Daiwa Aird 2500 or Shimano Sahara 2500

[Oliver274]

hi guys i was wondering if you guys could help me pick between the daiwa aird and shimano sahara reel they are both 2500, but i dont know what the better reel is thanks

[ellicat]

Toss of a coin, but I'd probably take the 10 year warranty and go the Sahara.

[Oliver274]

cheers mate, thanks

[The Mad Hughesy]

used and own both of them. if i had to go buy either again, id be going with the shimano. nothing against the daiwa though, its a great reel

[Old Scaley]

19 hours ago, ellicat said:

Toss of a coin, but I'd probably take the 10 year warranty and go the Sahara.

I wouldn’t get too excited about Shimano’s 10 year warranty. It only covers defective parts, and you need to follow the maintenance recommendations in the manual. That includes getting the reel serviced regularly and it must be serviced by an authorised Shimano service agent. Wear and tear is not covered, so if your gears or bearings wear out, or you or someone else took the cover off it and put a bit of grease or oil around you won’t be covered. I would be interested to hear if anyone has had a successful warranty claim on a reel more than a couple of years old.

Having said all that, Shimano make great reels as do Daiwa so you really can’t go wrong.

[GregN70]

The Diawa is the smoother and better feeling reel in the hand,

[charlie.hans.fishing]

Hi Oliver274

I'm definitely into Daiwa gear and have a friend who uses the AirD a lot. 

However I'd say the Sahara is of slightly better quality for this price range and I believe it has a longer warranty than the AirD. 

The AirD is definitely a great option if you are on a super tight budget, but overall the Sahara and AirD cost fairly similar prices. 

It's really up to you when in comes to feel and quality. 

Maybe head to a tackle store that supplies both the Sahara and the AirD and ask to look at them in hand.