# Another Tiburon comparison



## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

This is a comparison between a Shimano TLD 30A II and a Tiburon 30/80. The Tiburon is an automatic two speed reel and it can be locked into low speed if you wanted. I kind of fell into being a Tiburon dealer beause my customers keep buying the reels I've been getting for myself. Go figure?


----------



## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Good lookin' reel.


----------



## ycanti (Jul 13, 2011)

Pros and cons?


----------



## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Ycanti to be honest the only con I've found so far is I haven't been able to test the warranty situation with these reels. They come with a two year factory warranty and you can include a two year warranty extension at the time of purchase. So far I haven't had anything break on any of these reels and I have fished them hard. Even more telling, my customers have fished them and some of these guys remind me of Mr Mayhem on the insurance commercials when they have fishing gear in their hands.

We have used the SST7540 reels for Tuna and have taken them to 100 lbs with no problems. The SST 8, SST 16 and the SST 20 all have performed well as jigging reels on a variety of rods.

The real big plus is that when the fish turns and runs to you it automatically shifts into high gear so you can rip that line in and get that fish back under tension. I'm thinking of trying a spring sale to try and get more people to try them and see how great they are.

If you want i can post the Tiburon 30/80 compared against the Penn International and Shimano Tiagra 30 W's. It holds a little less line that those but it does have more drag and it is lighter weight.


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

There is no cons to a Tiburon reel that I, nor any customers of ours have found. The drags have great range and are super smooth. Last May I found myself tethered to a possible grander Blue after it ate a 55lb yellowfin I was fighting. It nearly dumped my SST 20/80 twice but the drag remained smooth and consistent and I was actually able to gain line by just allowing that automatic 2 speed do it's job. I just anchored myself in the corner of the transom and winched it into low gear at nearly 40lbs. The big girl spit the tuna fairly close to the boat but I can honestly say that despite such a huge fish on such a small reel, if she stayed connected I have no doubt I could've landed that fish.

I have always been a Shimano Tiagra guy but I now push my customers toward Tiburon more when it comes to a lightweight, kill-all reel.


----------



## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Chris has brought out a very important point here. With the advent of high strength braided lines, we are able to spool up a 30 W reel with almost 900 yards of line. That's more than adequate to tackle a big fish but there is a problem with that. The problem is on real big fish with the lighter drags I have found that sometimes by the time the battle is won the fish is dead. It's heartbreaking to "release" a dead marlin. These reels with the beefed up drags take that down side out of the equation. It's much easier to get that big girl to the boat and released in good condition with 40 lbs of drag rather than 28lbs.


----------



## 2RC's II (Feb 2, 2012)

*wanna see one*

Ahhhh....where can a potential customer look a one of these?


----------



## Lyin Too (Aug 31, 2009)

+1,


----------



## Scout800 (Mar 22, 2010)

They are beautiful reels. Alantani.com has one torn apart if you wanted to see the insides.


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

twodown said:


> Ahhhh....where can a potential customer look a one of these?


If you're in the OB area, we carry them here at Sam's


----------

