I was in need of a new bfs reel after 2 years. I was looking at another Aldebaran bfs 16 but found out that Daiwa have a new reel Alpha air TW. Upon further researched I’ve found out that they even have a newer reel the Gekkabijin. Right before pulling the trigger on the Gekkabijin I found out that it’s a braid reel only, I don’t use braid. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Gekkabijin because for $40 more you get the clicking drag and extra bearings. I’m using it more for no other than just open lake water and long casting crank baits specifically Dynamic HD trout lures 2.8 grams. I’m running 4lbs tatsu on it and I can say it doesn’t hold much line be enough to fish, I’d say maybe 40yrds. From my experience it casts slightly further than the Aldebaran but effortless. When you said it’s shimano smooth I thought oh okay. I’ve never own higher shimano model but I do own Metanium and Aldebaran and this thing is much smoother. It feels like it’s rolling on air lol.
I did some testing with the Alphas Air and this new reel and overall I could not see a discernable difference in distance gained when casting both reels with a trout magnet. . The Gekkabijin as you mentioned is much smoother to reel and out on the water it's noticeable. The best part for me was the ability to use the Gekkabijin with the Roro spool that I had in my Alphas Tw. Being able to interchange the spools was a plus. It was fun to cast the Alphas Air with the Gekkabijin spool as well. I will be eager to see what your casting results show. Thanks for the great info!!
I watched Japanese youtuber comparing this and alphas air and he also said there's not much difference in casting distance, even with lightest, under 2g lures, and he also compared spool weight and turned out that the spool of gekkabijin is slightly heavier so maybe that explains why .
I got my Gekkabijin AIR TW PE out on the water the other day. I got to test that clicking drag out, had to edit a lot of the fight out. I have a love/hate with the casting of the reel.
I think its made for long casting micro metal jigs... with braid of course. Im going to field battle this thing vs the Alphas and get some measurements
I didn't pay attention that you had this reel on the delicacy rod until I got back from fishing this weekend and also realized you were using it with the clamber in your latest video... You should definitely do a review on this rod.. my fishing buddy Charles has 3 now after stepping on his original one so he'd never be without it . after looking at his and feeling how nice it feels as well as quality looks it has I ordered one a few weeks ago.. no brainer for the price and 2 tips.. he uses his with the L tip though
I am a daiwa fanboy !!! It must be one of the coolest baitcasters along with Morethan (Steez) PE. I always use braid, it just cast way better. Why use mono? Is it an advantage that it can stretch a little, or what is the idea? Great videos, looking forward to the next 🤩
When using the alphas air with braid it does group up and leave some space on either side of the spool. So makes sense to have that lip on the Gig spool
Lower Gearratio with same Lineguidespeed->Spool runs slower->line spools more crosswise Same Lineguideway on more narrow Spool->more time for Lineguide on the sides-> concave linelay
I'm pretty happy with my Air TW. I can already use it with it with braid in SW & FW. Daiwa can't fool me into buying another reel just to get a few extra bearings. :)
I’m still holding out on a bfs reel, my body isn’t designed for a delicate cast style. I hope they come out with a DC, if not..gotta stick with a spinning reel
If you don't have a delicate cast style and like to put power into every cast you just need one with good brakes and set them a little higher than guys that don't cast real hard.. not sure how light of baits you're throwing but most of the newer bfs reels can be cast very aggressively down to 2g with ease if you have brakes adjusted accordingly.. I have the Aldebaran bfs.. pw100 and clamber that can all be thrown pretty hard and the zephyr is close . The older ones like Daiwa .. gh100 black Knight xf50 do require more finesse or attention when casting the lighter baits but I'm a pretty rough caster when out on the water fishing and don't have an issue with any of the newer reels
@@bassnbonsai thanks for the advice, I will give one a try soon, I just haven’t found a larger bfs that will fit me, I’m a bit over 7’7” and if you could imagine the size of my paws. The curado is tiny but the dc helps, I have a hard time thumbing the spool, my thumb doesn’t fit . Kinda of an odd issue and way out of the normal I realize but I still have fun and enjoy the sport.
