Design & Ergonomics: I kind of touched upon the important aspects of the Exist LT 3000S-CXH's ergonomics already number one being its weight. Daiwa, along with all the other manufacturers, certainly use a lot of buzzwords to describe the tech and design features within their reels, and the Exist LT is not bereft of any of them.

The most important feature of this reel, I find, is the bearings. Magseal is a very interesting feature in Daiwa's reels and I like the reassurance of having them in a spinning reel. It speaks to the long term viability of the product if the bearings can be kept free of dirt and debris. For this reel, they are located at the line roller (x2), rotor, and on either side of the drive gears.

The Exist features a Zaion (carbon fiber composite) rotor.

Another point of discussion on the Exist LT is its Zaion rotor. Zaion is Daiwa's term for their carbon fiber composite. I feel this is important to note because Zaion doesn't leave a very good first or even second impression. Why? Because it feels like plastic, but unlike plastic, carbon fiber has very good structural integrity and can withstand some abuse. Daiwa uses this material on the rotor for weight savings. A lighter rotor contributes in a positive manner to the smoothness of a reel. Having said all that, I like the performance gains of this material, but I do not like its plastic feel when I tap on it with my fingers. I do my best not to do that, but for some reason it still bugs me.

The T-Knob on this reel feels better ergonomically, but I still prefer an I-knob.

Speaking of stuff that bugs me about this reel, the Exist LT 3000S-CXH, like the Stella FJ we reviewed earlier, comes with a T-Knob. This T-Knob, however, has some ergonomic contours to it that make it a bit more comfortable to fish. It's very thin in the middle and has a ridge along the outer edge giving you a more interesting shape to grasp as you spin the handle. It's better, but I still prefer an I-shaped knob instead.

One of the reasons for the expense of this reel? It's still made in Japan.

Price & Applications: Indications are that Daiwa will be globalizing their 2018 Exist much like they did the 2015 model. This is great news because it means you will be able to purchase it from stores like TackleWarehouse. This is also bad news because the temptation will be strong and with an approximate price of $700, well, who needs that temptation? Of course, the reel is already available for order from sources like JapanTackle which is how I got mine.

Conclusion: There are other design features I didn't go into much detail about like the smaller diameter spools for less friction on casts equating to better casting distances, the reinforced duralumin (aluminum alloy) gearing, and CRBB bearings where they are not using MagSeal for extra saltwater protection. Bottom line is the 2018 Daiwa Exist LT is more than worthy of its position at the top of Daiwa's spinning reel pyramid.

Was there ever any doubt Daiwa's 2018 Exist LT would earn our Ultimate Enthusiast Award?.

I thought my original Daiwa Exist spinning reel from eleven years ago was lighter, but looking up the spec in that review reveals the Exist 2004 (model size not year) was also 6.4 ounces. So in fact, the 2018 Exist is lighter because the 3000S-CXH is a larger model size. I'm still a little stunned at how well this reel performs and how close it is to Shimano's Stella FJ. In fact, these two reels left such a positive and nearly identical impression on us that you know what's next, right? In the words of Duncan MacLeod, there can only be one. That's right, stay tuned as we pit Daiwa vs Shimano once again in a high end spinning reel shootout. In the meantime, was there ever any doubt Daiwa's 2018 Exist LT would earn our Ultimate Enthusiast Award?