Daiwa Revamps the Zillion Rod Lineup to Match the New Reels

Introduction: For Daiwa the big story this ICAST was the "Zillion" revamp which included not only the updating of their popular reel series but also the company's rods as well.

Daiwa revamps their Zillion rods to match the updated reels

Zillion Rods: Daiwa's original Zillion rods were praised for their price to performance ratio as well as the use of a proprietary Zaion reel seat that not only looked unique but delivered good ergonomics for anglers looking for a stable and comfortable platform for their Zillion reels.

Daiwa's prostaff team rolls out the new Zillion family at ICAST

This year Daiwa is building upon the original but taking things to the next level in terms of refinement. The new rods definitely look more high end than the previous ones with the use of a machined aluminum reel clamp nut that channels the Steez but integrates carbon fiber into the look and feel.

These prototypes are used to test sensitivity transfer through the different materials. The final version is made out of carbon and is stronger than ABS and lighter than aluminum

A new component is the machined aluminum and carbon fiber reel clamp nut

The blanks all feature Daiwa's popular SVF (Super Volume Fiber) graphite technology and X45 Bias graphite fiber construction is designed to offer both flexibility and strength under pressure, with virtually no blank twist. The blanks feature Daiwa's "micro pitch" finish which describes the fine pitch taping during the taping process which results in a denser blank with more even distribution of resin within the graphites. The Zillion rods feature a natural, un-sanded finish due to this process and come loaded with premium tangle free Fuji SiC Ring K guides.

A look at the clamp nut paired with a reel seat

There are now different reel seats depending on rod model

To complement the new reel clamps Daiwa has created three new carbon-air reel seats which are constructed out of high density carbon which is stronger than nylon and ABS material, yet lighted than aluminum. It is supposed to be even lighter than the previous generation yet highly durable.

A lot of the casting models feature a split grip

The new rods pair nicely with the updated Zillion reels

The new Zillion rods all feature EVA foam grips and most have split grips, minus the swimbait rods which have sculpted full grips. In all there will be 17 new  Zillion rods, 3 of which are spinning, covering applications including worm/jig, cranking, frogging, flipping, swimbait fishing and finesse spinning. These new Daiwa Zillion rods are all one piece and will retail from $229 to $289 depending on the action/application. At the show we paired the new Zillion rods and reels together and they look and feel like the complement each other nicely.