I love classic hardys.........Im basicly not interested in most modern reels.........however...........the Angel......kinda interests me..............Ive never seen the insides and havent really seen anything written about its performance...anyone have one out there that might give me a little review and maybe a few pics .....preferable the bigger sizes with the disc drag.............!!...........thanks........!!
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Hardy Angel
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 whatsleft2 |
Hardy Angel |
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Posts: 794 07/26/2007 09:43 |
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JPHARDY |
Re: Hardy Angel Reels | #1 | ||
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Posts: 21 07/26/2007 12:59 |
I too love the classic Hardy's but do have some Angels as well.
I have the 9/10 and the 11/12. Use them on my spey rods. Excellent UK made reel. Angel 9/10 with Sea run Brown  I recommend them highly. Only problem now is the huge increase in price due to the exchange rate. Best of luck, Jorge |
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DoctorFly |
Re: Hardy Angel Reels | #2 | ||
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Posts: 294 07/26/2007 13:34 |
Quote: Not any more. In a recent interview, Hardy's managing director Richard Sanderson said: "Three years ago, 66% of our staff were employed in manufacturing our products. Now that figure is less than 20% [about 20 people], with a far greater emphasis placed on sales and marketing and research and development." "....our products are now largely manufactured in the Far East and, as a result, they have become price competitive in foreign markets like the US [because the pound is much stronger than the dollar]. " From the UK Newcasle Journal LINK |
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JPHARDY |
Re: Hardy Angel Reels | #3 | ||
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Posts: 21 07/26/2007 13:51 |
I could be wrong but I believe the Angels are made in the UK.
Cost of an Large Angel is $800-$900 or 400-450 pounds. Which makes sense with the exchange rate. 2/1 The competitively priced reels like the ZANE is made in the far east. You can see the Zane sells here for $550 and in the UK for 550 pounds. When the reels ship from the east to the UK they get hit with import taxes. So people in England are paying more for the Zane's then we are in the US. JP |
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whatsleft2 |
Re: Hardy Angel Reels | #4 | ||
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Posts: 794 07/26/2007 13:57 |
I believe JPHardy is correct in that the Angels are made in the UK........I would not be so interested if they were made in the fareast.....!
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bulldog1935 |
Re: Hardy Angel Reels | #5 | ||
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Posts: 7717 07/26/2007 14:03 Bulldog1935 |
the research and development/ marketing part of the company direction is what bothers me.
I don't want a homogenized rod and reel selected for me by the bean counters and the tournament kayak fishers. And I realize my choice is not to buy it. Luckily, I have a good collection of mid-length, mid-weight Phillipson glass and Young -ex reels to balance them. |
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bamboo sprout |
Re: Hardy Angel | #6 | ||
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Posts: 36 07/27/2007 07:10 |
Jorge,
perhaps interesting to know, from whom the design of the Hardy ANGEL comes: reel designer Ari't Hart from the Netherlands! A couple of years ago I hold a prototypes of the ANGEL in green color in my hands and I was sure this reel becomes a classical model! Regards Niklas |
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Reeldane |
Re: Hardy Angel | #7 | ||
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Posts: 231 07/27/2007 09:22 |
No doubt that Hardy - like anybody else - use the cheapest production capasity they can find. And the "Made in UK" in fact only mean that a minor portion of the work (normally the assembly) have to be done in the UK. So gentlemen - don't fool yourself assuming that the "Made in...." means only good old british craftmanship!
I personally would look more at the actual product, it's functionality - the design (Ari T. Hart) and that Hardy is behind the warranty - and kind'a forget if Mr. Chung did a couple of the parts on his factory some exotic place in the Far East. Reeldane 
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bulldog1935 |
Re: Hardy Angel | #8 | ||
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Posts: 7717 07/27/2007 09:36 Bulldog1935 |
I recently picked up a Byrd Cara-cara folding knife to clip to my saltwater wading fanny pack. It's a Spyderco-designed knife with a hollow-ground high-hardness (60 HRC) modern superferritic stainless steel blade. At $28, it's an amazing buy, and if it rusts, it rusts.
It doesn't replace a handmade knife in my admiration, and it will never be collectible. OK, building for the mass market means design and refining the manufacturing. If Ernest Dingley was soldering reel frames today, as he was doing in 1950, the way his dad was doing it 1900, none of us could afford his reels. I was handling one last night, and am very happy to have it, because I will probably never buy another. That being said, I like Hardy Angels, too. But as outsourcing continues, you will be paying more for the name and less for the attention to detail. |
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Serendipity |
Re: Hardy Angel | #9 | ||
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Posts: 1371 07/27/2007 09:50 |
Quote:I once owned a Triumph motor car. Every part that dropped off it was definitely "good old British craftmanship."  richard |
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Reeldane |
Re: Hardy Angel | #10 | ||
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Posts: 231 07/27/2007 10:05 |
Richard
Man, I had it before you - and I sold it fast - but did'nt realize that you bought it ! Sorry 
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BigTJ |
Re: Hardy Angel | #11 | ||
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Posts: 871 07/27/2007 13:17 |
The sad part is, according to the article above, is that Hardy thinks its reels are becoming more "price competitive". News flash Hardy...A $500 LRH. $750 Angel or a $795 Bougle are equal or slightly less than what you get in performance and quality from american reel companies for $300-$600 (e.g. Abel, Tibor, Galvan), not to mention the used Hardy market. The Hardy reels continue to sell in large part due to the history and mystique of those reels, which seems to be rapidly eroding. Take that away, by making the reels in Asia and turning the designs modern and increasing their prices 100%-200% in just a few years (the exchange rate argument doesn't hold water) and they are just another overpriced reel maker, and that' sad. Not to mention a questionable formula for long-term business success. I wonder why all that increase marketing staff doesn't seem to understand that? I am really afraid that the way things are going, before too long all the history discussions of Hardy will include the day when they closed their business.
