On 10 May 2005 18:55:31 GMT, Scott Seidman
wrote:

"news.cup.hp.com" wrote in
:


This past year, all my Weinbrenner wading boots (with and without
studs) finally gave out, so I've been looking for new boots. Problem
is, I'm hearing from fly shop owners and others that many of the boot
brands are now made over-seas, and the quality has dropped.

In the bigger scheme of things, it seems that more and more fly
fishing items have been caught up in the whole out-sourcing over-seas
make-it-cheap craze. Even warranty policies are being weakened to
compensate for the increasing number of defects and returns in fly
fishing products.

What the heck is happening? Are fly fishers representative of and
encouraging the out-sourcing make-it-cheap craze, or are fly fishers
in a position to push back.

At this point, I'm placing an online order for some US Made
Weinbrenner's:

http://www.wadingshoes.com/introduction/index.html

Thomas Gilg



There are still plenty of quality producers of fly fishing gear. I think
the problem with boots is that they're big and bulky and expensive to
stock and inventory, so fly shops pick their two or three favorite
brands, and stick with them. Most shops I've dealt with seem to stock
Simms. I don't know what country they are made in, but I haven't heard
of any quality complaints about Simms boots.

For boots, though, I'm pretty fussy, so I like dealing with LL Bean. You
don't like it, you send it back, even after using it a few times, no
questions. I haven't taken them up on that policy, but I have sent back
boots when I didn't like the fit.

Scott


If I'm not mistaken Weinbrenner is the last U.S. manufacturer of mass
market wading boots. (There are probably small, custom makers, but
looking at a couple catalogs reveals that Simms, L.L. Bean, Patagonia,
Korkers and Chotas are all imported.) The factory is three blocks from
my house. I doubt if they'll be there much longer. The Chinese work
cheap. The Koreans and Taiwanese aren't quite as cheap but their
quality control has improved drastically. I just got back from a
AFL-CIO training seminar. While they still suggest that a person "Buy
American" they feel that it is more realistic to put increased
emphasis on expanding union activities in developing nations. If the
corporations have to meet minimum decent standards for the workers and
the environment (which will of course increase their costs) they may
have fewer incentives to move overseas.

g.c.