The NEW Daiwa Laguna is better than I expected for a $50 - 5000 sized reel. 

Great stuff!

I agree with you 100%! I bought the 3000 8 months ago and it’s still kicking butt. I fish nothing but saltwater. I haven’t washed this reel with water or soap and it’s still performing brand new. It’s so good I just bought another one! I started off with Shimano and Penns. I’m now a Daiwa guy. Thank you for the video and keep up the honesty 🤙🏽

I always love these lower budget fishing reel videos. It helped me get back into fishing a few years ago, and also is a HUGE help with getting gear for others to start out. I got like 4 little epixors and they have been brilliant for getting people started, but this also seems to be a great option as well.

Mine was a Regal Z that had the twist buster! I still remember that to this day. And the spool was thicker at the top to help with casting distance. I loved that reel and it lasted 20 years. My son and I were kayak fishing in the river and I let him use it paired with a 30 year old ugly stick and he tipped over and lost them both. It was such a sad day

I purchased the 4000 size when these first came out after watching this video. Purchased through J&H tackle and I gotta say I was extremely surprised. Casts great, drag is solid and has a all around great feel. No complaints for $50!

Thanks for the shout out🤘 Great video allways good to see a budget reel on the table that a young one can get started on.

My buddy had one of these this weekend and I was surprised at how good it felt and how well it casted

This Daiwa reminds me of the mid to late 1990's white Shimano Stradic that featured a wood crank knob. Without question this reel is way better constructed than anything in its price rang. For a pretty good $50 reel I can't see how'd anyone could go wrong. Neat !

As always ,never leaves anything unturned, great info & hope to see a maxell hybrid review in 2021.. cheers..

Looks and feels like daiwa Ninja LT but with 1 less bearing .I used my ninjas for almost 2 years for feeder and spinning and they work like butter as new. Nice budget reels ! I also love that these low budget reels look very nice too. Keep it up with the videos !

I've thought about picking this up. I'm so looking forward to this vid!

great video as usual. i have the revros 4000 and it seems to be the same reel, also 50 bucks. such a pleasure to jig off the surf. so smooth even under load. started to get scratchy one day and took it apart when i got home. anti reverse clutch bering was rusty. cleaned it up and oiled it and good as new again.

This reminds me, I need to replace my Diawa 500 spinning reel. I buy one each season to pound the rivers for browns, rainbows, and steelhead. By the end of each season, one spent slipping and falling on my ultralight reel, I happily dish out less than $50 to do it all over again. I had a 1990's era Team Diawa baitcaster (I'd give left foot to find an equal replacement), and it lasted me well over 15 years. Diawa makes such comfortable to use reels. Diawa and Abu Garcia are my roots. The new market is daunting.

Thanks for the review! I'll be picking one up in 4000 size for a family surf fishing loaner. Better than the cheaper reels I currently use for that purpose.

I love your assessment of this reel. I'm a guide in Oregon. Like you I appreciate quality gear. Because of Covid all my Shimano Ultegras are on backorder. I bought 6 Daiwa Laguna 3000's to get me through the winter steelhead season. So far I absolutely love them. I'm not expecting the longevity of one of my stradics or ultegras but they feel and fish like a reel of similar quality. They also are light enough to balance well on a quality rod which many reels in this price range are not. They are a steel for the price only $40 for the 3000.

The LTs seem awesome regardless of model. I have Excelers, Fuegos, Revros and they spin smoothly, crank easily under load, have great drag and cast well, light and strong. All under 100 USD. 👍👍👍

I just recently purchased the 4000c can never go wrong with Daiwa great quality. Great video

I have used laguna 1000 xh since last year and I love it. Works for everything

Got to play a nice steelhead over 10lbs on a fiends 3000LT and was impressed that a $39.99 reel could feel this smooth under load. Will be interesting to see how long this reel holds up but hard to go wrong at this price

Great review, thank you for what you do. Happy New Year, Fish on!

Very good review.....I learn stuff I never heard before. Keep it up!

Bought one of these in the 2000 then seen the AU version and bought it too. Using one on a ul for crappie and the other for reds and spec trout in gulf. Have to agree for $50 it’s a winner

Man of my own heart with all the wera and knipex love my German tools as well

I have a revros Lt and Exceler lt and love them both. Smooth light and inexpensive.

Will definitely watch it tomorrow night! 👍

More linelay at the top is just perfect and on purpose for longer cast. I read it somewhere 🤔 just dont remember where.

That reel flip was smooth 😎

Like someone else in the comments said, I also have the older white Laguna. Really like it thus far and caught some decent Louisiana brackish largies on it.

