Daiwa super-tuned one of its legendary baitcasting reels to give you more performance. Solid one-piece aluminum
frame design. Powerful six-point drivetrain support. The Magforce-Z Magnetic Braking System is the most advanced
anti-backlash braking system made today. 11-ball-bearing system (10 ball bearings and one roller bearing). Eight-disc
wet drag with fiber composite and stainless steel washers. Infinite anti-reverse.
I was thinking of buying a Zillion, but the sales guy talked me into this one. I'm sure glad he did. Well made, very little plastic, seriously smooth and powerful. Not the best flipping/pitching reel, but great with frogs, spinners, and crankbaits. I was so impressed I bought two more. I will be buying more of these in the future. They are excellent with the St. Croix Mojo rods!
Have used this reel a few times but haven't hooked up on it yet. Reel is matched with a mh carrot stick and braided line. I've tossed heavier lures, mostly jigs and musky lures with no problems from the reel. I also have used it for tossing light frogs and worms. Reel performs equally well with light or heavy lures. Very little adjusting is necessary. Haven't had any backlashes in several trips. Reel feels great in the hand and is solid. I think it will perform well when a "lunker" blows out of the grass on that frog.
I fish bass tournaments and nothing is harder on rods and reels. I have used Diawa for the last eight years and have nothing but great reviews. They hold up like no other. I still have some TDpro 103's I am still using from 8 years ago. I currently have five of the diawa Advantage reels and for the money you can not go wrong. They are super smooth casting and reeling and have a great backlash control which is handy when throwing light lures. Diawa has hit a home run with this reel.
The spool slaps the inside of the pinion on mine if you don't tighten the spool tension knob enough (it makes a clicking sound and won't cast very far). Admittedly the tension knob is too loose if it does this, but it's still very unsettling on what should be a pretty high end reel. Also, this reel seems to take to too much to get it going, and has not been a good pitching reel for me.
It is VERY smooth on the retrieve, and the swept handle gives you some great leverage. I like how the tension knob and the sideplate screw are both machined aluminum, nice touch. This reel seems to be very well made otherwise.
Maybe I just got a bad one, but I would give this reel 5* if it wasn't for the spool slapping the pinion when the tension knob is a little loose.