Oh in that case you definitely want the biggest reel possible with a light spool so I'd recommend aftermarket spool my buddy likes to build the bm3 or black Max reels just a $40 Abu black Max with an AliExpress diy bfs spool basically.. not sure what the widest shallow spool offering is
Got mine today. First bfs reel . What number brake # do you recommend starting out on if I’m tossing 1/32 - 1/16 to prevent birds nest and work my way up - thank you 😊
just made some test this afternoon pe special vs steez air. better performances for the pe special with 2g lure and 5g sinker with finess 2 inches. pe special is also more regulary than steez air...
Ill be fishing them side by side this weekend. I went on Daiwas website to find the matching rod but I didnt see anything rated down to 1 gram? If you know it, let me know
@@THEREELTEST now that I looked into it only seen the rod in spinning that low .3-5g. Maybe in the future. Odd to make a baitcasting reel for ajing and not the rod. I mean there is 2018 mx mlb model but that starts at 3g. Dang.
Definitely better than the Aldebaran. Shimano makes amazing UL spinning reels as I have 6 UL shimano spinning reels in total. Daiwa is really stepping their BFS lineup. The Alpha Air 2020 was a gamechanger as it was cheap and straight out of the box amazing that blew the Aldebaran in the dust. I do hope Shimano steps up their UL BFS game. We know they can do it, I'm just wondering why its taking so long.
Lol.. the fact that you said the Alphas "blew the Aldebaran in the dust" makes me think you dont have either reel. Under 1.5 grams it may have an advantage in accuracy, but anything 2 grams and up, the Aldebaran walks away.
@@THEREELTEST As i stated for UL casting. I don’t have the aldebaran but my brother has it and i used it a ton. He swapped to the Alpha air due to it’s capability for casting 1/32oz & 1/64 jigs with ease. Yes we use it for trout fishing specifically. I’m positive for finesse bass fishing the shimano is a way better reel. But UL BFS i have to give it to Daiwa.
Can you please for once compare these two awesome reels with 0.6pe braid ( varivas bfs 4x , sunline 4x braid lines are great ) At most 100 m of braid is enough but id just spool 50m if you’re going to compare for trout magnet 🧲. Come on a lot of alphas air fans are watching this Channel and there are whose like me wonder how the gekkabijin will perform with braid tune :) make it happen !
Well, I ordered JDM Steez Air this morning and now this pops up. I'm curious as to what besides the 1oz less weight the Steez Air offers over this for double the price. They claim that it can cast down to 1/32 of an ounce. I want to see what this one is capable of now and see if I wasted $300
what are you trying to cast? Hobie Wan Kenobie wasnt too impressed with the Steez Air he tried vs the Alphas. Its got more bearings, MG frame and sideplate, finesse handle and knobs, Steez name for bragging rights. The spool appears to be the exact same as the Alphas Air, maybe even heavier
Daiwa says this works only with braid and not mono or flourocarbon because it'll warp the spool. But they say the exact opposite for the alphas air? Do you happen to know why? Doesnt make sense to me
It's rather simple, the line space of gekkabijin spool is narrower than on alphas air, and this is very bad for fruro and mono. Don't worry they can't brake a spool.
From my experience with pe special spools from other reels, the line guide travels the same distance but travels faster (this changes the winding shape so the braid is less likely to dig in) this would cause braid to bunch up in the middle of the spool, so the spool is narrower so more line is winds on to the edges of the spool to flatten the line lay.
