$1000 Saltiga Is Great. DON'T Buy It (Full Review)

This $1000 Daiwa Saltiga Saltwater Spinning reel is great! A 2020 Daiwa Saltiga Review made by a fisherman for fisherman. I conduct a full fisherman's review of the hugely popular new 2020 Daiwa Saltiga a truly impressive spinning reel. This thorough reel review of the Daiwa Saltiga Includes:
-Testing of Daiwa's Specifications claims, such as the Saltiga Max Drag Capabilities and casting performance.
-A component by component breakdown of the parts inside the Daiwa Saltiga. (Saltiga Teardown video possible in the future)
-Real fishing experience with the Daiwa Saltiga over a 6 month period.

Buckle up boys, this is going to be a review of one of the best saltwater spinning reels ever made.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Video Contents ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

00:00 - Is a Daiwa Saltiga Worth the Money?
00:58 - Daiwa Saltiga Max Drag Test?
02:59 - How far does a Saltiga Cast?
03:47 - Is the Saltiga Spool Improved?
04:10 - Fighting big fish on a Saltiga
06:03 - How heavy is Daiwa Saltiga?
06:26 - Is the MONOCOQUE (MQ) Body good?
08:05 - How smooth is a Saltiga
08:40 - Does the Saltiga have a backup anti-reverse?
09:12 - What is the Saltiga drag made of?
11:18 - Is the Daiwa Saltiga fully Sealed?
12:07 - Saltiga Line Roller mag seal
12:40 - Saltiga Rotor Material and weight
13:58 - Is a Magsealed reel good?
14:33 - Saltiga Handle
15:10 - Daiwa Saltiga Main Gear material
16:06 - Saltiga Oscillation System
17:15 - New vs Old Saltiga
18:04 - Saltiga Warranty and Service Info
19:05 - Is a Saltiga Worth it?

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Sources/References ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
►Alan Hawk's Saltiga Review:
►Brooksy's Saltiga Review:
►Daiwa USA Saltiga Info:

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►My Most Recommended Big Spinning Reel
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►My Go-to Lure for Saltwater
►Great Flats Lure:

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!

[RyanMorie]

Information I either forgot to add or elected to remover to shorten the vid:

1. The Saltiga Spool has a hardened lip that is present to prevent scratches and dings. Those scratches and dings would possibly fray your line as it comes off the spool during a cast. A great feature, however, I’ve never really had a problem with my spool fraying my braid in cheaper reels. (Even the really beat up ones.)

2. I’ve noticed that after a few trips surf fishing my line roller was collecting extra fine sand in the tiny groove inside the roller itself. I thoroughly rinse my gear after every trip so this fine sand/salt deposits were adhering even after some fresh water blasting. A soft bristled tooth brush easily cleaned this up. Theoretically that sand/salt could have frayed my braid, so definitely something to look out for.

3. The old Daiwa Saltiga (JDM and USA models) Had severe issues with their finish/paint. Salt deposits would accumulate in certain areas and “bubble” the finish. Not something you want in any high end reel, let alone a $1000 one. This new Saltiga seems to have greatly improved the finishes, much of the reel is anodized, and overall better finished than its predecessors. Worth noting though, my Saltiga already has a good deal of scratches. Mainly this is because I’m pretty abusive to my gear, and I would say that it’s not scratching less or more than other high-end spinners I have owned.

4. I believe this to be true, (read it on multiple online forums) although I haven’t tested it: The Medium Saltigas, (8000, 10000, 14000) and the Large Saltigas (18000, 20000) Share some parts with each other making parts interchangeable. Drag Caps and Handle knobs should be useable on all sizes. Spools and handle stems should be interchangeable within each respective class. (Example: you can put an 8000 spool on a 14000, but not on an 18000.) (Example 2: You could swap handle stems from a 18000 to a 20000)

5. My Wish list for the Saltiga (Hope you’re reading this @DaiwaUSA). I would love some more customization available for high end reels like the Saltiga. Obviously this incurs more cost, but, being able to order a custom silver and blue Saltiga, and elect to have either an egg or ball handle would be amazing! Doing this like a year after the reel’s initial release and charging like an extra $100-$200 USD for a custom reel, would be something I believe to be totally feasible.

6. What else did I miss? Comment on this thread 👇

[Sunbum]

Very eloquent and knowledgeable. Just what I'd expect from a UF engineering grad. Seriously, your vids are definitely a cut above almost everything else on YouTube and they just keep getting better and better. Always look forward to seeing the latest ones.

