Daiwa Rod and Reel Names- How it works and what the names mean

By Simon Goldsmith

Nomenclature is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these names or terms in a particular field. From a fishing tackle point of view, it’s the system we use to name products. For Daiwa products it’s our rods and reels where the naming system is most prevalent and for many people is perhaps the most confusing or hard to get your head around.

In this blog we’ll explain the Daiwa rod and reel nomenclature and give you the knowledge to understand what it all means the next time you’re flicking through the Daiwa catalogue or scrolling through the website.

Rods

The system of naming rods is a straightforward one and sees the name broken up into parts. Let’s start with our most common system and one that generally features on our light tackle and surf and beach rods. The name generally provides five key pieces of information, length, rod pieces, power, taper, rod type. 

Light Tackle Rods

Here’s an example of how a typical light tackle and a surf or beach rod name breaks down. 

The two rods above are typical specs of many rods in many different ranges, and as a result they should be a name or style of name that you’ve seen before and are familiar with. However, there are some outliers or irregularly used numbers and letters when it comes to naming. To help fill in some gaps in this knowledge or finally answer a question you’ve had for a while about that rod you own, let’s split the name apart again and look at the varying options available for each part of the rod name.

Offshore Rods

Offshore rods in many situations use a slightly different naming approach, often leaving out some of the information you get in the examples above and often adding in information that you don’t get above. Let’s break it down with two typical examples. 

Rod type (spin v overhead), rod length (in feet and inches), rod pieces, and recommended line rating (PE rating) are the four key pieces of information that its outlined in this rod name approach. Additional information such as rod taper (fast, X fast, reg, moderate) while not conveyed in the rod name in most cases are listed in the rod spec table.

The rod naming system is a literal approach with each part of the name providing you with information that helps you understand what type a rod it is, how long it is, how powerful it is, and in many cases, its taper and other key pieces of information. Armed with the information and understanding you’ll be able to pick up any Daiwa rod, read its model name on the blank and know exactly what that rod is.

Reels

Reel nomenclature follows a similar acronym approach to rods with each element in the name providing details on the reel.

Spin Reels

Let’s look at a light tackle spin and heavy-duty spin reel and what their names tell us.

The amount of information contained within a reel name, just like with rods, can be extensive or relatively short. The 22 Exist above is a longer example and provides four key pieces of information while the 22 Maverick provides two, the reel size and its retrieve ratio.

Let’s take it a step further and look at an example of the different types of information you could find in spin reel names.

Baitcaster and Overhead Reels

Baitcaster and overhead reels follow a similar approach, though they tend to contain less information in their names. Let’s look at two, a baitcaster and an overhead. 

Like we did with rods and spin reels let’s look at the different options available when it comes to baitcaster and overhead reel naming.

Did You Get It?

There you have it, a rundown and hopefully a clear explanation of how Daiwa names its rods and reels. Armed with this information you’ll have the tools to understand rod and reel models and how to pinpoint the exact model and product you’re chasing in the Daiwa tackle range.