[lilfisher15]

http://www.leslies-luton.co.uk/store/product/2205930/DAIWA-TOURNAMENT-BASIAIR/ .......has anyone ever at all heard of this reel check it out.

 

[circlehook]

Heard of it. Very popular with the distance casting folks. Along with the shimano aero techium. Not a great all around surf reel for our fishing IMO. The 4:1 gear ratio means cranking for ever. And The magnesium body is light and wussy. Niche reel for a small % of anglers that maximize its strong points.

 

[nj05nismo]

I do no it's 35"/crank...not too bad despite the 4:1.

 

[Sergeant Slough]

It is a lightened Basia, the rotor has cut-outs, the spool is lightened and it has a smaller diameter handle and smaller (stock) knob and of course the cosmetics are different.

This Basiair is Heaver's (Rich from CTS) and the knob is an aftermarket machined one that he puts on everything . . .

The Basiair has been out for over two years now, the original Basia has been out just over nine years.

I bought mine in Feb of 2004, probably the first one in the USA; it is still going strong! (despite the wussy magnesium frame :huh

There is really no performance difference between the reels, just a 1.5 ounce weight shaving (from the Basia's 16.7 oz).

That said, personally I wouldn't buy another Basia or the Basiair.

I have grown a preference for Shimano's Power Aero type reels for weight and bait and with the release of the smaller CI4 Power Aero Albrid, for plugging and metals on 10'-6" to 12' distance plugging (1-3oz / 2-4oz) rods. I own 5 Power Aero type reels now and will be buying more this spring (don't get me started on the yen to dollar conversion .

While the Shimano's only offer shorter spools, (nobody but Daiwa has the 45mm tall spools of the Basia and S-6000T), Shimano's Aero Wrap features a more engineered line lay that, IMNSHO, outperforms the Basia[ir] on anything over 4oz in distance.

The Basia series is more of a lighter lure finesse reel . . .

 

[Albi-Fishin]

reminds me of the saltiga surf-which when I considered buying it and checkd it out felt like if I dropped it once it would crumble to pieces-

 

[Sergeant Slough]

reminds me of the saltiga surf-which when I considered buying it and checkd it out felt like if I dropped it once it would crumble to pieces-

The Saltiga Surf is the same reel as the Tournament Iso Entoh which Japan and Europe had over 3 years before we did, I bought it when it came out in Japan. That reel too is still going strong 8 years later.

"Feeling light" or whatever you want to characterize it as is more demonstrative of a lack of familiarity with these products and materials than any real assessment of their performance or durability. I have beat the crap out of my magnesium framed reels and they perform the same as the day I bought them (10's of thousands of casts and thousands of fish later).

That lightness is what you are paying for.

BTW, the Iso Entoh (and our Saltiga Surf) have a 35mm spools.

 

[cityfisherman]

thats my kind of reel big surf reel:thumbsup:

 

[rchipbrown]

I also have a Basiair, several Basia's and a Shimano Aero Technium. I fish extensively with them, love them all, and have landed plenty of 40 inch stripers with them. The distance you can cast with these reels is unparalleled. My favorite rod to use with all of them is the Saltiga Ballistic interline.