Here is a combined review and Service Tutorial on the DAIWA SALTIGA LD 50 HS.
LD= LEVER DRAG
HS=HYPERSPEED
Why Hyperspeed? Well Daiwa have come up with a blitz fast reel - 7.1:1 ratio! Reeling 1.3 metres a of line for every turn of the handle! And this, without compromising anything in the Torque strength of the wind. Very impressive. It accomplishes this with a massive oversized Drive gear, made from Stainless Steel.
The Saltiga Lever Drag was modelled on the hugely popular Saltist Lever Drag that was brought out a few years ago. The Saltist was more or less a duplicate of the Avet reel design.
The Daiwa Hype, from their website:
And here are the specs:
Claimed weight is 25oz = 708 grams. With line on, this one weighed 774g, which is quite heavy. About 80g heavier than a Trinidad 30.
First impressions of the reel - Solid, solid, solid... just oozing Saltiga class. Extreme high tolerance manufacturing and build quality.
This is the Left Hand Side plate. Can you see any screws? Nope. Because there aren't any. It's a machined one piece Side Plate
and frame out of a block of aircraft grade Aluminium.
This feature makes this reel about as solid and strong as they come...
Interesting that all these reels are initially designed for Offshore Boat use. But Daiwa have seen what we South African anglers do with their boat reels, turning them into R/S casting machines! So there are a number of features making this Lever Drag reel one of the few Lever Drags that have a proper Freespool function, allowing it to become castable, and user-friendly for Surf fishermen.
Freespool out the box, without lubing, I achieved 2min 30 sec freespool!! This is probably due to the spool technology of the "floating shaft" principle.
Another great feature for the R/S anglers is the high Crossbar! Allowing big leaders and knots without compromising line capacity... Nice!!
Many people are worried about using Lever Drags for R/S purposes for fear of knocking the Lever Drag open into freespool, but the lever drag is no different in function and appearance to the Clutch lever on a Star Drag reel, so this should not be a limiting factor at all. The Lever Drag is quite stiff, depending on the pre-set Knob tension, and would be as difficult to knock into freespool as it is with a Lever clutch.
Let's dismantle the reel and go through it...
Remove the Retainer screw and plate, plus the Handle nut and handle.
Excellent handle knob. Big and comfortable, fitting the palm like a Power handle.
Good waterproofing throughout the reel! A big plus.
The pre-set Cam has an O-ring seal that fits really tightly into the female Cam... watertight!
Removing the Side Plate...
All the screws on this reel were placed with Loctite... a REEL pain in the butt to try remove!! One or 2 of the screws almost had their heads stripped trying to remove...
And here is the only design flaw that I can find in the reel... one of those Ambassadeur type Dog Pawls, with flimsy leaf springs that clamp onto the ratchet. No spring retainer to force engagement of the Dog should the AR bearing fail. Disappointing finding this. If the Dog was spring retained, or better still double Dogs, it would have been so much better.
Also, the way in which the gears are stacked, it is VERY difficult to replace the Ratchet gear inside the blades of the Dog Pawl, without having to prise them open slightly... the chop who designed this needs a slap about the ears!! C'mon Daiwa... time to upgrade your Pawl system!
Another huge plus for a free floating spool shaft reel... a Centrifugal Brake system!
Inspection of the frame shows none of those machining swirls that are so often found on the inside of a machined metal reel. The inside of the Saltiga is smooth and seamless!
Proper oversized Carbontex Drag washer that fits against a solid steel metal Drag Plate. The Washer was dry, so we need to grease this with Cal's to prevent Drag spike.
Lots of bearings (6) in this reel. All sealed CRBB bearings. Not crazy about sealed bearings, one can never see whether they are properly greased or not without removing the seals.
You can dismantle the Drag Plate if you need to, but this shouldn't be necessary for a standard service.
The anti-reverse Roller bearing. Quite a short bearing, I expected a longer one, considering the way Anti-reverse bearings are developing.
Back inside the Side Plate...
Clean all parts in a bath of Benzine, scrub with a toothbrush. Open all sealed bearings up, regrease. Spool bearings can be oiled.
Paint the body and frame of the reel with a thin layer of grease to prevent any corrosion and help with waterproofing.
Putting the reel back together...
When replacing the Dod Pawl, it should be first attached to the Ratchet. Position the Ratchet over the square tubing of the collar, without seating fully. Line up the retainer plate for the Dog Pawl and screw it in place. Before tightening all the way, wiggle the Ratchet down on to the square tubing - this will help prevent bending of the Pawl leaves. This is tricky to do. Take care.
Test the functioning of the Dog Pawl several times. If the Pawl doesn't engage properly, then the leaves of the Pawl are too wide apart and should be gently bent together to engage the Ratchet better.
Grease the Drag plate components properly, especially the O-Ring seal.
Congratulations! All done!!
Conclusion: Boasting a 15kg Drag, (who will ever need that!) precision setting of the Drag, superb freespool and great handling makes this reel one of the finest masterpieces I've ever opened. Having cast with one and seen how easy it is to control, using the preset Drag control button just like a Cast Control knob, it's now a piece of cake to use this reel in the R/S facet. A touch on the heavy side, but nevertheless a beast of a reel. If only they made the Anti-reverse mechanism more solid and predictable, this would be the reel to beat all reels!
A masterpiece of engineering!