I like the Bantam but I dont love it, thats because of the weight. If you dont mind the weight it will last forever. And you can save about $100 ordering from Digitaka
Solid comparison! 👌💯 Did forget one of the biggest differences though… Gekka Air has the new hyperdrive gear design in it….which the alphas - or even the more expensive Steez Air - both don’t have… Not sure if the micro gears make a noticeable/significant difference in feel and refinement, but it is a rather significant difference nonetheless seeing as it’s the first BFS reel from Daiwa to support these next gen gears…🙌💯
Your not the best tackle reviewer and definitely not through,all air spools have a rubber washer and stainless shield washer on the handle side that's why there is no side to side play on all air rotor spool reels,and by the way you casting distance videos are useless,your realign on human mechanics and muscle memory of ever cast,not very scientific bro,even if you hold your breath during the cast ok. Use a crossbow tied to the line no rod attached to the reel. I bet every casting distance battle you did would change bro, You wanna learn real unbiased reel reviews watch reel advisor, undoubtedly best tackle review content on youtube
Biggest sucker on youtube,anybody that holds there breath to make a cast,and declares him self as the best reel review youtuber is the queen of suckers
@@THEREELTEST woah he is big mad someone needs a chill pill ! I was saying that that referring to the people that would buy this just bc a new reel is out I understand why you bought it and wasn't calling you a sucker ole Curly blew a gasket lol
C'mon guy, just be nice to each others. It's his channel, he's entitle to his opinion. If you all don't like it or disagree with him, so do your own channel. I'll be gladly subscribe to your channel. It's free anyways.
@@manok7040 My comment wasn't a jab at him I understand how it can be read that way though . What he does is more of a service to show like hey it's worth it or nahh it's just a rebranded _____(insert other reel) I appreciate the reel reviews and have used a video or 2 of his to help make a decision on a reel purchase.
FYI the spools are interchangeable. For some reason that footage where I show it got edited out
Are there only left hand retrieves sold on Japan lure shop
Hi just curious what size are the spool bearings ?
Drag clicker. YES!!! So why aren't you going to fish this braid specific spool with braid? Embrace the PE my friend!
You know a Daiwa is smooth when it “feels like a Shimano” 😂
I was in need of a new bfs reel after 2 years. I was looking at another Aldebaran bfs 16 but found out that Daiwa have a new reel Alpha air TW. Upon further researched I’ve found out that they even have a newer reel the Gekkabijin. Right before pulling the trigger on the Gekkabijin I found out that it’s a braid reel only, I don’t use braid. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Gekkabijin because for $40 more you get the clicking drag and extra bearings. I’m using it more for no other than just open lake water and long casting crank baits specifically Dynamic HD trout lures 2.8 grams. I’m running 4lbs tatsu on it and I can say it doesn’t hold much line be enough to fish, I’d say maybe 40yrds. From my experience it casts slightly further than the Aldebaran but effortless. When you said it’s shimano smooth I thought oh okay. I’ve never own higher shimano model but I do own Metanium and Aldebaran and this thing is much smoother. It feels like it’s rolling on air lol.
I did some testing with the Alphas Air and this new reel and overall I could not see a discernable difference in distance gained when casting both reels with a trout magnet. . The Gekkabijin as you mentioned is much smoother to reel and out on the water it's noticeable. The best part for me was the ability to use the Gekkabijin with the Roro spool that I had in my Alphas Tw. Being able to interchange the spools was a plus. It was fun to cast the Alphas Air with the Gekkabijin spool as well. I will be eager to see what your casting results show. Thanks for the great info!!
Im hoping to see longer casts with 3 grams and up.
I watched Japanese youtuber comparing this and alphas air and he also said there's not much difference in casting distance, even with lightest, under 2g lures, and he also compared spool weight and turned out that the spool of gekkabijin is slightly heavier so maybe that explains why .
I got my Gekkabijin AIR TW PE out on the water the other day. I got to test that clicking drag out, had to edit a lot of the fight out. I have a love/hate with the casting of the reel.
I think its made for long casting micro metal jigs... with braid of course. Im going to field battle this thing vs the Alphas and get some measurements
@@THEREELTEST I like the Alphas better for short range work. The Gekkabijin is great for long casting in open water
I didn't pay attention that you had this reel on the delicacy rod until I got back from fishing this weekend and also realized you were using it with the clamber in your latest video... You should definitely do a review on this rod.. my fishing buddy Charles has 3 now after stepping on his original one so he'd never be without it . after looking at his and feeling how nice it feels as well as quality looks it has I ordered one a few weeks ago.. no brainer for the price and 2 tips.. he uses his with the L tip though
I am a daiwa fanboy !!! It must be one of the coolest baitcasters along with Morethan (Steez) PE. I always use braid, it just cast way better. Why use mono? Is it an advantage that it can stretch a little, or what is the idea? Great videos, looking forward to the next 🤩
because its far cheaper to do tests with
I would make sense to test it with light braid and see full potential 🎣
When using the alphas air with braid it does group up and leave some space on either side of the spool.