Damn You good Sales Man Convinced me too Buy a New Reel when I got many good ones

Definitely grabbing one of these egg beaters now thanks lol

I love this reel. Best buy I've made. Like as much as my shimano or Penn. Really well balanced. Amazing for 50 bucks. Hands down best under 100 bucks. Maybe even 200.

Thought about getting one of those in a smaller size as a back up for the trout stuff (not scared of handle slob due to hax handle there tbh) and now I actually have back up for that train of thought. Nice.

Good stuff , I feel better about picking 2 of them up not to long ago. Can you do a video on shims and why to add them on spinning reels?

Can you do one one the new daiwa crossfire? I have the 1000,2000,2500, and the 3000. Super smooth and fished pretty hard w a lot of hours. Cast super far better than Penn and shimano. I'd say for a bang around reel that you dont have to worry about it getting stolen and loosing alot of money...best bang fir your $$$. It feels just as good as this daiwa laguna Lt! Your Chanel is very informative and I hope if you do a breakdown on the new crossfire a lot of people will be very happy and I hope it'll get more people to enjoy the outdoors...Aloha🤙👍😎

Ryobi Zauber CR is in that price range with worm gear , 8 ball bearings and NCRT body. You should take a look at it...it's worthed.

Definitely going to get one for light freshwater lure fishing in the 2000 size

Great video as always! Thanks

The intro was flawless

I bought 2 for bass this past 6ear and love them!

Ive always favored shimano reels until recently. I still love shimano baitcasters but I think daiwa is making better spinning reels. Im not sponsored so I dont have any loyalty to one company and I always try to get the best for my money. I bought a BG and Im in love with it. Ill have to try the Laguna, they are being sold at walmart for $40.

The daiwa rega LT 3000D-CXH Has ten bearings And is very smooth It lays line good and has 22 pounds drag Wt 7.8 OZ

Been waiting for this review lets see how part 2 goes , wanted it for summer flounder but I probably get the Fuego for fluke , but I will get a Laguna ,can’t beat the price and yes J and H Tackle is the only way to go but they are out of Fuegos ! thanx for the video , I can know sleep with ease ,

I went from zero working knowledge of this reel to wanting to pick one up in about 20 minutes flat. I usually stick to shimano in this price range, probably out of pure habit than any good reason, but I gotta say either this is an outstanding in its field kind of reel or Daiwa paid you good for this review lol. I'm guessing using Occams Razor that is the former. Thanks for the review.

I have the older all silver and black model of this reel. Same price. Lasted 5 seasons of fluke fishing. I have greased it every winter. It’s starting to get a little sloppy at the handle. But for the price I think it’s time for the new one.

I just bought a Regal LT 2500….. can’t wait to get a bass on the other end

Love the videos, I am from England and really love the content and attention to detail. Are you still active? I would so love e to see a tear down on a Shimano Baitruner X-Aero 10000 RB. It is reel we use for freshwater carp fishing in Europe, we use its specific freespooling design feature on the take to allow the fish to run before the strike.... It's marketed as a mid range - premium reel (£150) and would absolutely relish your feedback and what you make of its design. Probably an unusual and interesting one for you as you don't seem to use freespooling setups in the States. Tight lines and wet nets!

Good video. I would be interested in a video on the new penn pursuit iv as well. Thanks and good luck.

Ha ha. I still use my Ryobi Applause, a much copied reels for 42 years. Work perfectly. Just change the handle knob to look a little modern. Have also a 35 YO Ryobi Vertigo, 2 Tica Libra All metal in 4000 n 2000. Also a 35 YO reel. Still works perfectly. Most of my reels are Daiwa mid price reels have 6. Use only Japanese brands and Abus. Some Shimanos. My BG built like a tank and little heavy side

Believe it or not the Walmart brand Ozark Trail OTX 3000 size reel lays line perfectly. It’s only $34 and it’s honestly unbeatable at the price. Also, Ozark Trail sells a $30 6.6ft with a 6BB reel that is just as smooth as the Laguna and lays line better. I don’t know how Ozark Trail did it but they did.

Awesome, detailed and very informative video, great job! This reel caught my eye for some light-medium freshwater spinning, I've gone to the store and gave it a spin, tested the drag, bail, etc... I then grabbed some of the other Daiwa reels that are a bit more money, for example Legalis LT, Regal LT, Exceler LT, Fuego LT, and I must say that I did not feel almost any difference in smoothness or other features. What do you think about smaller sizes? I'm planing on buying 3000 size, do you think they are durable enough?

