Cream Of The Crop
The latest Basia from Daiwa might just be the best ever… Thom Airs has been lucky enough to trial them for sometime now and here’s what he makes of them...
It’d be reasonable to begin by saying the first thing that strikes you about these reels is how light they are. But it wasn’t that. The first thing I noticed was the plain brown packaging in which each reel’s display box arrived. Labelled with a mix of English and Japanese it induced a tingle of excitement before I’d even got to the reels. It was an immediate sign of authenticity, reminding me that these reels aren’t churned out by the container load but are crafted for the elite in Japan, Daiwa’s worldwide home.
Of course, there’s only so much thrill you can get from corrugated cardboard, so the feeling was fleeting and I hurried to see the reels themselves. I’d had a very brief play with one of them late last year, but now, still in the hallway just a yard from where the postie had delivered them, I was able to properly inspect this flagship model properly.
Lightness. That’s the overriding thing that’ll hit you. You’ll pick them up with the same muscle force you’ve used to pick up a big-pit reel a hundred times and you’ll be struck by a momentary buffering in your brain as you realise you’ve picked up something much lighter than you were expecting. For a millisecond your forearm feels disconnected, like a carp sucking up a bottom bait only to realise it’s a wafter and—uh oh—it’s too late to eject.
Okay, so they’re not quite as light as the Basiair (terribly confusing name, Daiwa, sort it out) but each reel is a full 3.4oz lighter than the current Emblems, which aren’t exactly obese either.
Fishing with them is, as you would expect, a true pleasure. That lack of mass breathes fresh air into rods you’ve known for years and every conceivable Daiwa gizmo is present and useful. Magsealing keeps the innards protected maintenance-free, while the Slow Cross Wrap oscillation gives the ideal line lay for smooth casting. The 45mm-tall spool is the optimum length Daiwa boffins have settled on for the longest chucks, while features like QD Quick Drag and Air Bail are familiar and welcome additions. Nine ball bearings and a cranking ability of 104cm per full turn keep retrieves smooth yet powerful.
Looks-wise, the new Basia is far bolder than the previous incarnation’s rather dour all-black livery and, for me at least, it really works. The rims of vibrant red are precisely delivered so as not to over-power, while the mixture of matt and shiny surfaces sit perfectly together.
My single minor gripe is with the position of the anti-reverse lever which, I hope, is placed where it is, out of design or gearing necessity, because it sits rather un-ergonomically off centre at the base of the rotor. That said, its tucked-away position does make these reels look even sleeker than any rival. And they’re certainly a work of angling art. £750.00