So makes sense to have that lip on the Gig spool
It looks like Daiwa did not make a shorter worm gear to work with the narrower spool. That is why the line builds up on the ends of the spool.
Aldebaran is true bfs reel because of light weight 130g. It also has warm Mg body while cold weather vs cold Al one in AATW or GATW.
Lower Gearratio with same Lineguidespeed->Spool runs slower->line spools more crosswise
Same Lineguideway on more narrow Spool->more time for Lineguide on the sides-> concave linelay
I'm pretty happy with my Air TW. I can already use it with it with braid in SW & FW. Daiwa can't fool me into buying another reel just to get a few extra bearings. :)
Extra corrosion resistance bearings*
I’m still holding out on a bfs reel, my body isn’t designed for a delicate cast style. I hope they come out with a DC, if not..gotta stick with a spinning reel
If you don't have a delicate cast style and like to put power into every cast you just need one with good brakes and set them a little higher than guys that don't cast real hard.. not sure how light of baits you're throwing but most of the newer bfs reels can be cast very aggressively down to 2g with ease if you have brakes adjusted accordingly.. I have the Aldebaran bfs.. pw100 and clamber that can all be thrown pretty hard and the zephyr is close . The older ones like Daiwa .. gh100 black Knight xf50 do require more finesse or attention when casting the lighter baits but I'm a pretty rough caster when out on the water fishing and don't have an issue with any of the newer reels
@@bassnbonsai thanks for the advice, I will give one a try soon, I just haven’t found a larger bfs that will fit me, I’m a bit over 7’7” and if you could imagine the size of my paws. The curado is tiny but the dc helps, I have a hard time thumbing the spool, my thumb doesn’t fit . Kinda of an odd issue and way out of the normal I realize but I still have fun and enjoy the sport.
Oh in that case you definitely want the biggest reel possible with a light spool so I'd recommend aftermarket spool my buddy likes to build the bm3 or black Max reels just a $40 Abu black Max with an AliExpress diy bfs spool basically.. not sure what the widest shallow spool offering is
Wonder how the gekkabijin spinning is and what it is comparable to.
I run 8# sowing thread on my Alphas AIR so I am very interested in this spool, It should manage thin braids better. Mine will be here tomorrow.
Little late to the video but thank you
I want the spinning version- daiwa 20 gekkabijin x lt2000s but I'm skeered to order from jdm
Got mine today. First bfs reel . What number brake # do you recommend starting out on if I’m tossing 1/32 - 1/16 to prevent birds nest and work my way up - thank you 😊
just made some test this afternoon pe special vs steez air. better performances for the pe special with 2g lure and 5g sinker with finess 2 inches. pe special is also more regulary than steez air...
WTF man don’t put mono on a spool specifically made for braid
Im going to use flouro LOL
@@THEREELTEST please just use pe…
Ill wait for the casting video. Good unboxing review. You plan on getting the matching rod?
Ill be fishing them side by side this weekend. I went on Daiwas website to find the matching rod but I didnt see anything rated down to 1 gram? If you know it, let me know
@@THEREELTEST now that I looked into it only seen the rod in spinning that low .3-5g. Maybe in the future. Odd to make a baitcasting reel for ajing and not the rod. I mean there is 2018 mx mlb model but that starts at 3g. Dang.
Definitely better than the Aldebaran. Shimano makes amazing UL spinning reels as I have 6 UL shimano spinning reels in total. Daiwa is really stepping their BFS lineup. The Alpha Air 2020 was a gamechanger as it was cheap and straight out of the box amazing that blew the Aldebaran in the dust. I do hope Shimano steps up their UL BFS game. We know they can do it, I'm just wondering why its taking so long.
