Kyle Smith
Steelhead
Korean fly rods absolutely rock! American rods sourced from Japanese materials are just as good. Who cares.
American Made Flyrods
- Thread starter krusty
- Start date
jaredoconnor
Peabrain Chub
More to the point, there's no reason to believe that buying American made anything is necessarily good for oneself or America. In fact, it can actually be bad. Whenever a particular industry or company goes hard on the "locally made" angle, I assume they are not competitive and are wasting resources that would be better utilized elsewhere.
I like American designed fly rods. Most of the top rod designers are American. That's where the value is, not the manufacturing. If I can get a rod that has been through the hands of Rajeff, for half the price of a domestic equivalent, that leaves me with a lot of money to spend on businesses that actually meaningfully benefit the country.
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I'm definitely really enjoying my Swedish engineered fly reels, that I hang off my New Zealand sourced rod blank built out by someone right here in the PDX metro area.
I'm honestly impressed we've made it 3 pages without this going off the rails....let's shoot for 6.
I'm honestly impressed we've made it 3 pages without this going off the rails....let's shoot for 6.
I agree. I'm sure there's a lot of great jobs for people, jobs that support USA families, selling products made abroad. Cabelas, Bass Pro, Sportsmans. Warehouse, Echo.. If a fly fishing company only sold made in USA products, they'd be small or broke..
Old406Kid
Legend
Herein lies the problem...damn Panda Express anyway.
I've tried to stay out of this the best I can due to being in the career I am, and I won't go in to details more than I have to just to not steer the conversation too much. Everyone has valid beliefs on what they want to support, I just often feel like the information fueling the decisions isn't always complete. I'll just say a couple things but not go in to great detail. Probably already going a bit beyond what I should.
I could say a lot more, and might have a hard time staying totally out of it as this goes on, but buying a product that was built overseas isn't making your dollars disappear in to another country's economy in the ways you think. The global economy is infinitely complicated, and there are American families that have very real jobs that otherwise wouldn't exist without imported goods.
- Imported products do provide good American jobs, they just look different. You're exchanging production line jobs with increased opportunities down the pipeline (sales, distribution, etc etc).
- Made in America doesn't always look like what someone might expect: as has already been pointed out, your product is going to have imported components. So where you draw the line is up to you.
- Also on this "it isn't always what you think" topic: In many cases, the labor used to manufacture these products on US soil is essentially being imported. While I personally have no issues with this and support those workers' need to support their families both here and back where they immigrated from, it is a reality of US manufacturing that this is often what a production line looks like
I could say a lot more, and might have a hard time staying totally out of it as this goes on, but buying a product that was built overseas isn't making your dollars disappear in to another country's economy in the ways you think. The global economy is infinitely complicated, and there are American families that have very real jobs that otherwise wouldn't exist without imported goods.
Let's be clear about the intent of my posting; it wasn't meant to disparage flyfishing products (components or in their entirety) made offshore, businesses (or their employees) that distribute such products, nor those who enjoy their use. I am merely interested in the provenance of some well regarded flyrods and flyreels.
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I think that it's odd that everytime there are questions about American made products some have to talk bad about them and refer people to foreign made products. This post is asking for recommendations for American made rods and reels. Not foreign made rod or reel recommendations or why foreign made rods and reels are as good or better than American made.
Exactly!
Hem
Life of the Party
A friend of mine sells bamboo to T & T.
He gave the manager the heads up i would be stopping by during the holidays.
My wife and I had a full tour of the graphite/bamboo production areas, met every employee. Yep, there is a person who's job is to hand paint T & T on every rod. It was really cool to see this relatively small operation, the pride every worker had in creating what some consider to be the nicest looking rods out there.
He gave the manager the heads up i would be stopping by during the holidays.
My wife and I had a full tour of the graphite/bamboo production areas, met every employee. Yep, there is a person who's job is to hand paint T & T on every rod. It was really cool to see this relatively small operation, the pride every worker had in creating what some consider to be the nicest looking rods out there.
I didn't read that the tax is applied only to American made gear. It looks like it applies to all fishing related gear, whether imported or domestically manufactured.
What is the Dingell-Johnson Act? — Fish Untamed
Did you know that every time you buy a rod, reel, or flies, you're helping your state's fisheries? Thanks to the Dingell-Johnson Act, you're probably contributing to conservation and fisheries management without even knowing it. So, what is it? An Overview of the Dingell-Johnson Act The Dingell-www.fishuntamed.com
Purchasing made in America fishing gear adds more money for fisheries conservation. Dingell - Johnson act
Hem
Life of the Party
It turned out to be much more than I expected. I enjoyed the fact that the company hired and trained younger people who were fishing fanatics.
That said, their rods are pricey.
Getting two Echo rods versus one t & t ...
It turned out to be much more than I expected. I enjoyed the fact that the company hired and trained younger people who were fishing fanatics.
That said, their rods are pricey.
Getting two Echo rods versus one t & t ...
Again hard to beat an Echo rod , I have the Carbon XL in a 6 weight . Its been a great rod . Also the warranty is great ,broke the tip , sent them I believe at the time it was $20, and had the tip shipped quite fast .
Orvis...since 1856
I said that purchasing made in America fishing gear adds more money for fisheries conservation.
"Because the tax applies to the initial cost of the item (not what it's sold for in stores), gear made in the US brings in the most money. While buying from overseas is appealing to companies because of the lower cost, that lower cost brings in a lower tax. This means less money goes toward the fund.
When possible, buying American-made gear not only supports our economy, but also benefits the fisheries we care so much about."
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