Nobody knows exactly what Infinity Drive is except Shimano itself. According to Shimano, it's a combination of approaches to reduce the winding resistance, which even includes some special grease in bearings. Nonetheless, the difference is definitely noticeable.
Oh its 100% noticeable. Particularly when reeling under load. Its as smooth and effortless as I've ever felt from a reel. This 2022 bantam is something special. I've got the 2021 antares dc and that's as close to perfection as I've ever felt but the bantam even beats it when comparing the smoothness of reeling and the effortless reeling under load.
I have twonof the hg and 2 of the xg models and imo they are superior in every way to the metanium, and I have all the new models. You will love it. Merry Christmas bud.
I'm gonna have to agree with you. I would take my 2022 bantam over a metanium any day. Love my metaniums and they have their place where they shine over my bantam but I want to pick up my bantam way more than my metanium.
Do you know what bearings are in the SLX BFS reel? Normal or micro? . Also how does it compare to similar reels like the Curado BFS and Scorpion BFS? Thx!
Infinity Drive is more likely about infinity shaft,have a look closer on it. Made different for different pattern of line layout on a spool .Line not cross each other layer as before,but go on the top like.Basically there slowed down an eye ,did same on new Stella spinning reel .Compare those spools with line on it side by side should be visible. That only my thinking,I might be wrong to 😂😂😂 ❤❤❤ peace
The 2018 Bantam is up there with the 16 Metanium as my favorite Shimano reels. I am most likely going to pick one of these up to pair with my Steez AGS power pitch. My old one balances it so well but don’t really want a 6.2:1 jig reel
I have both the new JDM zillion and the bantam. Fished side by side same setups. I still prefer the zillion. Both are great reels though. Brazilian is just more user friendly and forgiving. Where the bantam takes more to adjust and dial in and can get a little unruly at times. It's very temperamental. Where the zillion is much more tame throughout the fishing day
Does your experience also relate to the use of braid, or what type of line do you use. (I am currently fishing a zillion with fluo and a scorpion dc with braid. I've not tried changing to another line on one reel or the other, but so far I am not impressed with the performance of the scorpion. The zillion is far more controlled imo and casts about 5 yards further.)
@@peterpan7290 both using 16lb Sunline Shooter floro. Haven't used braid on them. But yes I agree. Over all the Zillions is much enjoyable to fish. I could see the bantam being a good flipping reel. But for casting the Zillion is my choice
Have you layed hands on one of the Bates reels yet? Couldn't help but get one because it was the best quality reel I've ever felt in my hand. Bad thing is I needed a BFS reel, but spent all of my budge on the Bates Seaborn
Beautiful looking reel and I’m sure it’s smooth as silk however, any reel that weights more than 7 ounces I find heavy. When you get used to fishing 6.4 ounce reel then pick one up that’s almost 8 ounces. It just feels off to me. The materials are available for Shimano to bring the weight down.
The problem with light reels Is flex and long term use. I have a 2002 antares as my work horse all metal and it's still insanely smooth. Metal might not be light but it's durability is unmatched
Yea, your not going to get any reel that's made of composite to ever feel and function like the bantam. The bantam is alittle heavy but it can not be matched in smoothness and durability. There is zero flex in this reel which translates to reeling perfection. I always tell people that if you cant handle 7 1/2 ounces in your hand, you dont need to be fishing in the first place. And your not throwing jerkbaits with a bantam. It's made for flipping and pitching, crankbaits and high drag baits. That's why we have several rigs on our boat decks. Different setups for different uses. In my opinion, every boat deck should have a bantam on its deck. Its a must have for a serious Angler and its one of those reels that you gotta fish before you can understand what all the buzz is about
The Metanium Shallow Edition has around the same weight spool as the regular, actually, the shallow spool is a bit heavier. I feel that if you use braid backing on the regular JDM Metanium (which is supposed to be shallower already than the US version), you won't see much difference. Especially if using straight braid. They also added aluminum micro module gears which were a contention point with the old Metanium MGL. I still would love to try the shallow version, never personally had an issue with aluminum micro modules. Few reports on the new Aldebaran state that those aluminum micros have held up well to big fish on BFS setups.
people think it's a strong reel, but the internals are exactly the same as the 2020 Met. However, the Met gives a much better feeling. I use both, it was clearly a mistake to buy this, I should have had another Met....
I have both as well. They don’t handle large baits the same in my opinion. I like the Bantam for heavier moving baits like the Magdraft and for pitching and flipping into heavy cover with more options to fine tune a cast. I like the metanium for everything else.
