lamson or hardie?

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Blah Blah Blah! Don't pick on HARDY! Yes, owend by pure fishing, most rods & reels made in KOREA not that other place! Rods & reels are still made in England! Only ever seen & heard of one problem with a Fortuna reel changing it from left to right, or right to left, but i'm sure it was sorted out by a sober person!

[Cold 0]

Blah Blah Blah! Don't pick on HARDY! Yes, owend by pure fishing, most rods & reels made in KOREA not that other place! Rods & reels are still made in England! Only ever seen & heard of one problem with a Fortuna reel changing it from left to right, or right to left, but i'm sure it was sorted out by a sober person!

 

Was anything that was said about them not true?

 

Which rods and reels are made in England and which are made in Korea? Are any of them made in China?

 

I don't see it as picking on a brand when you're simply stating facts about their products' country of origin.

 

Likewise, I believe many Sage reels are made in Asia. Not sure about Lamson products, perhaps some of their lower end stuff is also made overseas...it's not a big deal, lots of companies do it, but it seems somewhat shady/insecure when you're using exclamation points and all caps, telling someone to stop saying true things about a brand you apparently feel the need to defend.

[Ol'DirtyCaster 0]

 

Blah Blah Blah! Don't pick on HARDY! Yes, owend by pure fishing, most rods & reels made in KOREA not that other place! Rods & reels are still made in England! Only ever seen & heard of one problem with a Fortuna reel changing it from left to right, or right to left, but i'm sure it was sorted out by a sober person!

 

Was anything that was said about them not true?

 

Which rods and reels are made in England and which are made in Korea? Are any of them made in China?

 

I don't see it as picking on a brand when you're simply stating facts about their products' country of origin.

 

Likewise, I believe many Sage reels are made in Asia. Not sure about Lamson products, perhaps some of their lower end stuff is also made overseas...it's not a big deal, lots of companies do it, but it seems somewhat shady/insecure when you're using exclamation points and all caps, telling someone to stop saying true things about a brand you apparently feel the need to defend.

 

I was waiting for a translation.

[Ol'DirtyCaster 0]

 

Cold, since it would seem the angry Hardy guy is sleeping off his inspiration for his last post, I can answer a few of your questions.

Lamson reels are all made, finished, and packaged in house, on US soil. As far as I know, all Hardy rods and reels have been manufactured in Korea for quite some time. Now that Hardy/Greys has been bought by pure fishing, I don't know/care What's going on with them. Hopefully 700$ korean reels and $800 saltwater rods with plastic hoods on their reel seats are a thing of the past.

[Cold 0]

Lamson reels are all made, finished, and packaged in house, on US soil.

 

Really? Even the cast model(s)? (I'm not up on their current lineup, post-Konic...I own a Litespeed and a Force, and haven't been in the market for a reel in several years.)

 

If so, that's quietly impressive from a business standpoint that they can make it work selling two processes (they need to have all of the equipment and material for both machining and casting), and selling their cast reels in the sub-$150 range without going overseas. This is especially true given that the money in those reels is likely in volume, which is where outsourcing gets *really* attractive.

 

As far as Chinese/Korean/Taiwanese/etc. equipment is concerned, I don't necessarily have a problem with it...but I find it reprehensible when the "face" brand wants to charge top buck for it. I don't want to necessarily name names, but when you can go to Ali Baba and see a reel selling for $25 per unit at quantity...then you see a suspiciously similar reel from some fly fishing upstart brand for $350 it just really feels like they're preying on underinformed buyers.

[josephcsylvia 0]

 

Lamson reels are all made, finished, and packaged in house, on US soil.

 

Really? Even the cast model(s)? (I'm not up on their current lineup, post-Konic...I own a Litespeed and a Force, and haven't been in the market for a reel in several years.)

 

If so, that's quietly impressive from a business standpoint that they can make it work selling two processes (they need to have all of the equipment and material for both machining and casting), and selling their cast reels in the sub-$150 range without going overseas. This is especially true given that the money in those reels is likely in volume, which is where outsourcing gets *really* attractive.

 

As far as Chinese/Korean/Taiwanese/etc. equipment is concerned, I don't necessarily have a problem with it...but I find it reprehensible when the "face" brand wants to charge top buck for it. I don't want to necessarily name names, but when you can go to Ali Baba and see a reel selling for $25 per unit at quantity...then you see a suspiciously similar reel from some fly fishing upstart brand for $350 it just really feels like they're preying on underinformed buyers.

