Daiwa Covers Bass Weekend Warriors and Travel Anglers with New Tatula and Steez Rods

Introduction: At this year’s Bassmaster Classic, Daiwa launchesits refreshed 2025 Tatula bass rod lineup, highlighting the brand’s continued push to refine and elevate its mid-range offerings. But Daiwa didn’t stop at the Tatula line. The company also expanded its flagship Steez family with the launch of a travel-friendly 5-piece rod series, designed at giving on-the-go anglers access to high-end performance in a compact, portable package.

Daiwa's new workhorse rod, the Tatula Series, has been refreshed for 2025

Daiwa Tatula 2025 Refresh: At the recent Bassmaster Classic Daiwa launched a refresh of their popular Tatula Bass rods. These workhorse rods are designed to be application specific and cover the range of bass fishing techniques. There are 23 rods in this new lineup including 13 casting and 10 spinning rods.

The new rods feature cork handles and clean looking reel seats and hoods

All of the new rods feature cork handles, and the company describes them as being as much as 15% lighter than the previous Tatula series. Daiwa utilized its exclusive SVF (Super High Volume Fiber) Nanoplus Technology to lighten and strength the blank. They are also reinforced with DAIWA’s X45 bias carbon technology and Braiding X construction process to resist twisting and deliver more responsive overall feel, and plenty of power.

Daiwa states that the new rods are up to 15% lighter than the last generation due to the blank and handle redesign

The new series also includes two specialized casting models for cranking - the Tatula 701MHRB-G and 721HRB-G, where DAIWA uses its advanced GLATECH construction process with the fiberglass blanks to provide that smooth and forgiving feel that helps keep treble hooks pinned.
Each of the new rods feature custom Tatula reels seats, Fuji Concept O guides with aluminum oxide inserts.

“Going back now a decade with our TATULA branded rod and reels, we keep bringing advancements to show anglers that our slogan – We’ve Got Your Bass Covered – holds true to this day,” said DAIWA’s Marketing Director, Marc Mills. “These next generation TATULA bass rods continue DAIWA’s intense focus on bass fishing, as we bring new models that reflect the right rod lengths, actions, and powers to keep up with new trends in the sport.”

Tatula rods make use of Fuji Concept O guides with aluminum oxide inserts

Within the casting models, there are Tatula rods in 6’8”, 6’10”, 7’, 7’2”, 7’3”, 7’4” lengths to cover a wide range of applications, and even a 7’9” heavy action for casting big swimbaits and A-rigs. In the spinning versions, anglers will find rods ranging from 6’8” up to 7’6”, designed for everything from finesse and forward-facing sonar situations, to the right actions for Ned rigs, shakey heads, dropshots, and even smaller swimbaits.All the new Tatula rods will retail for $149.99 and start shipping now. They also come backed with the company’s 5 year limited warranty.

Daiwa launches Steez travel rods which feature 5 pieces for a more compact overall footprint

Steez on the go: Earlier this season Daiwa US brought over the enthusiast class Steez Real Control rods as their new halo rod series. These rods are handmade in Japan and feature the latest SVF (Super Volume Fiber) Compile-X Nanoplus blanks with solid carbon Mega Top tips, paired with the AGS Air Guide system. The company is now following up that launch with a new series of Steez travel rods that consist of a 5-piece construction.

These rods feature proprietary reel seats and hoods, this is a Steez after all

These rods are constructed with Daiwa’s Super High Volume Fiber blank and fortified with the company’s resin control process and maximum graphite density to provide anglers with a lightweight, sensitive, and powerful rod. Multi-piece rods often do not exhibit the smooth transition and power curve of one piece rods but Daiwa narrows the delta by using Nanoplus resins that are strengthened using a nanoalloy compound which combines single carbon fibers for a lightweight yet sturdy feel, and each section is further strengthened with X45 bias wrapping to eliminate blank twist, which in turn improves increase casting control and more powerful hooksets.

Each rod comes in a high-end travel case

For a more secure connection and smooth bend at each joint, the Steez Travel Casting Rod utilizes a V-joint implementing diagonal fibers in its construction. The rods look clean with a dark tactical appearance and some proprietary reel seats and hoods paired with high-density EVA grips. The guidetrain consists of Fuji SiC Guide rings, my favorite overall when it comes to price and performance.

The blanks are SVF Nanoplus with X45 Bias rapping and the guides are Fuji SiC

These new Steez Travel rods are available in both casting and spinning configurations and each rod retails for $399, a significantly lower price than the $1299 Steez Real Control rods. They also travel in style as each rod comes with a pretty trick looking carbon fiber travel foam lined travel case.

The handles are full grip on the casting rods and split grip on spinning models

Our Quick Take: With the refreshed Tatula lineup and Steez travel rods, Daiwa is hitting two very different segments in the market. The Tatula series continues to cater to mainstream anglers while the Steez travel rods are designed to give enthusiasts a more refined option for their destination fishing.

A look at the five piece Steez spinning travel rod

If the Tatula rods fish well they will offer a compelling mix of value, technique-specific design, and cutting-edge materials that may punch above their price point, while the Steez travel series, while not cheap, brings a lot to the table in terms of features in a portable format that is designed without compromising sensitivity or power. Which series are you more interested in? While I’m personally still very curious about how a Steez Real Control rod fishes, like most anglers, I’m much more likely to add a few Tatula rods to the lineup first.

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