I have a previous generation regal that I really like.

reels such as this are so smooth because their not loaded up with rubber o rings and washers to keep water out. best for fresh water if your not a maintenance buff

I still love the daiwa Fuego LT 5000- CXH so smooth and handle 12kg drag

Received a 2500 laguna as part of a st croix reign combo and had zero expectations. But, yea it’s surprisingly good- wouldn’t say you got lucky with your 5k. they’re just pretty good. Use it on a medium light in FW and on a tsunami slim wave in SW kayak fishing. Only about 20 hours on mine too so time will tell.

You should make a video on the penn clash two. Not to big of a fan of penn I have a slammer and had two conflicts that took a shit. But my buddy got a clash two for Christmas and holly shit I was amazed I thought I was using my stradic fl. It wasn’t sloppy like most penn reels.

I can't afford reels like a Stradic, so this is amazingly helpful for me! I have a cheaper Daiwa Legalis that I really love, and I'll be getting one of these also after seeing your video! Thank you very much for letting me know about it!

You have to get your hands on the penn low profile reels. I would love to see your take on them.

TACKLE ADVISERS - How do you compare this reel to the Okuma Epixor? I usually run all high end gear but looking for a quality cheapie for the young nephew, but if he doesn't like fishing then I plan to keep it for rough weather days. I understand the Epixor is slightly more expensive but there's such little difference it doesn't matter. Which is the more solidly built, more reliable and better value reel?

Hey TA! Just found your channel and have enjoyed it a lot so far. What would you recommend for maintenance after a saltwater trip (mostly inshore boat fishing) and yearly maintenance at beginning/end of the season? Thanks!

Any idea if the 3000 and 4000 have the oversized knob handles? Great review!

Thanks for the video

I have a Laguna LT 3000 , which I picked up a month ago . Love it . Get one . worth the money .. Tackle Advisors , Love from India . Cheers mate

Just got my Legalis today lol honestly feels just as smooth as my fuego outta the box. Haven’t used it yet though. Anybody else have OCD when it comes to handle play? God it bugs me! I know it doesn’t effect anything but feeling it as I reel really drives me up a wall 😂

I'm going to pick up a 2500 because of this review.

Who the hell gave it thumbs down? Tackle Advisor is the best!

We need another set of best reels for 21 !

I have the 2500 series and I was amazed by how it felt. I have the stradic FL and the feeling of it feels almost similar. I’d still pick the stradic any day of course but for $50 it’s a steal. Pair it with a Daiwa aird-x and it’s the best combo out there. Although the down side of this reel is that the lower size reels of the laguna can’t hold as much line. Either than that it’s perfect for $50

I have 2 of the white lagunas. I guess academy was clearancing them last year $19. Took it sea trout fishing for 3 hard days fishing and it was great.

Inexpensive gear is trending up in quality which is nice to see. Any update after your interview process with whatever company you have been in talks with?

Daiwa LT reels are hands-down the best sub-$100 reels you can buy.

Great review. I could use a couple of these as loaners. I have a view diawa BGs and their sizing is odd to industry standards. Can you please tell me if the laguna LTs are sized the same as the BGs or did Diawa revert back to industry standards as they have on some of their other reels? They really make selection difficult with their inconsistent sizing. Your insight on this would be useful and much appreciated here. Thanks

I dont spend a lot of money on my spinning reels but my experience says that daiwa make a lot better low end reel than shimano. And when you spend 300$+ I do think that the differences Is so small that it is just a question of what brand you want on the handle 😊

Daiwa LT models wo forged gear have one weakness- use it for 6 months then you’ll feel the zinc main gear play. $50 for a reason, it’s a throw away reel. Shimano is the exception since the main gear is cold forged aluminum, however bulky compared to Daiwa

This is literally exactly what I thought haha, I got the crossfire lt (1 step below) for my sister and thought I have a go with it, and coming from Exists and Stellas I honestly could use the Crossfire with no gripes at all for hours of fishing haha, which shocked me, I then tried out the Nasci just for curiosity and it felt like Crap compared to the Crossfire! Very interesting indeed!

