Let's take a look: The Daiwa SS Air 8.1R

Last friday, i received a mail from Jun san from Japantackle that the pre-ordered Daiwa SS Air is ready to be shipped. I made payment immediately and was promptly informed in a few hours later that my reel will be shipped the same day; talk about efficiency!

Yesterday afternoon the EMS package landed at my place! 3 days for Japan to Singapore shipping!

Boy, did this made my day!

I waited for day light today to get some pictures of the unboxing process.

 The box was compact and hinted the reel weight upon being held

 The black beauty

 Top view

 Side profile

Handle side profile showing the Zaion Drag star

Immediately out of the box i could feel the lightness of the reel. And the smoothness on the gear mesh was absolute butter. It didn't take very long for me to ascertain my love for this new toy.

147grams

Based on the spec the reel weights 145g, my piece was about 2g heavier than listed. Fine by me. 

And out came the heart of this machine for scrutiny

True Art 

Wispy 9g

The paper specs of the spool was 6.9g, but factory specs are based on spool alone without bearing and hardware.

Here's a look at the spool's free-spin straight from factory, Brakes: 0, Cast control set to just taking up all the lateral slack. On average, the stock spool spins for about 9 seconds. However it is to note that free-spins of spool does not always equates to casting prowess and the above video serves merely the purpose of reference. 

As always, reels at Lure × Style does not stays stock for long! However the reel is really pretty in its stock form and not much work will be needed to pimp out the aesthetics. Some small cosmetic parts change is in the works, however a carbon handle swap may not be necessary this time, as the stock skeleton handle is plenty light and well swept.

A pair of ZPI aluminum Knobs were added. 

The knobs dropped the weight by 1 gram compared to the Zaion pieces

The reel's build felt great out of factory, thus a tear down and re-lube was not necessary at this point as oppose to some reels that came with sticky gear mesh from factory. However stock bearings are usually over oiled to aid longevity thus, out they came, for a flush and a single drop of Hedgehog Studios Ultra light Alchemy oil was added to each bearing. The bearings from factory were of micro specs with an aluminum adaptor piece similar to bearings in Daiwa Pressos and Pixies.

An improvement of 3 seconds free spin was obtained from the bearings flush

UPDATE: Hedgehog Studios Air Beaings added to sideplate:
Timing improved from 12sec > 37sec

Overall, from initial impressions, the Daiwa SS Air looks to deliver all the BFS goodness as promised. Report of performance on the water will come later once i get my hands on another new toy; a newly released rod to pair with this beauty which is en route to Singapore as we speak.