flyflingerandy1 wrote:No, I haven't. But I know you can still pick up a used opld Scott G for 200-300 bucks, which is an excellent rod and still has that "traditional" flare to some folks. Steffen glass rods are in the 300 dollar range, but I suspect he will raise prices eventually. My point was that I don' think the Chinese made rods are currently competing with contemporary cane rod makers from the US, Japan, England, etc.
cwood wrote:
oldboyscout wrote:They may be competing with the "traditional" graphite and fiberglass market (Winston WT, Scott G, Steffen glass) more than the cane market.
Have you priced a WT or G2 lately? You can buy two Zhu's cane sticks off that auction site for what you can almost pick up a G2, and for just more than a WT.
There is a stigma to Chinese made goods. They are all cheap, poorly made, and not worthy of the price. This used to be true, but quality on everything made in the Orient has improved. Japanese cars used to face the same stigma, not anymore, since they are all essentially made in America anyway, by Americans, with more American-made parts than the American cars. How about electronics? There are darn few companies still making their electronic components, or TVs, stereos, etc in the states. It is all made overseas. If Zhu's rods fill a niche, let them. If you don't like them, don't cast them, don't look at them, and don't buy them.
The "old farts" bring up a good point...... it took a while for the Japanese products to reach a quality that deserved recognition. The Chinese products are in the same boat. A good product will be noticed and a crappy one will slowly disappear. Time will tell.
CWood