[NorthFloridaSaltwaterFishing]

Came over to your channel from Landshark. Beyond impressed with the quality of your videos. Just started my channel up here in North Florida. I am still at the beginning of my learning curve with shooting video and editing. Your channel has set a benchmark for me to shoot for. You have another subscriber 👍

[eves]

Great review Ryan! Like anything in fishing, the Saltiga is a reel for a specific purpose.

[jimquantic]

Here is ONE thing probably worth mentioning, I have not seen this myself but heard it from Alan Hawk. First, as many know, he is very detail oriented yet explains up front "I don't know how they do this", but if you have ever had a fish that pulls hard, that when you drop the rod to create slack to recover line--and it does NOT work as the fish is pulling soooo hard, all that is left is to winch the fish, NOT using the rod, but the reel itself as a winch. In THAT case, this reel apparently holds the balance so well, that on any other reel, you could not budge the fish, but with this reel, it seems you can--somehow. Again, I don't know, just repeating what I read.

[reynelsonmartin]

Great review Ryan I bought my son a 14000 on his birthday this year and he loves it when gets to out on the boat! I also got him a last year Stella 8000 and I gave him a Certate 4000 which I loved, and a Penn Slammer 3 so he’s fished with 3 brands and loves them all! It just depends what kind of fishing he’s doing. On the boat he loves the 8000 & 14000 then on the beach or low rock ledges the 4000 & Slammer with 10-14 foot poles!👍

[saleen]

The expedition and dogfight were some of the best looking reels ever made. Why don't they make them anymore?!

[jwaddy]

This is the best reel review I’ve ever seen I love your work 🙌

[CarterStambelos]

Im a stella guy and second i got to van stal but the saltiga is still a good reel very well put together video earned my sub

[jamesh]

Why am I just finding your channel?!? Love the technicality as a fellow engineer (as the other comments say you are), and I’m about to go binge the rest of your vids

[lonelyboi]

Thanks for your video I was debating should I get the Saltiga spinning 2020. I use both spinning and conventional. After hearing your opinion about the reel I will definitely get one. I'm a kind of guy that like good reels or like to own one and test them out myself. $1000 is probably the most expensive reel I will pay for =). I like to collect reels myself. Hopefully you can make more videos like this. I like Daiwa, Penn and Avet reels.

[ChefKhanhFishing]

I have stellar and saltiga, all very good reel and feeling better when used the top reel model. You can fishing with any reel but only different feelings and enjoy. That is life, that is your toys . You pay what you have.

[taoufikalaoui]

hey budd love the video
what kind of rod, name using for the max drag ?

[cagdasaslan]

Hi! Share your thoughts on the Saltiga 2025 as well?

[Lemurai]

I borrowed one from my friend to take on a trip to the Red Sea for black GT, I beat it up a bit for him, it was a great reel, it has no quit in it, it pairs brilliantly with a Zenaq rod, & extremely mediocre with midrange priced rods, I think mainly because the reel is is a bit too much for a low end rod in the heat of action. On avg I tell people who want to step up their game, without breaking the bank to go with either a Daiwa MQ saltist or for a bit more a shimano twin power. You definitely can’t go wrong with the latter, they can land some big GT’s as well, but an 8k MQ will still get smoked a bit fighting pelagics. I’ve played around with a lot of brands/sizes on the water and the Saltiga line is one of the best out there. Like all of us, it’s just all in what you want. Can’t wait to go to Africa & mess around with those big nile perch & hopefully a Goliath Tigerfish(not likely but hopeful)

[darki_lures]

Hey Ryan, can you tell somthing about the new Saltiga 23 Version ? Thy for your content always great

[borealisfishing]

Great review! Good job 👌 Probably worth it if you know you are going to use it a lot

[brentkobayashi]

I don’t know about reviews but I’d love to see some kind of video about upgrades like if I’m fishing with Walmart gear what should I upgrade first? Is should I get a nice rod and put the cheaper reel I have already on it or should I get a nicer reel and put it on the Walmart rod? That kind of thing would be nice. I’m trying to get more in to fishing but don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on gear. Another think would A good idea to buy used reels? And if so what to look for condition wise. Love you vids man keep it up! Hopefully one of these days I run into you out there, tight lines brotha 🎣

[urmailingalen]

You should try out the Okuma Makaira spinner. IMO the best reel ever made and I don’t even like Okuma but they knocked it out the park with this beast.

[lukegavigan]

Hey Ryan. When you were fishing down in Tropic star lodge were you throwing the 14k saltiga or the 10k