Team Daiwa Sol 2500 and MLFS outfit
A COUPLE of seasons of solid use is a decent tackle test, in my opinion. I picked up a Team Daiwa Sol 2500 reel and Team Daiwa Sol MLFS rod last year. During this time it has appeared in a number of features I’ve written for Fisho and quite a few people have asked me what I thought about the “flash orangey looking outfit”. In short, it’s caught countless salmon and tailor, numerous flatties and trevs, a few school jewies and about 20 or so kingies. This outfit accompanies me on most trips out and works well with no hidden surprises or vices.
The rod features single foot silicone carbide guides in the new concept layout and I’d describe its action as medium or medium-fast. A twist lock foregrip spins down to secure the reel into the reel seat; the grips are quite firm and comfortable in the hand. The orange colouration on the reel seat is still intact and unscratched – I was expecting it to rub off but it’s still looking good. I stress tested the rod by poppering kings, when overloaded you can hear the resin flexing and creaking but it has withstood a season of stopping kings around the marker buoys without failure, which is testament to the quality of the blank and components used.
The reel is smooth and spins as freely today as it did a year back. I had to replace a line roller bearing that wasn’t maintained and started making noises after many weeks of hard usage. The braid that I put onto the reel was retaining water and every inch that passed across the line roller showered salt spray everywhere which inevitably found its way into the bearing. Some low viscosity waterproof grease rather than oil was used on the replacement bearing and I haven’t had a problem since. The reel has otherwise performed flawlessly, the waterproof drag does its job well and is always silky smooth, having been tested against numerous kings and line burning bonito, along with jewies that slug away down deep.
This is a cool looking, relatively light and versatile outfit. Spooled with 10lb braid it slots into my rod rack as an all-rounder in the estuaries or light inshore.
Contact: Daiwa on (02) 8644 8644; www.daiwafishing.com.au