 

their cast reels use U.S and Korean parts, says so right on their website all their machined reels are made in the U.S

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Angry Hardy guy here!:-) Artisan rods were new for Hardy in 2015 made in Alnwick, reels made there the same year were Wide Spool Perfect, St. George & Bougle! 2016 sees no more Artisan rods, but Wide Spool Perfect, Bougle & the new Duchess reels made in Alnwick, i got my 4" Duchess on monday, had it on laybuy for a couple months, friend gave me -30%, not bad! 2016 sees a lot of new Korean made rods, Wraith, ultra-fast fresh & all water, Jet switch, Zephrus replaced the Zenith series & Zephrus salt replaced the Proaxis-X, santa gave me a 9'10wt Zephrus salt, but only got -25% cos' he had to order it! I would rather Hardy be owend by pure fishing then not be around anymore! Rods & reels are of a damn good quality made in Korea! Pure fishing is a good company, they sent my friend & other Hardy dealers to Alnwick last year, plus they are a ECO friendly company, they supply all the plastic bags for fishing shops!:-)

[heavynets 0]

Here are the results of a 5 wt. reel shootout:

 

http://www.tridentflyfishing.com/blog/2015-5-weight-reel-shootout-fly-reel-review-and-test-best-trout-reel-lamson-hatch-abel-ross

[Cold 0]

Angry Hardy guy here!:-) Artisan rods were new for Hardy in 2015 made in Alnwick, reels made there the same year were Wide Spool Perfect, St. George & Bougle! 2016 sees no more Artisan rods, but Wide Spool Perfect, Bougle & the new Duchess reels made in Alnwick, i got my 4" Duchess on monday, had it on laybuy for a couple months, friend gave me -30%, not bad! 2016 sees a lot of new Korean made rods, Wraith, ultra-fast fresh & all water, Jet switch, Zephrus replaced the Zenith series & Zephrus salt replaced the Proaxis-X, santa gave me a 9'10wt Zephrus salt, but only got -25% cos' he had to order it! I would rather Hardy be owend by pure fishing then not be around anymore! Rods & reels are of a damn good quality made in Korea! Pure fishing is a good company, they sent my friend & other Hardy dealers to Alnwick last year, plus they are a ECO friendly company, they supply all the plastic bags for fishing shops!:-)

I don't have a problem with Korean-made gear.

 

What I do have a problem with is charging US/UK-made prices for Korea-made gear.

 

When part of your "support" post involves specifically mentioning the significant discounts you got on asian gear, I think that, in and of itself, is a bit telling.

 

For my money, I can get an American made product for the same amount of money that, while it may or may not have higher quality, it almost certainly will not have *lower* quality...with the advantage that the brand can supervise the entire process in-house instead of relying on incoming inspection spot checks at random intervals.

 

That being said, though, my preference for western manufacture has everything to do with process oversight and quality, and nothing to do with any sort of economic patriotism. I support local business/US business only as and to the extent that those businesses support me. Charging drastically increased prices simply because it's made here doesn't fly with me. Implying that I should support a local fly shop because "it's the right thing to do" as opposed to supporting another small fly shop with better pricing online...of the materials they're both importing from China and marking up...doesn't fly with me. All things equal, I'm going to support the local, smaller business every time, but those other factors do have to be at least close to equal. Things like price, availability of product, accessibility of business, customer support, convenience, and communication are all very important, and they're things that the little guys usually can do better...but more and more often, I'm encountering small business owners (both in and out of fly fishing) who seem to feel that their small business status gives them the leeway to not have to do a lot of the things that make a business a good business, and the customer base is still obligated to support them...just because they're small.

 

Sorry for the mini-sermon there...carry on!

[mikechell 0]

So ... now I am wondering ...

Which one is best ... Lamson or Hardie?

[Adam Saarinen 0]

:-)

[Cold 0]

Depends what aesthetic you're going for and what features you want.

 

Modern: Lamson

Traditional: Hardy...with a 'y' ffs...

[mikechell 0]

I think I'll stick with my White River reels ... 40 bucks including tax. Holds my line for years, with no complaints.