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shimano 4000D versus Shimano 5000Xtea

Jon Frisby

Jon Frisby

Senior Member & Supporter
I have had both and I much prefer the 4000D, but the 5000xtea is going for silly money on here and on ebay, meanwhile the 4000D can be picked up for £90 if you look hard enough.
For me the 4000D excels in all departments, ie better drag, baitrunner system etc, however I think the only thing the xtea exceeds in its line lay.

Have I got it wrong or is the xtea a far better reel?... be good to see your thoughts.

Jon
 
Had both and also much prefer the 4000d for all the above reasons. However the main one for me is the xtea is about 150 grams heavier. Great if you sit behind rods all day but I love wandering the bank trying different places. When I put the xtea on my rods it felt heavy unbalanced no matter what rod I put it on and just felt horrible so I sold it for £50 (didn't check the value first lesson learnt). I just wish the 4000d bail arm was stronger I've now gone back to a stradic 4000fe or a daiwa exceler.
 
4000d for me also. Great reel from looks to performance. As Ben says the bail arm is the one bad point but Ive found a little bending here and there soon sorts any problems!
 
Is the 4000d the best in the series?

is the 4000xtfa in the running?

I am after 2 new reels to go with my New rods. I have the 5010gt for my Drennan 1.25tc 11 ft

I have the ss2600 for the flood water rods.

I will watch this thread with interest

thank you OP :)
 
I also prefer the 4000D to the 5000 XTEA. The hype surrounding the XTEA, and particularly the excessive second hand values, is a complete mystery to me. There's nothing wrong with the XTEA, I just don't think it's quite as good as it's cracked up to be.

For the heavy handed amongst us, that find the bail arm of the 4000D a little fragile, save a few quid, buy the XT4000FA. You'll get a more robust bail arm, two metal spools with decent sprung metal line clips. The only real losses are sealed drag and bearings, something that shouldn't matter too much to freshwater anglers. As far as I'm concerned, the XTFA offers the best mix of value and performance of the small Shimano Baitrunners in last years range.

However, not that I've seen one in the flesh yet, there's been a new release recently that appears to be a budget 4000D, with a thicker bail arm.
The Baitrunner OC (Oceanic).
 
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I used to take Shimano quality for granted. If I wanted a cheaper reel I would look no further than Okuma. Recently though I had a good look and play with some Daiwa reels and in my opinion £ for £ (or in my case euro for euro) the Daiwa reels are as good as if not better than the Shimanos.

It's a shame that there is no agreed standards for size though. The Shimano Aero 8000 is basically a 5000 with a bigger spool whereas the Daiwa 5000 is far bigger than either.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
It's a shame that there is no agreed standards for size though. The Shimano Aero 8000 is basically a 5000 with a bigger spool whereas the Daiwa 5000 is far bigger than either.
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You can't even say that with certainty. The bare numbers give no idea of the reel size in either Shimano or Daiwa ranges. Only in the same ranges do the numbers give a vague idea.

A Shimano Ultegra XT-B 5500 is a far bigger reel that a Baitrunner STRA in 10000 size.

Likewise, a Daiwa Tournament Linear X 5000 is a huge reel in comparison to a Daiwa Regal X 5000 BR.

Buying reels based on numbers alone is a recipe for disaster. If you have more of a match background, you could end up buying the 5000 sized Tournament Linear X expecting it to be slightly bigger than a 4000 sized Shimano match reel. What you'd actually get is closer to twice the size you had in mind.
 
I have both the XT4000FA's and the venerable 3500B's, I looked at the 4000D when it first came out and thought there was little to be gained by replacing the 3500B's which are much more solidly built, particularly the bail arm!
The XT4000FA's were replacements for my old 5010's and have overall been an improvement on those, EXCEPT for fragile bail arms, seems to be a Shimano trend these days.
 
Steve Roffey said:
The XT4000FA's were replacements for my old 5010's and have overall been an improvement on those, EXCEPT for fragile bail arms, seems to be a Shimano trend these days.
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Wow, if you think the XTFA has a frail bail arm I'd suggest you avoid the 4000D at all costs.:eek: I'll happily acknowledge that they aren't that sturdy, but I don't really understand what some folks do with their reels for it to be such an issue. There must be some right rough sods out there.

However, the Oceanic looks to have gone back to the old style, more solid, bail arm more reminiscent of the 5010, GTE (GTE-B, GTE-C) and XTEA ranges.
 
Chris Jones said:
However, the Oceanic looks to have gone back to the old style, more solid, bail arm more reminiscent of the 5010, GTE (GTE-B, GTE-C) and XTEA ranges.
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I'm interested in seeing the Oceanic and hope either the 4000 or 6000 model is not to much bigger than the 4000d.

Thanks for the heads up Chris. I didn't know Ted Carters had them in, I'll pop in next weekend :)
 
If the above is confusing :confused: I'm after two reels just a little bigger than my 4000d which is an excellent reel and as of yet, i've had know trouble with the bail arm :p
 
Steve Gregson said:
I'm interested in seeing the Oceanic and hope either the 4000 or 6000 model is not to much bigger than the 4000d.

Thanks for the heads up Chris. I didn't know Ted Carters had them in, I'll pop in next weekend :)
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The 4000OC is exactly the same size as the 4000D, even the spool capacity is identical. However, it weighs a fraction (5g) less according to the stats.
Just like the Baitrunner D, the Baitrunner OC is available in 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000 sizes.
 
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Jon/Chris what diameter or BS line are you using with your 4000d and what weight's are you chucking out ? lead or feeders. I tend to use my 4000d for lighter work and use 5000 GTE for heavier.

It's my gte's i'm thinking of replacing
 
Steve Gregson said:
Jon/Chris what diameter or BS line are you using with your 4000d and what weight's are you chucking out ? lead or feeders. I tend to use my 4000d for lighter work and use 5000 GTE for heavier.
Click to expand...

4000Ds for lines of six to twelve pounds. Pretty much as I would have used my 5000GTECs for previously. Smaller rivers (than the Trent) or shorter chucks and leads/feeders up to around 4/5oz but usually smaller. If anything more extreme and the Ultegra XTB 5500s come out to play.

I'm quite content to use the 4000D for the vast majority of my barbelling, small water carping, legering for chub, roach, tench, bream etc. When you consider the original saltwater applications that Shimano had in mind for the D, there's not much we can do to overly tax them.
 
I have used my xtea's for 3 years nearly and no problems at all. Still silky smooth baitrunner and clutch that i can adjust whilst playing fish without fingers in the way of the line.

Graham (Miles) Elliott
 
Does anyone know where or if you can get cheaper spools for the 'd'?

Or if the plastic spools off another reel will fit them?
 
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