This is a test post/poll to check if polling works on live, but we can treat this as a bit of fun if you like.
I may have missed a manufacturer or two but like I say, just a test thread.

Polls are another Premium feature (to create a poll) but any member can vote on it

Anything other than shimano is inferior 😁😎😐😜

In reply to Post #2
I have almost always gone Shimano based on their reputation for gearing. Everybody I knew wanted Shimano gears on their mountain bikes etc
I have a set of the first ever Basias, used them for maybe a season, then bought some second hand Shimano big pits and the clutch on the Shimanos was so much better. I rarely dust off the (OLD) Basias now.

That said I have heard high praise of Daiwa in more recent years. I've had a little fondle with some at the shows and one or two of them do feel nice, so never say never 😉

After reading on here about Penn being nice and smooth I considered getting a couple for my Pike setup

I haven't owned a lot of reels, Mitchell 300Ss to 6010s, sold up late 90s, started again and bought 6000GTEs., then blue Emblems Zs for a bigger water.
The 6000GTEs are 26 years old, used, abused and still working as they should,, only ever cleaned the line rollers. Two are on my barbel rods.
Bought a pair of SS2600s for my light rod fishing, somewhat disappointed with the huge 'retro' step backwards until I converted the caps to QD and fitted carbontex washers. Bought two more and still use them for everything.else.

Bought Ultegra 5500 XTBs 2009-ish...did everything they were supposed to but somehow fell short of expectations.
It was only a matter of months before I hated them..on the rods for a couple of years and they've been in the loft since.
Regreted selling the Zs straight away, I should have got shot of the XTBs ASAP and bought 5000Ts.
Not as if I couldn't of afforded them at the time.
But by then I'd reverted to 2.5 test rods and SS2600s .with a Z5000A on a 3.5 SP as distance back-up.

Was briefly tempted by some Technium 10000XTs at a very good price..in 2011😂..just didn't like the handles..still don't like Shimano handles
IF I was to tackle the clubs bigger water I'd dig out the XTBs but irrespective of advancements my heart would still be set on some 5000Ts.

Ive always thought the gearing is best in Shimano but the aesthetics of Diawa are harder wearing.

Carp reels Daiwa. My spinning/lure reels shimano. My fav all time reel are abu suverans.

I've gone Daiwa simply on hours used but I'm equally happy with Shimano.

I've got a soft spot for Mitchell's, especially the ottomatics, and 1958 boomerangs,anti reverse ..

I've had my Titanos xsa 4500 for a long time ,bought 2nd hand ,I oil the port now and then, and clean them regularly..

think my next set will be Penns ,poss the rivals 6000

I use basias I’m on my 2nd set now absolutely love them, I have had shims in the past but never the high end 1s so can’t compare, I did have a pair of esp reels on my 9ft quickdraws and for the money they were brilliant reels

Used shimanos since the early seaspin baitrunners, currently use the xta med baitrunners Ci4 for carp fishing.
Have recently retired my old 6000 gte baitrunners, used for spring tench fishing, and river piking, replaced with okuma pulzar 6000, vv impressed!

I favour Daiwa for carp and coarse however use Shimano exclusively for lure and spod/marker work.
I have no real reasoning behind this, the reels from each manufacturer just 'feel right' to me in those situations.

LOL. Where have all the Okuma fan boys gone?

In reply to Post #12
Still here, for the money i really don’t think Okumas can be beaten at the moment.
But Shimano then Daiwa are still king. Just have to have slightly deeper pockets.

Daiwas are for fishing - Shimano is for cycling / spandex fetish wearing / shouting at other road users at the weekends

Love my basia customs saved hard for them last me for years to come

In reply to Post #14
😂

In reply to Post #14
😂

If Shimano used Daiwa folding handles, they'd be perfect . I still prefer them. I do own several Daiwa reels ,as well as an obscene amount of Shimano. I also have a set of Okuma 8k, which are excellent.

In reply to Post #18
I prefer the Daiwa 45mm spool shape over the Shimano 14000 spool shape, purely on aesthetics. Also like the Daiwa folding handles (only for setup/packup reasons, not for trying to fit 3 rods onto a ridiculously narrow buzzer bar reasons lol. Another reason is I find the super slow oscillation on the Shimano reels far too slow and makes it a pain to get the handles to end up where you want them (anywhere upwards and backwards is good enough for me) whilst also having the spool fully retracted. The Daiwa SCW is a lot slower than it used to be, but is still way faster and easier to work with than the Shimano super slow oscillation in my opinion.

I always had a problem with the line going under the spool with shimanos, quite possibly user error tho 😂

In reply to Post #20
In my early days, I encountered the same issues.
Switched to daiwa and never looked back. My baboons are doing their job for over the last 10+years now.