Well, the new Bantam is in fact a little stronger than 20 Met because the inside is not exactly the same. It has Infinity Drive, which, according to Shimano, is an "upgraded" version of the X-ship that Metanium has. It makes the Bantam a little stronger and more powerful. I am not sure what "much better" feeling you're referring to, but my Bantam is actually a tiny bit smoother than my Met. It's definitely heavier for sure though. Although the Bantam's spool is a little deeper than the Met's, the casting performance is about the same. Given the price difference, if the extra weight is not an issue, I'd recommend the Bantam over the Met.
The bantam is smoother and definitely smoother under load than the metanium. And durability wise, the bantam is light years better than the metanium. And the internals are not the same mate. Lol the metanium doesn't even have infinity drive or silent tune. Lol not to mention the metanium is so light because it's made up of alot of composite and plastic parts where the bantam is aluminum. The metanium is an amazing reel. Love the metanium. But its a reel that is meant for very specific uses just like the bantam is. The bantam is a work horse that is butter smooth. The metanium isn't a workhorse reel. Its a light weight, great casting reel. But why in gods name you think the metanium is internally the same as the bantam is besides me.
@DGxxxK1 an infinity drive isn't a marketing ploy. It's 100% noticeable. Stick a double willow spinner bait on your metanium and do the same with the 2022 bantam and you will see. Reel a 6lb bass in on both and you will see.
Nobody knows exactly what Infinity Drive is except Shimano itself. According to Shimano, it's a combination of approaches to reduce the winding resistance, which even includes some special grease in bearings. Nonetheless, the difference is definitely noticeable.
Oh its 100% noticeable. Particularly when reeling under load. Its as smooth and effortless as I've ever felt from a reel. This 2022 bantam is something special. I've got the 2021 antares dc and that's as close to perfection as I've ever felt but the bantam even beats it when comparing the smoothness of reeling and the effortless reeling under load.
I absolutely love my new Bantams, they're a beast.
Puedes manejar 4 gramos de buena manera ?
I am enjoying the new Bantam as a primary workhorse reel. The Infinity Drive noticibly decreases torque under load.
I have twonof the hg and 2 of the xg models and imo they are superior in every way to the metanium, and I have all the new models. You will love it. Merry Christmas bud.
I'm gonna have to agree with you. I would take my 2022 bantam over a metanium any day. Love my metaniums and they have their place where they shine over my bantam but I want to pick up my bantam way more than my metanium.
I just recently retireed my 1987 Shimano Bantam that I bought at the PX at Ft. Campbell, KY. 🙂
Thanks for doing a video on this!
Do you know what bearings are in the SLX BFS reel? Normal or micro?
.
Also how does it compare to similar reels like the Curado BFS and Scorpion BFS? Thx!
Thank you for putting out very informative content. How about a review of the Diawas Steez CT SV?
Infinity Drive is more likely about infinity shaft,have a look closer on it. Made different for different pattern of line layout on a spool .Line not cross each other layer as before,but go on the top like.Basically there slowed down an eye ,did same on new Stella spinning reel .Compare those spools with line on it side by side should be visible. That only my thinking,I might be wrong to 😂😂😂 ❤❤❤ peace
Terbaik sahabat. Salam sehobi dari Malaysia...
Would love to see this against the 2020 Metanium!
Спасибо за обзор.
The 2018 Bantam is up there with the 16 Metanium as my favorite Shimano reels. I am most likely going to pick one of these up to pair with my Steez AGS power pitch. My old one balances it so well but don’t really want a 6.2:1 jig reel
Man this is my favorite frame reel I wish they made this one on ci4+ or magnesium!!!
its internal structure is one-to-one the same as that of 2020 metanium, whose frame is magnesium.
The bantam feel better in hand !! The problem is the weight!!
An excellent review
I have both the new JDM zillion and the bantam. Fished side by side same setups. I still prefer the zillion. Both are great reels though. Brazilian is just more user friendly and forgiving. Where the bantam takes more to adjust and dial in and can get a little unruly at times. It's very temperamental. Where the zillion is much more tame throughout the fishing day
I agree about the Brazilian
Does your experience also relate to the use of braid, or what type of line do you use.
(I am currently fishing a zillion with fluo and a scorpion dc with braid. I've not tried changing to another line on one reel or the other, but so far I am not impressed with the performance of the scorpion. The zillion is far more controlled imo and casts about 5 yards further.)
