Orvis Pliers? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

MAC · 03-09-2006, 11:08 AM

Not very easy to come by. My wife ordered me a pair approximately 3 months ago and am still waiting. I called Orvis direct and the woman said they have them in stock but it doesn't show that on their website.

luds · 03-09-2006, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC

Not very easy to come by. My wife ordered me a pair approximately 3 months ago and am still waiting. I called Orvis direct and the woman said they have them in stock but it doesn't show that on their website.

They are available now on the Orvis site. I had to hit the order button several times before they showed in my basket. It kept on telling me that they had been added to my basket but when I went to the basket it was empty.

Pain in the a$$. The're still sitting there. I can't decide. LL Bean has the Donmar Checkpoint pliers with their %100 guarantee. I'm considering those too.

In The Surf · 03-09-2006, 12:31 PM

They weren't even available till August of last year. They had issues with the quality of construction and scrapped several runs (made in china). We all know titanium isn't cheap so that's quite a hit to take. I tried to get them most all of last season and got somewhat frustrated when they kept pushing back the delivery date. After a few calls I was able to speak to a manager who explained the issues and got me one that passed their inspections. They were only able to get several small runs that met their standards for quality and satisfaction and couldn't meet the demand for orders they had on them. I noticed they took them off the web and out of their catalogs for quite some time. When I ordered some mirage fluoro not too long ago I inquired about them. I was told if they could get the manufacturing issues straightened out they may be available in the future if not just assume they were discontinued. I was also told don't worry if I had issues with mine I would get a full refund or whatever it took to be satisfied. Got my latest Orvis catalog 2 weeks ago and they were in there so I guess the issues were addressed.

I have been quite satisfied with my pliers so far, no rust or any other issues. They got a good work out and plenty of use from Aug into early Dec. In my opinion they're the best pliers in that price range and you can't beat the guarantee.

My girl didn't know I had the orvis pliers and bought me a pair of the Accurate Piranhas a month ago as a gift. They were a good $50 more and felt rather flimsy compared to the orvis.

SAXATILUS · 03-09-2006, 12:51 PM

I like mine, one problem I had was the cutters started to corrode slightly, sent them back and they sent me a brand new pair, so I really cant complain, except you cant purchase just the cutter blades so when they get dull you have to send them back. I had the accurates also and like the orvis better.

luds · 03-09-2006, 03:12 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I ordered them so I'm going to give them a try.

InTheSurf,

Thanks for the detailed background. It's nice to know they are trying to meet some quality standards.

luds · 03-17-2006, 09:00 PM

I received my Orvis Pliers today and they are really nice. I'm very impressed with the pliers themselves. Only complaint is that the sheath that comes with the Pliers sucks. The Pliers fits in tightly but the sheath has a metal clip to connect to your belt. Basically when you try to pull out the pliers the sheath comes with them. This is going to cause a problem when I have a fish in the other hand. I compared it to what comes with the VS pliers and that sheath is connected with a strap rather than a clip so it can't come off.

Looks like they might be going back.

On top of that I ordered waders from them and they sent me waist highs instead of chest high. I confimed that I ordered the right ones.

Pete_G · 03-18-2006, 07:08 AM

I think a lot of these pliers that are modeled after the VS are inherently going to feel flimsy made out of aluminum. I just don't think there is enough aluminum around the pivot point on some of these pliers. If they were Ti it would be different. I'm just guessing that is why, as both the Orvis and of course the VS have a different feel then many of the aluminum alternatives, as in In The Surf noticed.

The pivot bushing on some of them looks smaller the the bushing in the older and more fly fishing oriented Abel pliers...