First of all, I've seen a lot of your videos , thought it took me a while but I finally subscriped to your channel. Excellent job on tearing apart and reviewing it step by step like many of your other reviews. Looks like more than a decent reel for the money. Second of all, I am in the middle of purchasing a light/medium reel for my daiwa ballistic xspin 10-40 rod. It is mainly in use for spinning or lure trolling in the Adriatic sea so target species consist of blue fish, bonito, mahi mahi and seabass. The weight I assume won't be bigger than 4kg/8pounds approx. (Well, I hope I'm wrong and I end up with a trophy a bit larger but time will tell). I was already set on getting the Daiwa BG 2500 which retails at about 100€ in my country, but I stumbled on your latest review on this Daiwa Laguna which is currently on sale for about 50€ here, and it looks like a steal for what you get based on your review. Do you recommend me spending the extra for the BG or should the lack of some BIG differences be a dealbreaker with the Laguna? Sorry for the long post, keep doing what you do the best, which is teaching us less knowledgable fisherman updated with the market. Best regards from Slovenia, Robert. P.s. sorry for the bad language, it's my third or fourth language 😂

nice review..couldnt help but think of "Mitch Cumstein" talking..( Chevy Chase)

Off topic question for you. Would you be interested in a doing review / breakdown of a Okuma Avenger AFB-40 baitfeeder? I used a 65 for a few years Striper fishing here in Maine. Worked great till it didnt but it was neglected. I would love to get your input on the afb-40 I bought at a discount place for 25bucks.

It's interesting that it weighs so much more on the Daiwa site vs the Exceler. I hope they fixed the flex on the stem with the extra weight.

I made $350 this week because of what I learned from watching you. I've always been mechanically minded and got into fishing this year. I'm now the main repair/maintenance guy in my area. I owe you thanks. You made it so easy to understand how to work on reels and what makes quality. I have a Sahara 5k i got for $50 and man, it's amazing. I'll be switching over to the Sahara line over the winter. Any thoughts on Tica reels?

I have a regal lt 3000d chx4 I got at sportsman's warehouse paid 49.00 I very impressed with it the handle is metal mine is soild as a rock I have reels that are better I love weight of this reel I put on st.corix bass x rod !!!!!

Most of my reels are Japanese and most are Daiwa,some 40YO Ryobis and Shimanos.With odd 40YO Ticas Libra that are surprisingly very good. But old reels built better and last longer. Especially the BGs model. Don't need top reel. Getting Daiwa Regal LT next.

you gotta try a SeaKnight Treant the line lay is actually pretty impressive and its under 50....CAD

Comparison on the new Laguna vs the older Aird LT? Seem quite similar.

i just got the new 2000 model mate it is good

Do you think this reel will be likely to be just as good in other sizes?

Was tempted to try this reel but I refuse to buy any hex handle reels anymore. They either break or the cap on the other side comes loose

Well I keep missing the Premiers dam family and holidays lol. Im looking to replace my kids/share reels. Only thing is I need 2500-3000 size.

What are the best picks for 2020? Also why not review some stuff off Amazon and see what is worth buying. Tight lines my friend!

Whats the best way to rinnse a reel after a day out? I always run my reels under the sink thruroughly and reel super fast to shake the water and let it out on the countertop to dry but its always in the back of my mind im doing something wrong

Great video as always! Any chance that you’ll start reviewing rods in the future?

bought this reel after watching this video. pros: really light, very smooth, really fun to pair up with a light rod and cast all day cons: spool is smaller than I would've liked, but not a big deal. the bigger problem, after 1st use I took off the handle to add a bit more oil and noticed that the handle washer(?), collar is broken. Not good after 1 use. I contacted the store and they contacted Daiwa. I asked for replacement part as I enjoyed the reel. Daiwa support told me to buy the $0.50 parts or return the reel. Guess I'm returning the reel and will think again about purchasing another Daiwa product given their support.

Wonder how it would hold up in saltwater applications?

I wonder what's the main difference between the Laguna LT and Crossfire LT. I know Laguna has 2 more bearings than the Crossfire LT. For a budget reel is the crossfire lt good enough?

Could you compare the laguna lt , regal lt, exceler lt, and fuego lt not really sure which one to go with yet wanted to get the fuego but everyone mentions the struggle of shimming which doesn’t seem to be too hard on the lower model daiwas

What do you think bof the Regal LT? Received one for Christmas.

I am sure if u tried this reel i would have the exact same opinion. I have been talking about Legalist for 3 years now (in ultralight world) and when brand new it feels just as good as Tatula LT, but heavier. BTW i have the old Lagunas. They had a metal frame and ABS spool and were already butter smooth even with the GEN 1 Digigear (whatever that is). One important improvement i see from your video is the adoption of the LT reels clicker. My lagunas have a plastic pin for clicker and that thing can't click for sh1t. You may have heard i can be particular about the clicking : ). My Lagunas have 4 bearings though.. Cheers mate!

Lol " you can fit a small child on that gap!" 🤣🤣🤣

Sweet. What is the yellow/grey line?

I have a 4000 on a 7ft beefstick for the surf, thank you

do you think the smaller sizes would be similarly constructed? 2500? I've got toooooo many reels in this size frame (5k)