@@peterpan7290 both using 16lb Sunline Shooter floro. Haven't used braid on them. But yes I agree. Over all the Zillions is much enjoyable to fish. I could see the bantam being a good flipping reel. But for casting the Zillion is my choice
@@makcatchem9614 I'm using the sunline sniper, so it seems the zillion generally performs great with fluo.👍
Have you layed hands on one of the Bates reels yet? Couldn't help but get one because it was the best quality reel I've ever felt in my hand. Bad thing is I needed a BFS reel, but spent all of my budge on the Bates Seaborn
any insider information as to whether or not we will see a updated Shimano Metanium DC in 2023?
And an updated chronarch too???
Yes, they are going to release a dc long cast reel which I guess it’s going to be metanium
Bantam or tranx 150?
Beautiful looking reel and I’m sure it’s smooth as silk however, any reel that weights more than 7 ounces I find heavy. When you get used to fishing 6.4 ounce reel then pick one up that’s almost 8 ounces. It just feels off to me. The materials are available for Shimano to bring the weight down.
The problem with light reels Is flex and long term use. I have a 2002 antares as my work horse all metal and it's still insanely smooth. Metal might not be light but it's durability is unmatched
Yea, your not going to get any reel that's made of composite to ever feel and function like the bantam. The bantam is alittle heavy but it can not be matched in smoothness and durability. There is zero flex in this reel which translates to reeling perfection. I always tell people that if you cant handle 7 1/2 ounces in your hand, you dont need to be fishing in the first place. And your not throwing jerkbaits with a bantam. It's made for flipping and pitching, crankbaits and high drag baits. That's why we have several rigs on our boat decks. Different setups for different uses. In my opinion, every boat deck should have a bantam on its deck. Its a must have for a serious Angler and its one of those reels that you gotta fish before you can understand what all the buzz is about
The Metanium Shallow Edition has around the same weight spool as the regular, actually, the shallow spool is a bit heavier. I feel that if you use braid backing on the regular JDM Metanium (which is supposed to be shallower already than the US version), you won't see much difference. Especially if using straight braid. They also added aluminum micro module gears which were a contention point with the old Metanium MGL. I still would love to try the shallow version, never personally had an issue with aluminum micro modules. Few reports on the new Aldebaran state that those aluminum micros have held up well to big fish on BFS setups.
Own both
Undoubtedly the shallow spool not only feels better but noticeably casts better
Is this mgl spool safe for saltwater or not ?
Shimano says yes
Excellent
Perhaps take the Shimano Chronarch MGL with your casting adventure with the Zillion and Bantam?
You need to do casting challenge on the Metanium over the bantam
awesome
Infinity Drive shared by stella and CQ.... bantam hv it too
Ugly looking reel.
people think it's a strong reel, but the internals are exactly the same as the 2020 Met. However, the Met gives a much better feeling. I use both, it was clearly a mistake to buy this, I should have had another Met....
I have both as well. They don’t handle large baits the same in my opinion. I like the Bantam for heavier moving baits like the Magdraft and for pitching and flipping into heavy cover with more options to fine tune a cast. I like the metanium for everything else.
Well, the new Bantam is in fact a little stronger than 20 Met because the inside is not exactly the same. It has Infinity Drive, which, according to Shimano, is an "upgraded" version of the X-ship that Metanium has. It makes the Bantam a little stronger and more powerful. I am not sure what "much better" feeling you're referring to, but my Bantam is actually a tiny bit smoother than my Met. It's definitely heavier for sure though.
Although the Bantam's spool is a little deeper than the Met's, the casting performance is about the same. Given the price difference, if the extra weight is not an issue, I'd recommend the Bantam over the Met.
@@xiaoyangzhang "little stronger". Absolutely NO. Infnity drive just a marketing bullshit.
The bantam is smoother and definitely smoother under load than the metanium. And durability wise, the bantam is light years better than the metanium. And the internals are not the same mate. Lol the metanium doesn't even have infinity drive or silent tune. Lol not to mention the metanium is so light because it's made up of alot of composite and plastic parts where the bantam is aluminum. The metanium is an amazing reel. Love the metanium. But its a reel that is meant for very specific uses just like the bantam is. The bantam is a work horse that is butter smooth. The metanium isn't a workhorse reel. Its a light weight, great casting reel. But why in gods name you think the metanium is internally the same as the bantam is besides me.
@DGxxxK1 an infinity drive isn't a marketing ploy. It's 100% noticeable. Stick a double willow spinner bait on your metanium and do the same with the 2022 bantam and you will see. Reel a 6lb bass in on both and you will see.