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Here's my point... at this point in time Hardy does not offer anything, along the line of reels, that appeal to MY taste's as a fly fisherman. Does that mean they have lost a customer? Yes, they have lost my business. I guess that means their new marketing strategy has sort of defeated it's original purpose. Just my thoughts.

I love the classic Hardy reels, but with all due respect, if I were starting up a new reel company and hoped to succeed, I would not seek out the design advice of members of this board. I would look at the reels of companies with significant market share and I'd take my cue from their product line specs. Then I would look to add something that would make my reels stand out. (Having them weigh 7 ounces to balance cane rods would not come to mind at this point. ) I think it's important to remember that Hardy has never been a maker of "classic fly reels." It's been a maker of fly reels that became classics. Will that be true in the future. I think it's impossible to say, but I'm confident that Hardy execs aren't losing sleep over the question and probably never have.

richard

Who needs loyal, "happy with our product", customers who return time and time again to make random, or unnecessary purchases. Oh yes, and they're always referring us to other people that continuously pester our sales department. I've heard they do this because they like our diverse product line, and they are happy with their purchase. Oh, I almost forgot about this one... these loyal customers are always asking us to market a new piece of equipment, for gods sake. They're a real pain in the neck if you ask me. Don't call us, we'll call you when you're needed!

I feel like the messenger who just got shot. Ouch.

All companies need loyal customers...lot's of them. My point is that Hardy has long been losing ground to its competitors in a market that isn't very large to begin with. (And, the classic reel segment of that market is a tiny, tiny fraction of the whole.) The Hardy UK website lists about 100 Hardy dealers in the UK. That's pretty good, but look elsewhere. If you look for dealers in the US, for example, you'll find an impressive number of "Hardy Dealers" that are simply shops that sell Cortland products. A shop near me is listed as a Hardy dealer. I've never seen a Hardy rod for sale in that shop, and the last Hardy reel that I can recall in the reel case, a Golden Prince, was sold about 10 years ago. After your post, I stopped in and asked the shop owner if he had many people asking for Hardy products. He looked at me like I was crazy. Check out the online catalogs of shops that supposedly carry Hardy gear. There are no Hardy rods listed in any of the online catalogs that I've perused, and when reels are listed, they are typically the most expensive reels in the catalog. A recent magazine review of 5wt trout rods included rods from T&T, Scott, Orvis, Redington, L.L. Bean, Temple Fork, maybe one or two others with Sage and Winston refusing to participate. No Hardy rods were even considered.

Individual Hardy fans may be justly passionate about Hardy products, but I don't find much evidence of a significant, loyal, customer base for new fly fishing equipment in the US. And, I think any future success in that area will necessarily have to be based on the use of foreign labor and manufacturing and on designs that appeal to fly fishers who never think about the golden age of English fly fishing tackle, but who think that a particular Hardy reel or rod is preferable to a comparable Abel or Sage . That kind of thinking requires product visibility, appealing contemporary design, quality construction, strong marketing and competitive pricing. It's a tall order in a saturated market.

When I was a kid, and that was a long time ago, I loved classic cars. I looked at the cars that drove around my town and thought that they if they ever did attain classic status, they would never, ever be as cool as the antique vehicles that I admired. A few days ago, I saw a restored 1949 Dodge coupe just like my dad's. I was wrong. I don't particularly like the new Hardy Angel offerings (hate the name), but they may one day late in this century inspire a small, loyal following that is as passionate as the members of this board are about Hardy reels of the last century.

richard