It's crazy how good these $100 reel are, they are as good as $200 reels 10 years ago

I switched from Shimano to Daiwa a long ago. Shimano reels are usually heavier and always had heavier start up inertia. Exceler is a great reel.

I came into your store last Thursday 4/4/24 (I'm the guy with the walker), I can't remember his name, but I spoke to the tall older guy and he was a great help! I'm 4th generation from Clearwater and I have many high end rod's and reels, as I fish both saltwater and freshwater. On this day I was looking for a two piece rod that I could leave in the front of my Ranger all the time, so I could grab it and jump out at any time I see a lake or pond that I want to try, yet not have to worry about it being stolen if I'm in a store somewhere. I was told that you didn't have any two piece rods, but I ended up buying a Bull Bay 3 pc. travel rod which was perfect for what I needed! He then showed me a Shimano Nasci 1500 and the Diawa Exceler 2500D-XH, I played with both and it took me less than a minute to choose the Exceler. Would I have chose it if I needed it for saltwater? Definitely not, but I used the Exceler and the Bull Bay Travel Rod a lot over the weekend and both performed even better than I expected! Thanks Tailwater Outfitters for your first class service!

Ive beat the crap out of my nasci and it still feels new. Havent regret my purchase once since I bought it

Yesterday, I landed 2 northern pike in the 55cm size on my 2-10g UL rod with Daiwa Exceler LT 1000. It was a great experience

I have always liked shimano over daiwa.Bought a couple of daiwa exceller lt a couple of years ago and i think the daiwa has caught up to shimano.The daiwa is an once or so ligher than the same size shimano.The daiwas also hold more line than the shimanos.But i will say i have shimano reels that are over 20 yrs old and still working good today.

Totally agree with your assessment of the penn fierce IV. Excellent video.

I have the Exceler and Nasci....both great..the Nasci is just a little heavier.  I build my own rods and it's more about balance than weight.

Bought a Shimano Catana 2500 for like 30 dollars. Lasted me over 10 years

First time I’ve heard u talk about penns, keep it up!

Some of the reels I have fished with and still have in great working condition are a DAM Quick and Mitchell 400 and 300. I have a number of Shimano and Diawa reels. I have used the Exceler reels fishing from a boat in saltwater near the Southport, Bald Head Island area for a few years now, and they still work as new. Big Shimano fan, but the Exceler is the best buy of them all.

Maintenance wise.. I'll take nasci all day.
Even against ultegra, stradic and above.

Picked up a Daiwa exceller and I love it!

I have 3 Nascis. They’re great durable reels. Drag is smooth. Certainly isn’t a stradic by any stretch. But for 100 dollars. They make great general use combo reels. I have 2 paired with shimano clarus rods and they’re awesome. We bass fish during the spring summer fall and winter and also do some walleye fishing in the cooler months. They have stood up to everything. They’re still buttery smooth. I haven’t used the exceler. But I chose the shimano over the exceler just based on my prior experience with my other shimano reels.

Aesthetically the Fierce 4 is by far the best option. The looks and the material is making me ro buy this.

My new favorite " budget reel" is the Bass Pro Carbinlite. I think it's the same as the Diawa you showed just white n made by Diawa for bass pro. Light but solid and smooth.
It's a crazy good deal on sale or if your a club member.

I own an exeler,fuego, saltist back bay, and two fierce reels,
I killed my first fuego in six months of surf fishing,(didn’t spray it out once!) but I don’t even blink at the fierce reels ! If it is salted up spay out with wd40 and penn grease everything at every spot! Right back to rough out of the box! That is the best reel for 100$
But the saltist reels are smooth forever ! Like a better fuego!
And yeah I’m hard on everything! But I love it!

Thanks for the good video.
I wonder what a side-by-side break down and see all of the internals would reveal?  It would be nice to see the size of the bearings, what type of material the gears are made of,  how thick all the pieces are, and what is best  for saltwater.
Do you do those types of comparisons?

That’s a solid assessment and your feel for the Shimano NASCI is spot on. It’s in Shimano’s CoreSolid lineup which is more for power than the finesse line known as MagnumLite.

CoreSolid = takes more to start the revolution but it rotates longer

MagnumLite = less effort to start and stop the reel (smoother)

Appreciate your videos, very informative...so quick question, in the Daiwa line its really tough to figure out differences, which one between Regal LT vs Exceler LT? Use is a all rounder in Michigan and some Florida, thank you!!