Bimini15 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 From one thread on expensive fly reels and another one on cheap chinese fly boxes I ended up finding this online: http://www.maxcatchfishing.com/reels-fly-reels-c-619_549.html?zenid=ot2s2r28b8ur2eum85hfbo9346 Not trying to open a can of worms here. Simply wondering if anyone has had good or bad experiences with fly fishing products bought direct from china. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave G. 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 I don't own anything I bought from China direct but most of the Chinese stuff I do have works fine. We all use Chinese things without even realizing it. But if you look at the off names in reels at Amazon , they all get 4-1/2 to 5 star ratings. Now that isn't to say I particularly like the status of manufacturing moving off shore in swarms, I don't. But at the same time it's kind of how it is. Okuma is made off shore and I have a few of their reels, all perform very well and are well made with quality parts ( at least the models I own anyway). Their star drag conventional reels we like for trolling better than the more expensive Penns we have actually. And I have a spinning reel that is near the top of my favorite reel list. But that is not China direct as you asked about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 We all use Chinese things without even realizing it. Like it or not, it's a fact of life these days. Even if you try to buy only products made in (insert your Country here) U.S.A., some items are now ONLY made in China. Like everything we buy online, your reduced price is the profit someone else would've made selling it to you. Those reels are, most likely, the same reels sold under several different names in any shop you walk into. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saltybum 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 Ah so Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted July 12, 2016 From one thread on expensive fly reels and another one on cheap chinese fly boxes I ended up finding this online: http://www.maxcatchfishing.com/reels-fly-reels-c-619_549.html?zenid=ot2s2r28b8ur2eum85hfbo9346 Not trying to open a can of worms here. Simply wondering if anyone has had good or bad experiences with fly fishing products bought direct from china. Is Maxcatch a U.S. company that imports and sells China made products, or is it a company located in China? Have you ever ordered anything from them? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fishinguy 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 I've been considering a 2wt fly rod from them. They are sold on amazon and eBay too, if you're leary of putting your info in on their site. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trampus 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 Made in China doesn't necessarily mean it's bad it just means you should know who you are buying from (company reputation) because the control the quality. Many companies have moved their operations to Asia to take advantage of the business climate that is available there. Good companies can still manufacture superior products as long as they maintain strict quality controls and while saving in labor costs and taxes etc. That being said...... Echo Rods which are the line developed by Tim and Steve Rajeff are made in South Korea. Reddington Rods are mid range rods made in Asia and they are owned by Sage. I have a Reddington Classic Trout 4wt that is a beautiful rod that performs as well as it looks. Hardy of England's reels have been made in Korea for years with no noticeable difference in performance. Greys Rods are owned by Hardy of England and made in Korea as well. I have a 3wt 7'6" Greys (that I absolutely love casting) equipped with an Okuma SLV reel (made in Taiwan) that is better quality than one would expect for a reel three times the price. I would love to 'buy American' all the time but lets face it...sometimes we just can't afford that luxury. I don't fish often enough to justify spending $800.00 on a rod and another $300.00 on a reel when to be honest I probably wouldn't appreciate the subtle differences between those and what I fish now. Back to the reels....A fly reel is a place to store your line so IMHO you are wasting your money once you get beyond a certain price point. Most modern day reels have good quality drag systems that are sealed and drag is over emphasized when it comes to fly reels. The beauty of an inexpensive rod or reel is that if you are unhappy with it you make it a back up or sell it and move on without busting the bank. One last thought. ALL bamboo that is used for fly rods comes from one small province in China. That is why the bamboo rod disappeared off the shelves when the United States put an embargo on China years ago. This forced rod manufacturers to explore other materials such as fiberglass, graphite and even spring steel (yes I had a steel fly rod in my parents garage when I was a kid). So thanks to Ronald Reagan we now have a source of bamboo for those who still want to craft a work of art. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bimini15 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 I would love to 'buy American' all the time but lets face it...sometimes we just can't afford that luxury. Wow, isn't that a statement...! I am very tempted to get a couple of the reels for lines up to 6wt just because, even if they crap out on me, I can always use them as line holders and not much will be lost. My warmwater fishing does not require much drag if at all. I get much more uncomfortable on the 8-10 wt sizes, where a decent size jack is going to really test it. Still, I found this other site: leichichina.com, which seems to be the manufacturer of some of the rods and reels on the other site. Some of these bigger reels do look NICE...! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trampus 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 You *do* realize that China and Korea are two different places, right? Reminds me of a line from The Replacements with Keanu Reeves where Jumbo tells Jamal "You do realize that China and Japan are two different countries, right? Don't know your age Cold but when I was a young man, Made in Japan meant the same thing then as Made in China means right now to most people. Now Japan is known for quality products and the leader in some areas where they were once laughed at my westerners. When I refer to out sourced production and services it was not directed at one particular country. Cheaper labor costs and lax environmental laws etc. are what attract companies to move to those locations be it China, Mexico, Taiwan, Korea, Viet Nam, India, Pakistan etc. etc. If you read what I wrote, the quality is controlled by the company ie. Hardy (Greys) or Sage (Reddington) and it really wouldn't matter if their products were made in Korea or China or Taiwan because they have certain standards to uphold. The one thing they have in common is they can be manufactured in those countries for less than they can be made in the USA or England. If my post led you to believe I was 'lumping' all those places together then I must have missed my point that geography and quality are not necessarily related. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carpflyguy 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 I'll stick to stuff either made here, or sold through a local fly shop before I order direct through China. Through a fly shop, even if the product is a cheap Chinese brand, at least I know it'll be replaced or whatnot if it breaks. I've had a LOT of bad experiences ordering direct from China on eBay, and at this point I just feel like I'm throwing away money if I order from them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trampus 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 Seems I have had just the opposite experience on Ebay but I always use PayPal for double protection. I have purchased many things direct from China and only had one bad experience where the item was never shipped. I appealed it to Ebay and they refunded my $175.00 because the seller was a fraud. The only time I ever lost money on an Ebay purchase was from a seller right here in the good ole USA. I envy those with a local fly shop where they can shop cause the nearest one I have is a Bass Pro Shops 50 miles away, so rather than drive 100 miles round trip, I found it easier to buy online most of the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carpflyguy 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 Traumpus, I have yet to have a bad experience in which the seller doesn't ship, or something like that. I use PayPal too, but the problem I have is that the products just seem to always be junk. They'll seem to work fine at first, but almost every cheaper product I've bought direct from a China eBay store has broken down on me, often at a very inconvenient time. Not sure why I always get such low quality products from them, while most products from China aren't bad at all, but I'm done with buying direct. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trampus 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2016 I agree with that 100% Carpfly....You are taking a risk with buying sight unseen and many of the things from China are sub standard as anyone who shops at Harbor Freight knows. Some of the stuff there is great and lots of it is well below other tool manufacturers quality and basically 'disposable". I find myself buying things from China that I want to try out without making a huge cash outlay. I bought my first Tenkara rod from China and it is surprisingly good quality for the price. After using it for a while I decided that I prefer a conventional fly rod and reel and it didn't cost me two hundred dollars to find that out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