Lol.. the fact that you said the Alphas "blew the Aldebaran in the dust" makes me think you dont have either reel. Under 1.5 grams it may have an advantage in accuracy, but anything 2 grams and up, the Aldebaran walks away.
@@THEREELTEST As i stated for UL casting. I don’t have the aldebaran but my brother has it and i used it a ton. He swapped to the Alpha air due to it’s capability for casting 1/32oz & 1/64 jigs with ease. Yes we use it for trout fishing specifically. I’m positive for finesse bass fishing the shimano is a way better reel. But UL BFS i have to give it to Daiwa.
I’ll take any BFS reel I can get right now
Can you please for once compare these two awesome reels with 0.6pe braid ( varivas bfs 4x , sunline 4x braid lines are great )
At most 100 m of braid is enough but id just spool 50m if you’re going to compare for trout magnet 🧲.
Come on a lot of alphas air fans are watching this Channel and there are whose like me wonder how the gekkabijin will perform with braid tune :) make it happen !
how about you put your money where your mouth is and send me a bulk spool of high quality 0.6 pe braid? at least a 1000 yard spool please
@@THEREELTEST I’d send you braid if your attitude was appropriate.
Nice review, are you going to cast this reel and test it against the Alphas?
With it being a pe is it ok to use flouro?
Which one is the best this reel or the Daiwa steez sv tw anyone of the steez gold red purple 2017
Concave line lay in the Gekka is intentional. And you sure about using mono on the Gekka? Daiwa clearly says it’s not a good idea.
Ill be using flouro, and the spool will be fine
Whats the rod on the thumbnail
Definitely a beautiful reel. Ahh finally a clicker too. ❤️
다크울프 135그램 6.1그램 스풀이 저렴하면서 품질이 좋다!
what rod in thumbnail with reel?😀
You had me at drag clicker 😂
Well, I ordered JDM Steez Air this morning and now this pops up. I'm curious as to what besides the 1oz less weight the Steez Air offers over this for double the price. They claim that it can cast down to 1/32 of an ounce. I want to see what this one is capable of now and see if I wasted $300
what are you trying to cast? Hobie Wan Kenobie wasnt too impressed with the Steez Air he tried vs the Alphas. Its got more bearings, MG frame and sideplate, finesse handle and knobs, Steez name for bragging rights. The spool appears to be the exact same as the Alphas Air, maybe even heavier
What rod on video profile?
What site has this reel for sale?
What rod is paired with the reel in the thumbnail?
Please respond ASAP !!!it’s my birthday in a couple days and I want to get the best baitcaster for a 300 dollar price point please give me good advice
Do you have to SV Light LTD T.Namiki? If so, where does it fall?
Nah, I wasnt interested in that reel since I have the SS Air.
Daiwa says this works only with braid and not mono or flourocarbon because it'll warp the spool. But they say the exact opposite for the alphas air? Do you happen to know why? Doesnt make sense to me
It's rather simple, the line space of gekkabijin spool is narrower than on alphas air, and this is very bad for fruro and mono. Don't worry they can't brake a spool.
it will work fine with flouro and mono. But the spool rotor is tuned for braid as I showed in the video
Does the alphas air spool fit on the new reel?
Probably yes, but you also need to change worm shaft to wind line property.
Are the spools interchangeable?
Yes they’re or they can, if you’re curious
@@leepao6302 Thank you!
I would like to see a review on the dawia salamander looks like a dope reel
its just a Tatula rebadged for the Chinese market
@@THEREELTEST gotcha
bro its Salamandura XD
Daiwa website said it only works with pe line,other line may broke the spool,u may not notice it.
Ill take my chances lol
How does it compare to the Aldebaran?
going to be doing a cast battle soon
Over $300 for a non Japanese made Daiwa is just to much for me but good looking reel still it is.
