Daiwa SLT30 Versus Penn 30S and Shimano Ti30

When you’re out in the ocean in blue water and have a large fish on the line, be confident in the Daiwa SLT 30. It can quickly and easily tame down the largest of offshore fish.

This brawny, gold-colored reel proudly bears a big Daiwa logo, and feels solid with its completely machined frame and spool. The reel looks and feels similar to the Penn 30S and Tiagra Ti30, but I needed to put this reel to the test to really see how well it performed.

The Daiwa SLT30 features a one-piece, machined aluminum frame, sideplates, and spool. The reel has a micro-click drag adjustment, corrosion resistant bearings, and even a machined, oversized, comfortable aluminum knob handle. The Daiwa is completely aluminum and weighs in at 55oz, making it heavier than the Tiagra Ti30 (48oz.) but slightly lighter than the Penn 30S (56oz.).

The SLT30 has a greater line capacity than both the Shimano and Penn reels. It holds 780 yards of 30lb line versus just 700 yards of 30lb line on the competitors.

We got the chance to first test the reel awhile back. Tuna appear around 80 miles of our coast every year. I needed a reel that was capable of putting the brakes on these fast fish, and I needed a reel with enough muscle to hoist one of those up out of the water.

Before heading out make sure to use the included reel clamp; the last thing you want is to have your reel pop loose during the strike. The SLT30 features a clicker that serves the dual function of emitting a loud warning noise when fish. The Daiwa clicker is not as loud as the chainsaw sound from the Tiagra. It’s comparable to the scream from the Penn. Unlike many other reels that use a small round switch on the left sideplate, the SLT30's has a flip-up switch below the drag lever. This is among the easiest to disengage during a fight.

Tuna have a lot of pulling power, but I was overjoyed that I was using a quality two-speed reel for this fish. With any of my faster single-speed reels, this fight would have turned into a long battle. The SLT30 is very smooth, like the Shimano Tiagra, and quite a bit more smoother and quieter than the Penn International.