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JPHARDY |
Hardy Angel | #12 | ||
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Posts: 21 07/27/2007 19:18 |
I don't see how the exchange rate argument would not hold water when the GBD is double the USD.
I think it's pretty clear that a $750 Angel would be $375 if the exchange rate was 1-1. Or that said reel would be would be $550 if the exchange rate was 1- 1.5 like it was at one point. I think that is pretty clear thinking, but I could be wrong. And as I mentioned the Angels, Bougles, LRH continue to be made in the UK thus the high cost. When the article refers to reels being price competitive, they refer to the Zane's and the Marksman, which are products that are made in Asia and were specifically targeted at the US market. But I think I said all this before. I think my post is probably moot because if a decision to dislike the company or like the company has been internalize, facts and figures will probably not sway someone one way or another. |
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bulldog1935 |
Re: Hardy Angel | #13 | ||
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Posts: 7717 07/27/2007 20:25 Bulldog1935 |
as opposed to internalizing dislikes against board members?
Not to mention projecting. All on your third post here. Feel free to edit your post. You would be hard pressed to find a group anywhere that LIKES Hardy MORE than this group. The comments were about directions the company is aiming. 
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JPHARDY |
Re: Hardy Angel | #14 | ||
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Posts: 21 07/27/2007 21:19 |
Bulldog
First and foremost I will first apologize because I do not know and do not have any dislike against anyone on the board. My first post was about me liking the Angel and it being made in the UK. After I was told that they were not made in the UK and that Hardy had gone out of control with their pricing, I tried to explain why the pricing may be what it is and what the article may have referred to. All the talk about production overseas is for the whole company that now mean all of Greys and Chubb. The classic reels that everyone loves is just a small part of the company. If Hardy consisted of just Classic reels and $1500 spey rods, they probably would not have survived this long. So once again I apologize to you and any member that felt I may have insulted them. JP |
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bulldog1935 |
Re: Hardy Angel | #15 | ||
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Posts: 7717 07/27/2007 22:25 Bulldog1935 |
fair enough. Welcome to the board, friend.
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DoctorFly |
Re: Hardy Angel | #16 | ||
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Posts: 294 07/28/2007 01:24 |
For those interested in the history and heritage of Hardy, a new film is about to be released.
www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/catalogue/browse/?id=534342F21af461E1C2nGt43A0053 |
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bulldog1935 |
Re: Hardy Angel | #17 | ||
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Posts: 7717 07/28/2007 13:08 Bulldog1935 |
Look what happens when I go trout fishing
 this fish was 20 inches and is most of my testimonial to Hardy and Quiet Loop Japanese glass. I had the pawl tensioner turned to max. Took me most of 20 minutes to land her in the fast water. The reel made some wonderful sounds. I filleted her. the rest of my testimonial is the very next cast. I hooked up another that was probably four inches longer, and after another 20 minutes brought this one to the net, but the hook broke..  I thought about fishing my DR Stone FE Thomas Light Special, but decided the water was too fast - glad I made that choice. |
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BigTJ |
Re: Hardy Angel | #18 | ||
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Posts: 871 07/28/2007 13:57 |
JPHardy,
A Bougle Mark IV cost around $400 in 1998. I believe at that time the pound was worth about $1.50 dollars. That would put a Bougle mark IV at $267 adjusted to pounds. Now, a new mark 6 costs about $750. With the exchange rate of 2:1, that's $375 adjusted to pounds. So that's a 41% price increase not attributed to the exchange rate. I was overblowing my case, you are right, but I still maintin much of the price increase is not attibutable to the exchage rate, and it isn't. For comparison, a trout sized Able has not gone from ~$450 to ~$650 in the same time frame. Because Able knows they won't sell may Ables at $650. So, saying that Hardy has stayed "price competitive" is just too far of a stretch for me to believe as the prices of Hardy reels seem to explode before our eyes. I am a Hardy lover as much as the next guy. However, given the recent trends in the reel prices, I am doing everything I can to snap up a few used Hardy reels to last my lifetime as I will never pay the retail prices being asked. What is even a scarier proposition is what might be asked at retail in the future the way things are going. Why pay $500 retail for an LRH today when I can get a nice used one for $350 on e-bay? This is the kind of situation which is going to price Hardy out of the market for most folks and diminish their market share in America. Compound that with overseas out-sourcing and it's a recipe for disaster. Like Bulldog said, I made my post out of genuine concern for the future of the company, not out of contempt for it. I just think they are making a big mistake with the direction they are going. Time will tell but I sure hope they don't end up regretting the direction they are taking the company. |
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bulldog1935 |
Re: Hardy Angel | #19 | ||
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Posts: 7717 07/28/2007 14:01 Bulldog1935 |
if you look at the cpi of Hardy perfects, they were right at $160 in today's money for their entire history. Something changed.
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Granger9043 |
Re: Hardy Angel | #20 | ||
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Posts: 35 07/28/2007 18:53 |
Quote: This may be a stupid question, with a name like "HARDY BROS. LTD." on your letterhead, why would you need more emphasis placed on sales and marketing? Anyone who has ever tied the fly to leader has heard of Hardy! Let your 100 + year reputation sell your products! They're going to "market and sales" themselves right out of business! That's an awful shame.  cause I love Hardy reels.
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