Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe
In the sportfishing industry it's the products that are fabric based that are threatened the most - because replicating a garment is what the Chinese do best. And you don't have to match the quality exactly - if you can replicate 80% of the quality but do it for a 50% reduction in retail price - you'll win.
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The trick to getting around that is supplying all the materials, otherwise they cheap out.
You can't walk into the outerwear market with production in Japan without precutting the panels or providing the thread, otherwise you'll learn the life lesson that The North Face did.
Once they fixed their "issue" everything went back to normal.
Super SUPER high end outerwear is typically still made in Europe (Henri Lloyd/Musto), Canada (Arc'Teryx) or the US (Wild Things). The big difference being that you will pay a premium.
Helly Hansen foul weather gear: $200ish? Henri Lloyd: $500+ (Ocean Racer coat and pants will set you back over $1000)
The North Face: $200-300 Arc'Teryx: $200-700 Wild Things: $300+ (Arc'Teryx Sidewinder SV shell will hit you around $500)
The point being you can go with "ok" gear thats always just been "ok even when it was made in the US" or you pay the price and get real quality. (My father has had the same Ocean Racer coat for 10+ years and its still waterproof. Find me another coat that good.)
And then we can always compare the Shimano Calcutta and the Calcutta Conquest. $200ish vs $400ish
Is the Conquest a better reel? Yes. By far. But both are made in Japan with slightly different markets.
So what does THAT tell us? That we get the crap? I don't know.
(note: I fish both calcuttas and calcutta conquests... I like them both, they're both killer reels, I just like the Conquest more.)