Tatula HD vs tatula Custom Review

[Ali]

The large capacity Tatula series reels have quickly become a favorite for a lot of fishermen throwing glide baits and wanting a 6:1 or even 7:1 gear ratio reel. I should start by noting that these reels are not compatible with the standard Tatula series, i.e. you can not simply swap spools and have the larger capacity.

 

 

Pros:

The reels are very smooth and that probably has a lot to do with the high bearing count.

They have a ton of drag so you can lock the down quite a bit.

They are fairly light at around 8 oz. and are a joy to cast all day especially if you are used to reels like the Pluton that weigh 50% more that these.

The T-Wing system allows you to cast a mile with these things. I mean complete freespool. If you suck at casting like I do, put this in the "Cons" section because the first few backlashes were brutal.

 

Cons:

They are all plastic inside which means that they are fine for bass fishing but I probably wouldn't take them out for anything that is going to put a lot of stress on the reel or the frame.

A lot of aluminum inside also. Strength on Aluminum is not great so see above as to what this should be used for.

Single drag washer. This equates to a "skippy" drag under a lot of load. That means that the drag will not be smooth for 8lbs and up. I verified this.

The T-Wing system has a very narrow line guide which will not let knots through. So if you fish with a braid/leader combo, you have to make sure that your leader is outside the line guide.

Made in Thailand (both JDM and USDM). People like their Japanese reels made in Japan so this may be a con for many people.

 

Now, there are two different versions of this reel out there: The USDM Tatula HD and the JDM Tatula Custom.

 

 

On to the comparison between the two. Originally I was under the impression that the only real difference was cosmetic. Turns out that this is not true.

 

 

The star drag on the Tatula HD is Zaion which I really don't like. Can't tell you why, I just prefer a metal drag knob. The Zaion makes it feel cheep and plastic.

But that's not the only difference. The whole system is different. The Custom uses the traditional JDM standard of the drag knob tightening the drag where as in the USDM version there is a spring loaded system over a nut that is tightened by the knob. Coincidentally, this is the opposite of how the Shimano Conquest vs TE were setup. Go figure. One more thing to note, the nut on the HD is your standard nut that fits over the spindle but the Custom uses the screw type nut that actually threads into the spindle. One thing I couldn't understand is why then have a threaded spindle? Nothing threads into it.

 

The cosmetics on the Custom are pretty nice. I won't lie. I like the red (7.3:1) or gold (6.3:1). Also the knobs are rounded and anodized and thus look better in my opinion.

The Custom also has some porting on the hood. Not sure how much weight it saves since both weighed in at around 8.1 oz.

 

Handle is exactly the same with the only difference being that the HD is silver and the Custom is black.

 

The T-Wing system on the HD is silver and the Custom's is gold. I couldn't tell if there was a material difference between the two but the literature leads you to believe that the Custom has a slicker finish than the HD's line guide. I noticed no difference in casting since the T-Wing system gets out of the way when you are casting anyway.

 

Onto the guts:

 

 

First off, the bearings are different. Typically the JDM reels make use of nicer bearings. I am not sure if this is the case with these reels but they definitely are different. Bearing count is the same.

 

The gears are swappable and so are the spools between the Custom and HD. Only add thing was that with the HD there was a red drag washer underneath where as the JDM version had a ring style drag washer with a plastic insert in between. I didn't notice one being better than the other with my pull tests. In other words, they both are not that great unless you want to lock down your drag and prevent any slippage. Then they are great.

 

The Custom is also easier to reassemble if that matters to you. That spring loaded drag knob business is always a pain to deal with

 

Price:

Tatula Custom: $229

Tatula HD: $199

 

-Ali

[Austen]

Great review Ali !

 

as for the the threaded spindle, dam engineers

[ILIKEBIGBAITS]

Awesome Ali, I picked up a ne. HD Custom for 180 off fleabay so I'm excited to use it on my smaller bait rod... should be nice for hudd68s And rising sons.

[JTSwimbaitMan]

Great review. Ive been looking for a new swimbait reel and this told me just which one I should get, thanks man.

[YELOSUB]

Being that I switched over to all Daiwa Tatula reels (except my one Pixy Type-R) about 6 months ago or so I love your write up...I used to throw nothing but Shimano products but since the switch I am extremely happy with my Daiwa products using Tatula series reels and Tatula rods...For swimbaits, I'm currently using the Lexa 300's so this write up has me thinking I should try out the HD series...Thanks for a very informative review on these (2) reels...Tim

[Top Ramen]

I have been using a regular Tatula on my 795 and both my punch rods. After one season, I love them. They cast a mile and have given me no issues at all.

 

The biggest fish I have caught using one (so far) is a 23lb striper. It made four long runs, pulling drag, and took several minutes to get in the yak but the reel handled it just fine.

 

 

 

 

My only 'complaint' is that with braid I can spool it casting an eight inch Punker. In fairness, that's only because I can cast so much farther with this reel. And, they are the lower-capacity spools.

 

 

 

The regular ones are about a hundred bucks on fleabay.

[evilcatfish]

Great review. I have the the 7.3:1 Custom and really like it so far. Won't be able to form a full opinion until its gotten some more use