Emblem S-T series

The Emblem S-H series were entry-level long cast reels, introduced in Japan in 1993 and released for export in 1994. The Emblem S-T series is their successor.

In 1995, Daiwa introduced Twistbuster, a TiN-coated line roller designed to reduce line twist. Like many others, the Emblem S-H series was re-launched with the new roller as the S-T series. ‘T’ stands for Twistbuster. They also gave the reels a new look. First appearing in the Japanese 1996 catalogue, it carried the tagline: “Powerful performance, even when fishing with multiple rods.” In terms of specifications and technical design, they were very similar to their predecessors. The main improvement was the line roller. Furthermore, the model name was now printed on the side cover instead of a sticker, as on other Emblems. A plastic worm shaft gear also replaced the brass one. As entry-level variants in the new Emblem series, they featured only one ball bearing on the pinion gear, a simple handle knob, and no ball bearing in the line roller. 

During its production run, there were several variants. The early models feature a bail kicker design similar to that used on the Longbeams and original Emblems. Later models have a different bail kicker, probably to reduce production costs, as the same design was also used on other newer Daiwa reel series. These were still made in Japan. Production was later moved to Thailand to reduce manufacturing costs further. These are easily identified by the ‘MADE IN THAILAND’ marking on the reel foot. The Thai-made version is technically just as good as the Japanese-made one. There are a few small differences, but these are simply component updates Daiwa made over time and don’t affect the quality of the reel.

The Emblem S-T series was discontinued after 2004 in Japan, as in the UK. However, a re-released S5000T was sold in at least France from around 2015 until around 2020.