Daiwa BG SW Spinning Reel (REVIEW) | Know Before You Buy!

The Daiwa BG Saltwater Spinning Reel: My Review of Quality Budget-Friendly Saltwater Reel

If you’re just now getting into saltwater fishing, you might be a little shocked by how expensive the reels can be. They’re expensive for a reason. They’re built to withstand much harsher water than what any freshwater reel will ever be exposed to. Luckily, I’ve found one that gives you most of the features that you need for saltwater fishing, and it won’t break your bank. I’m talking about the Daiwa BG SW.

A Quick Overview of The Daiwa BG SW Saltwater Spinning Reel

Here’s a short overview of the Daiwa BG SW before I dig into all of the features.

• It’s an affordable reel that will work well for most fishermen.
• While it’s not waterproof, its features make it great for saltwater fishing.
• It utilizes some of Daiwa’s best technology.

REVIEW: All About The The Daiwa BG SW Spinning Reel

The Daiwa BG SW is a spinning reel that can function equally well in freshwater and saltwater environments, but it’s mostly marketed towards saltwater fishermen. It’s also one of the cheapest saltwater reels that you’re going to find besides products that simply don’t work. It’s not the most robust saltwater reel, but as long as you’re careful while you fish, you shouldn’t experience any problems. It is a high-quality reel. Now, let’s talk about its main features.

Features of The Daiwa BG SW

Since the Daiwa BG SW is designed to withstand the harsh nature of the ocean, it has a lot of different features that are geared just for that reason. Below I’m going to discuss each of these features in a section of their own.

Over-Sized Gears

The gears on the BG are quite a bit larger than the gears that you’ll find on similar reels. That helps it reel in tons of line with each handle crank, and it makes the gears a little more durable when you hook into something that’s too big for the reel. The over-sized gears do add a little bit of weight to the BG, but they’re milled to prevent them from being too heavy. Considering the amount of hardware that is jammed into this reel, it’s actually pretty light.

Hardbodyz Shell

The shell and the side plate are both Hardbodyz parts. They’re made from Daiwa’s proprietary aluminum formula, and that makes them lightweight, durable, and sturdy. The Hardbodyz case also helps to keep water out of the reel, but it’s not waterproof. Your reel will survive being splashed with ocean water, but you should do your best to keep it out of the water at all times.

The shell is corrosion-resistant, though. So, you won’t have to worry about it slowly rusting every time you go fishing.

Air Rotor

Daiwa’s Air Rotor technology lowers the overall weight of the BG, and it makes it more efficient in general. When you’re reeling in your line, the Air Rotor technology makes your line fall perfectly into place. That prevents issues such as bird’s nests, and it keeps wet line from getting into your rotor and corroding it.

The Spool

The spool on the BG is the same Dynamic-Cut spool that a lot of other Daiwa reels use. It’s large enough to hold ridiculous amounts of line, and it can easily work with braided line. You don’t have to tie mono-filament on first. You can just tie your braided line on directly. The spool is shaped like a cone, and that allows you to use every bit of your spooled line without it slipping around when you try to reel it in. If you’ve used cheaper reels, you know how hard it can be to reel in a fish after you’ve been spooled. Finally, the aluminum used to make the spool is extremely slick. That allows your line to fly off of it with ease, and that increases your casting distance quite a bit. If you want to use lighter lures, the spool will help you get them out farther than you could with other reels.

Corrosion-Resistant Bearings

The Daiwa BG has a pretty standard bearing system. It has six normal ball bearings, and it has one bearing that is designed to keep the reel from reversing. However, the bearings are all corrosion-resistant. That’s a good thing. Since the BG doesn’t have MagSeal technology, water can get into it fairly easily, and bearings are usually the first things that rust out when water penetrates a reel.

ATD Drag

Daiwa’s automatic tournament drag system is on the BG. It’s usually found on more expensive Daiwa models, and that is one of the reasons that the BG is such a great bargain. The ATD system can handle the fish that you’re likely to catch in the surf and along rocky shorelines, and it’s unlikely to get destroyed if you accidentally pick a fight with one of the ocean’s many massive species. However, the ATD system is not protected by MagSeal technology like it is on more expensive models. So, you want to try to protect it from the ocean’s highly corrosive water at all times. If you see a wave coming, shield the reel. If you can’t keep your hands on your rod for some reason, don’t dangle your rod over the water. You have to fish a little more cautiously when you don’t have anything protecting your reel from saltwater.

Screw-In Handle

If you’ve used a cheap reel before, you know what it’s like to have your handle wobbling all over the place while you’re fighting a fish. It’s uncomfortable, and it doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in you. The Daiwa BG solves that problem with a special screw-in handle. The handle doesn’t wobble or slide around. It stays flush with the main shaft of the reel, and that will allow you to really crank down on it without worrying about it falling off.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Daiwa BG SW is a great budget reel that won’t disappoint you. If you can’t take care of your reels, you’ll want to go with a Daiwa Saltist, but it might possibly cost you a bit more.