RNB Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Hi Guys... Thinking about purchasing either the 2015 Exist 3012H or the Morethan Branzino 3012H. Do a lot of land based spinning and popping off the rocks for kings ... Bonito ... Sambos ... Etc. Just wondering if any of you would know which of the two reels is the stronger make. Price difference is about $100.00. Exist $899.00 vs $800.00 for the Branzino. Would really appreciate if any of you could give your view/ advice on the strength comparison between the 2 models. Waiting to hear your thoughts before I go and spend a rediculous amount of cash...!!! Cheers RNB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolongeramember Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Branzino is stronger by far. Stronger gears and metal body. I don't know about taking a pretty reel like that off the rocks though. I only use mine in the boat. I would personally get something cheaper for rock work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefisherman6784 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I'm with roylo I wouldn't feel to comfortable taking a $800 reel on the rocks U might be comfortable tho so that's your choice Otherwise if u want something cheaper, look at a daiwa caldia 3000 Very good reel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_ Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 +1 for the Caldia 3000. I also have the 3000SHA. They're awesome and tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Yeah your probably right... Should look at something in a lower price bracket... In the Daiwa line up do you think the Certate would be the next strongest after the Branzino...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossfire63 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Shimano FJ Stradic 4000. Save yourself about $500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdoordan Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Nothing wrong with taking expensive gear on the rocks. My Saltiga and Stella's virtually live on the rocks and are in great condition even after years of heavy use. It is all in the way you treat your gear in what is a pretty harsh enviroment. I was faced with the same dilema about a year ago, when looking for a reel to match my 8'6" Battler AGS. The branzino is hands down the nicest of the bunch. The exist is lighter but I wasn't sold on the zaion body. I decided on the certate 3012 which i got for about half the price of the branzino. I already owned several certates and love them. The certate has since had a fair workout on several landbased jew up to around the 30lb mark and has performed flawlessly. It gets a pretty hard time and has spent countless hours slow rolling bulky hardbodies, working big plastics and having line savagely ripped from it under 4kgs of drag, and still feels tight. Im not sure if my caldia would handle the same abuse that my certates have sustained How heavy are you planning on fishing? 4-5kg is about the max usable drag for these reels IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Planning on using 20-25 lb braid ( is this enough off the rocks or do I need to go heavier ? ) ... Will definitely pick up a certate3012H...How much drag do you think push on the above rated line class... Any suggestions / advice would be great. Cheers RNB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdoordan Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Depends what your targeting? 20lb would be plenty on bonnies, rats and the like. Anything much bigger than a rat and your chances would start to decrease significantly. Ive landed plenty of legals on 30lb, but if im serious on targeting hoods on surface lures off the bricks, I run my 20K stella. FCL Labo and PE8 I run 14lb fireline on my 3012, but considering it breaks at 30 odd pounds I fish around 4kg of drag through it. 20lb braid would suit the reel beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) Hey mate I'm running a 3012h branzino with the 8'6" ags battler that dan has. With 30 lb braid it casts a mile and I use it for all the fish you are targeting. The extra cost means I take external maintenance quite thoroughly (magseal is supposed to do the internals................ Not entirely sold on it). I put on the metal rcs power round handle because I don't like the t knob. In the end the branzino is just a certate, with more bling. There are more bearings and all bearings upgraded to corrosion resistant bearings and magseal bearings, as well as having hyper digigears like it in the saltiga. It's up to you if that's worth the extra $400! Edited April 16, 2015 by nickb111 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Cheers thanks for the feedback ... Think I'll start putting some cash away each week till I have enough to buy the Branzino 3012H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickb111 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Have you tried balancing the reel on your rod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNB Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 Have a 9ft-6 nitro sniper fast taper and heaps of power in the but... The Branzino only being 280grams matched with the sniper should do the job nicely... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmhcfish Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Hyper Digigear on Branzino seals the deal, pelagics will put more pressure on the reel in it's lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laddercat Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 The exist is really a tournament largemouthbass reel, where the morethan is a Seabass shore based reel. Think of a seabass as a medium sized jewie in terms of dimensions and power. Exist has the newest Auto drag system which helps with finesse size lines and avoiding breakage on intial strikes, it will have better line lay and communicate more feel through the body to the angler for finesse presentations. The Branzino is the pinnacle of daiwas medium salt game lineup both for landbased seabass and boat. It has stronger internal gearing as mentioned and a more rigid denser body. the branzino is the winner in this scenario for your chosen style of fishing. If money is no obstacle go ahead and buy one. A certate will do nearly as good of a job A luvias will do nearly as good of a job. Then there is a significant performance drop to the caldia range, although these are still very nice reels. another reel to consider is the Daiwa XFIRE 3012h a mid tier reel positioned in the same category as the branzino but of less quality etc. Lastly if your using a 3012h on Kings i would suggest getting the thinnest pe braid you can afford daiwa just released the first 12 strand braid in japan with pe 1 coming in around 22lb, 3012h arent a huge capacity spool so you will need to maximise the amount of line you have on the spool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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