Hey man I want to get a baitcaster but what website can I trust with my life ?? I want a jdm reel but I’m so scared to get ripped off
Can we test it against the black knight 2?
watch my HOW TO BUY JDM tackle 2.0 video
Does the lineguide have similar travel as the regular alphas air tw? Or is it customized to commodate the more narrow spool?
From my experience with pe special spools from other reels, the line guide travels the same distance but travels faster (this changes the winding shape so the braid is less likely to dig in) this would cause braid to bunch up in the middle of the spool, so the spool is narrower so more line is winds on to the edges of the spool to flatten the line lay.
I like to see the diawa sv tw alphas
It's definately "Bijjin", if you know what I mean!!!
Can you run fc line on the pe spool?
of course, but this reel does not hold alot of line, its made for thin braid
Hey can is the bantam worth it for 350 or for that price point should I go with something else
I like the Bantam but I dont love it, thats because of the weight. If you dont mind the weight it will last forever. And you can save about $100 ordering from Digitaka
What reel would you go for if you had 400 I just want the best bang for my buck and I want it to bomb cast
That chatter bait got my Attention
hello! in which store do you order reel?
I ordered from Japan Lure Shop but it should be available at most JDM vendors now
@@THEREELTEST Thanks!
I am surprised that you don't know imakatsu lures
If course I know them, but I didnt see the label until after I edited the video
Dang it just ordered an alpha last night lol. Should’ve made this video sooner lol.
the reel just came out bro, but they announced it weeks ago?
Lol I know I was just joking. But that reel looks nice though, and a clicky drag is a plus.
Solid comparison! 👌💯
Did forget one of the biggest differences though…
Gekka Air has the new hyperdrive gear design in it….which the alphas - or even the more expensive Steez Air - both don’t have…
Not sure if the micro gears make a noticeable/significant difference in feel and refinement, but it is a rather significant difference nonetheless seeing as it’s the first BFS reel from Daiwa to support these next gen gears…🙌💯
hyper drive is just renaming things they already had into marketing hype. A few years ago it was called "Real Four"
Imakatsu
すみません、何でフロロカーボンを使っていますか？それは不可でしょww
このスプールはPE専用ですよ
スプールダメージ気をつけてください。
👌🏽
with that price and spec&material used..better you buy aldebaran..haha
Imakatsu 🤷
Dude, it pains me every time I see you hack open a box or cut open an envelope with that pair of curved scissors. There's a better tool for this.
Im not worried about it
$500 reel.
no, it was only around 350
페이크
Your not the best tackle reviewer and definitely not through,all air spools have a rubber washer and stainless shield washer on the handle side that's why there is no side to side play on all air rotor spool reels,and by the way you casting distance videos are useless,your realign on human mechanics and muscle memory of ever cast,not very scientific bro,even if you hold your breath during the cast ok. Use a crossbow tied to the line no rod attached to the reel. I bet every casting distance battle you did would change bro, You wanna learn real unbiased reel reviews watch reel advisor, undoubtedly best tackle review content on youtube
someone get this butthurt girl a tampon LOL
@@THEREELTEST You acted so arrogantly. You always put God’s words on every beginning of your videos. But your act is opposite.!
I think they made this reel to reinforce the fact that a sucker is born every minute.
Biggest sucker on youtube,anybody that holds there breath to make a cast,and declares him self as the best reel review youtuber is the queen of suckers
you are so angry its hilarious lol
@@THEREELTEST woah he is big mad someone needs a chill pill ! I was saying that that referring to the people that would buy this just bc a new reel is out I understand why you bought it and wasn't calling you a sucker ole Curly blew a gasket lol
C'mon guy, just be nice to each others. It's his channel, he's entitle to his opinion. If you all don't like it or disagree with him, so do your own channel. I'll be gladly subscribe to your channel. It's free anyways.
@@manok7040 My comment wasn't a jab at him I understand how it can be read that way though . What he does is more of a service to show like hey it's worth it or nahh it's just a rebranded _____(insert other reel) I appreciate the reel reviews and have used a video or 2 of his to help make a decision on a reel purchase.