AIRDRIVE DESIGN | Concept

Rotation like you have never felt before. The future of DAIWA Spinning Reels is AIRDRIVE Design. By reducing the weight of rotor, spool & bail assembly, a lighter rotation is achieved. The effortless rotation allows the angler to feel the true joy of trouble free function. This new chapter starts with 22' Exist.

AIRDRIVE DESIGN VIDEO

Consequences of the AIRDRIVE Design

1. Reel balance improvement
   16% lighter front unit compared to the 18' Exist (2500size reel used for the comparison) Weight adjustment and reel balance improvement allows angler to cast freely with control.
   
   
2. Rotation improvement
   The sensitivity and responsiveness of the reel has seen significant improvement. Low inertia allows anglers to experience a quick reaction and smooth running. The new AIRDRIVE roter instantly starts and elevates the control.
   
   
3. Less line trouble
   By combining the benefits of AIRDRIVE Rotor & AIRDRIVE Bail, along with Twistbuster III technology, 22' Exist is the easiest to manage spinning reel created by DAIWA!

AIRDRIVE SPOOL

Design reflects the future.
The stand out features of the AIRDRIVE Spool would have to be the newly shaped spool skirt and the simple single silver coloured cosmetic. Just by looking at the spool it is clear the structure has been redeveloped, reducing the weight and maximising the feeling of presence.
Reducing the spool weight creates many benefits for a reel; the total weight of reel is reduced, oscillation is improved, less resistance during winding and rotation, better balance when attached to the rod and of course the reel feels light and easy to fish.
In addition, DAIWA has added a skirt to the bottom of the spool edge to prevent line getting caught behind the spool and tangling with the main shaft.
The drag sound and clicker has also been redesigned to create a higher pitch drag sound.

AIRDRIVE SHAFT

Friction free rotation.
Vertical rotational force from the handle is converted by the pinion gear to horizontal rotation. The mainshaft goes through the pinion gear to support the oscillation of the spool. To create a smoother oscillation and rotation, improvement to the mainshaft and pinion gear was required.
Most DAIWA spinning reels use linear shaft which has a non contact structure between the mainshaft and the pinion gear itself. The linear shaft creates less friction resistance which leads to smoother rotation along with minimal power loss.
The newly developed AIRDRIVE Shaft has taken the same benefits and improved further. AIRDRIVE Shaft also has a non contact structure between the mainshaft and the pinion gear. In addition to this, both ends of pinion gear are now supported with bearings to relay the crank power from the handle to the rotor with a higher level of efficiency.
AIRDRIVE Shaft creates the feel of smooth, quiet rotation and provides anglers with torque and power.

AIRDRIVE BAIL

Trouble free future.
DAIWA’s well known technology AIR BAIL has seen further improvement with the concept of AIRDRIVE. The AIRDRIVE bail is the next evolutionary step in bail design and perfectly matched with the new AIRDRIVE concept. DAIWA succeeded in designing a somewhat thinner bail that nevertheless offers the required strength and further decreases the reel weight. Compared to the 18' Exist the new AIDRIVE bail reduces the weight by 33% (Size 2500).
Creating the bail in a smaller diameter reduces weight to create stress free and user-friendly fishing experience. DAIWA has adjusted the angle of bail setting to improve the line movement into the roller. Careful attention was given to the roller and slider and individual design alterations were done for each size of 22' Exist, perfectly adjusting the line management for each size of the reel.

AIRDRIVE ROTOR

Low inertia is the key.
A lighter rotor increases the functionality of small spinning reels. The lighter and more compact rotor will require less initial force to rotate, creating that feeling of low inertia and effortless start up. The new AIRDRIVE rotor is made of Zaion. The robustness is the same as at the 18' Exist but nevertheless DAIWA was able to reduce the weight of the 22' Exist significantly. The goals during the development were to ensure an extremely light and smooth running.
The rotor weight has been reduced by 16% compared to the previous edition (#2500) and sets a new benchmark regarding rotor design.

TOUGH DIGIGEAR® | Gear

Machined, digitally developed gearing for maximum performance and endurance. Embeded in our lightweight reel body, it transmits smoothly and efficiently the power of the handle directly to the rotor. Like this you can concentrate on fishing completely.

Our DAIWA engineers completely perfected the technology of milled gears with the Digigear II and newest with the Tough Digigear (TDG). The shape and surface of the gear teeth enable the construction of gears with extraordinary smooth running, smallest resistance and extremely long lifespan.

Result – A real evolution for the strength of the Digigear!

ZAION V® | Body & Rotor

With the Zaion V material, the Japanese DAIWA engineers succeeded in developing a combination of materials, which can be used more conveniently in processing and producing reels compared to the previously existing Zaion material. Thus it also can be used in more economic reel series.

Due to the high amount of carbon fiber and a new composite material the Zaion V is significantly lighter and more distortion proof than common DS5 material.

QD® | Drag System

The abbreviated QD (Quick Drag) function allows you to apply a controlled level of "Free Spool" but still engage the drag back to your chosen level with less than one turn.

The "free" drag position allows fish run like other set ups. At the same time you are able to react quickly to applying the drag the moment you handle the rod.

QD offers the advantage of a "free running" set up with a rapd front drag control on a big pit reel.

TWISTBUSTER® III | Line Roller

With 22' Exist DAIWA has managed to improve the existing Twistbuster II and introduce the technology Twistbuster III. By adding another groove on the line roller, itself, the flattening effect of the line when retrieved is reduced and this as a result decreases line twist. DAIWA has also installed Magsealed Line Roller to negate the harsh effects of saltwater and maintain performance long term.

ABS® | Anti-Backlash-System

The super system that allows long casts and prevents line twist reliably. DAIWA reels with ABS have spools, which are constructed in such way that they have a spool guide of a very large diameter which is getting bigger towards the spool's top.  Like this the line unwinds in big loops and very evenly from the spool and thus prevents the twisting of the line.

Thanks to this system also longer casts are possible.