Daiwa JDM experts out there? Why would they update USA models and not JDM ones?
The Steez CT 70 has the modern gears all the new Daiwas have. It was the 1st to get them as a flagship reel. The 2019 Steez CT 70 has the new style gears whether they call them hyper or not. They are not the same gears found in the 2016 Steez TW SV. I wouldn't be surprised if they were identical to hyper gears and that they didn't bother to make up the hyperdrive meme name until the new Zillion. In either case the Alphas, Zillion and Steez CT 70 all share the same gear compatibility. They all have the same "generation" or current generation of gear as far as I am concerned and the JDM Steez CT 70 was the 1st to get them and while they may or may not actually be "hyper drive" they are current modern Daiwa gears.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Thenewrick » Thu May 25, 2023 9:07 am

LowRange wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 9:02 am
Thenewrick wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 8:04 am
Is it true that JDM Steez CT SV don't get the hyperdrive gears and other upgrades and still use the old 2016 era reels?

Any Daiwa JDM experts out there? Why would they update USA models and not JDM ones?
The Steez CT 70 has the modern gears all the new Daiwas have. It was the 1st to get them as a flagship reel. The 2019 Steez CT 70 has the new style gears whether they call them hyper or not. They are not the same gears found in the 2016 Steez TW SV. I wouldn't be surprised if they were identical to hyper gears and that they didn't bother to make up the hyperdrive meme name until the new Zillion. In either case the Alphas, Zillion and Steez CT 70 all share the same gear compatibility. They all have the same "generation" or current generation of gear as far as I am concerned and the JDM Steez CT 70 was the 1st to get them and while they may or may not actually be "hyper drive" they are current modern Daiwa gears.
That is reassuring to hear. It's contrary to Daiwa's marketing though. Their press release says the USDM gets all new tech but who knows.

Really turns me off to Daiwa a lot.

Coming from 2 Pfleuger and 2 Shimano reels I'm kinda regretting even learning about Daiwa now.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by LowRange » Thu May 25, 2023 9:17 am

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Last edited by LowRange on Thu May 25, 2023 9:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by LowRange » Thu May 25, 2023 9:17 am

Thenewrick wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 9:07 am
LowRange wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 9:02 am
Thenewrick wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 8:04 am
Is it true that JDM Steez CT SV don't get the hyperdrive gears and other upgrades and still use the old 2016 era reels?

Any Daiwa JDM experts out there? Why would they update USA models and not JDM ones?
The Steez CT 70 has the modern gears all the new Daiwas have. It was the 1st to get them as a flagship reel. The 2019 Steez CT 70 has the new style gears whether they call them hyper or not. They are not the same gears found in the 2016 Steez TW SV. I wouldn't be surprised if they were identical to hyper gears and that they didn't bother to make up the hyperdrive meme name until the new Zillion. In either case the Alphas, Zillion and Steez CT 70 all share the same gear compatibility. They all have the same "generation" or current generation of gear as far as I am concerned and the JDM Steez CT 70 was the 1st to get them and while they may or may not actually be "hyper drive" they are current modern Daiwa gears.
That is reassuring to hear. It's contrary to Daiwa's marketing though. Their press release says the USDM gets all new tech but who knows.

Really turns me off to Daiwa a lot.

Coming from 2 Pfleuger and 2 Shimano reels I'm kinda regretting even learning about Daiwa now.
Here is a comparison of the non hyper drive gear Steez and the hyper drive Steez LTD. Gears. Skip to 17:48. https://youtu.be/8nDRDvoFHl8

If there are differences its not even visible to the human eye. Also ignore Daiwa US. Consider them a separate entity that puts out fase information as a hobby.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Thenewrick » Thu May 25, 2023 9:25 am

This is the video that made me go with the JDM version.

But the video refers to it as a Limited and not the 700. So that's why I get so confused.

At this point I'm kinda over it. If they refund me, okay I'll get the USA one. If they don't okay I'll use the JDM one and try to find a bigger handle.

I'm going to take my frustration out on the reel when I get it. Froggin all day, hookin 20 lb bowfin and just cranking that handle hard. Let's see what Daiwa is made of. Trial by fire. If it can't handle the heat I'll probably stick with Shimano going forward.

Currently I have no fishing gear set up.

