First Look Inside the New, all ALUMINUM Daiwa Steez A TW 1016 Baitcasting Reel

Introduction: Over ten years ago, Daiwa introduced a product that brought an ease of style to the company and defined their flagship product line. The Steez has since gone through many iterations but none quite as impactful as that first 103H/103HL. In fact, one could argue that in recent years, the company had abandoned high end all together with their "all-in" strategy surrounding the success of their T-wing line guide innovation - not anymore.

Our first look at Daiwa's new Steez A TW 1016.

As usual, word about Daiwa's planned introductions for this year broke out at the Japan fishing tackle shows held in January and February and the only question was, which of these products, if any, would make it to the US. A few leaks here, and a few leaks there, and soon anyone with access to the Internet knew that indeed, Daiwa had plans to introduce an aluminum version of the Steez complete with a TWS line guide at the Bassmaster Classic Expo. Shortly after the Expo, we got our hands on one and here now is an early, sneak peak at what the Steez A TW 1016 is all about.

The "A" stands for ALUMINUM!

A Look Inside: Before spooling this reel up and taking it out for a test run, we thought we'd take a closer look inside to see what makes this 2017 Steez tick. We were particularly anxious to see what this aluminum framed reel weighed and also investigate a few key areas to see whether or not Daiwa installed bearings there.

The, new aluminum Steez comes with MagForce Z with a 20 step external adjustment dial.

First stop for this reel was an appointment with our digital scale and what we discovered was the manufacturer specification of 6.7 ounces was spot on. Not only that, we measured the new, G1 Duralumin, MagForce Z spool and found out it weighs only 14 grams. Notice this reel comes with the older MagForce Z braking system and not the newer SV Spool. This is a good indication Daiwa intends the Steez A TW 1016 to be a more general purpose type casting reel and of course, leaves the door open for a future, SV variant down the line.

Oddly enough, this Steez comes with two bushings per knob - no bearings.

The next easiest thing to check is how many bearings, if any, are under the knobs of the new Steez A TW 1016. Knowing of course, this is a Steez, we were expecting two bearings per knob. Unfortunately what we found were only two bushings per knob on this high end reel. Reasons for this? With its new aluminum frame, the Steez A TW 1016 is rated as saltwater safe and we've seen many manufacturers use plastic bushings under the knobs of saltwater reels instead of bearings to save on maintenance concerns. This is likely the same reason Daiwa chose to go with bushings instead of bearings at this spot in the reel.

But what captured our attention was the presence of a MagSealed bearing.

There's only one and it's under this new, stylish, non-clicking, spool tension knob.

From there, you simply remove the retainer clip and the bearing pops right out. It is shielded and sealed, so we can't see the bearings inside, but this is a nice little add for the reel and part of the reason Daiwa has declared this reel safe for use in Saltwater.

To access, you need to take the reel apart.

Underneath the retainler clip and red washer is the MagSeal bearing.