My light spinning setup broke a leader at the hook so I ordered higher test and waiting on it to arrive.
My medium spinning setup is waiting on the same leader, it's a new Shimano Stella paired with a Triza Ahega.. the rod doesn't feel quite right so I need time on the water with it. But waiting on the same leader.
My light baitcaster slapped a nearby tree on the cast today and backlashed the entire spool ruining it. Waiting on more line to respool with something stronger just incase.
My heavy baitcaster rod broke on a bowfin last time fishing and USPS lost my replacement rod so no ETA on that.
And now waiting to sort out this new JDM reel ordering fiasco.

So I basically have 3-4 fishing rigs all out of commission in some form or another. So no fishing for me for probably 5 days or so. Just a bunch of half rigged gear laying around. Meh

I was able to catch 2 on a wacky rig before the tree incident. That feels like a cheat code lure to me. I'm going to try and not use it as much and try expert hardmode lures for my ponds like lipless cranks, topwater spooks, frogs and stuff like that.

The ETA on the Aliexpress reel is 15 days so nothing will be resolved any time soon for my Daiwa situation.

I spend so much many and so many hours setting up and researching gear :crying:

I swear I'm the most unlucky fisherman ever. I'll catch fish. But I'll break a hell of a lot of stuff in the process. I try so hard to be careful too. It's uncanny. I'm just an ogre trying to finesse fish in tight risky spots on a bank. Recipe for disaster.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Bigfella123 » Thu May 25, 2023 4:46 pm

LowRange wrote:
Thu May 25, 2023 9:02 am
They all have the same "generation" or current generation of gear as far as I am concerned and the JDM Steez CT 70 was the 1st to get them and while they may or may not actually be "hyper drive" they are current modern Daiwa gears.
I don't think this is true, the linked forum has a guy who was a beta tester for the US version and says the gears are different (meaning the JDM version does not have the hyper drive gears), and lasting better for him.https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishi ... v-tw-70xh/

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by DirtyD64 » Fri May 26, 2023 2:50 am

I am a bit confused... You are wanting this reel in the 6.3 ratio but use it for frogs and heavy cover? With the 30mm spool, the line recovery is going to be like a low 5 gear. Only recovers 59cm per turn, or around 23.2 inches. That is going to be a VERY VERY slow recovery rate to use for anything other than cranks or what not. I would be more worried about that than the smoothness or reel failing. It will hold up, and I doubt the gears would flat out fail. Even the issues with Metaniums getting buzzy just caused a less smooth feeling, most on here will tell you the reel still worked, just felt rougher.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Thenewrick » Fri May 26, 2023 6:18 am

Yes I know most people prefer ultra fast gearing for frogging but for me it’s more about torque and feeling solid. Getting a good rotation without fumbling and quickly winching them out of cover. I feel like 6:1 is still a fast ratio. Maybe I just don’t have enough experience. But when I used my 8.5:1 reel frogging it felt like it just wasn’t stable or strong enough to crank the fish out of cover. Like it was meant for high speed and not torque and I really wanted more torque. Maybe it’s something that I’m not getting right or my experiences are different than other peoples.

I’m typically just trying to winch them as soon as the hook set lands to prevent them from burying themself deep in lily pads. Where the high speed reel seems to fumble and struggle with big fish immediately being yanked I think the high torque low gearing will get them initially up and out of heavy cover or if they do get buried it can winch them more easily.

Maybe I’m just weird. I’ve gone from a high speed gear reel to the same reel in low gearing and it just felt way more smooth and controlled to me. Like I suddenly became much stronger and the reel wasn’t working as hard to bring in big fish. I like that feeling of torque and solidity.

But I could just be wrong.

I can’t tell what’s real and what’s like traditional with fishing. Like people say get a heavy duty reel with ultra high gearing and big spools for frogging and I’m like hmm I feel like I’d rather have a super light reel, with low gearing, and a shallow spool for longer distance casts. And I might be wrong I don’t know.

When I had a high speed reel it felt like my lure had a 10 Lb fish on it trying to reel it in and it was just like 2 oz of grass. I didn’t like that feeling at all.

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Re: Daiwa Experts SOS! Bought a JDM Steez CT SV TW700 and think I made a mistake. USDM differences?

Post by Thenewrick » Fri May 26, 2023 9:30 am

The vendor was willing to change my order to the 700H lower gear ratio version without penalty fee. I'll give it a shot. No hyperdrive gears. Oh well.

I just hope it fishes well and the Aliexpress handle fits and feels good. I'll know in a couple weeks I reckon.

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