In marketing it isn’t unusual to hear brands referred to as having ‘personalities’. You know the kind of thing where, just like describing a person, a few words can be used that summarise the essence of a brand. If it hasn’t happened on here before maybe we could have a bit fun trying to describe in a few words what summarise the essential qualities of our tackle brands as we perceive them. So, to get the ball rolling, I’ll start

Vision – Cool new Scandanavian kid on the block. Well-thought-out, well-made, well-performing stuff from people who fish. What’s not to love?

Shakespeare – Around since forever, uncool, cheap-as-chips but truly fantastic quality for the money.

Which just leaves Orvis, Hardy, Diawa, Greys, Snowbee, Sage, Airflo, Sonik, G.Loomis, Ron Thompson, Wychwood, Scierra, , Bruce & Walker, and whoever I’ve forgotten.

But let’s not upset anyone too much!

__________________
cumbriafishingfestival.co.uk

Loop: Cool, modernised and a believe for a younger generation.

Hardys: Overpriced!

Greys: Love, Love, Love...keeps tradition while at affordable prices for everyone

__________________
PawPrinT
"I'd rather be fishing"

Loomis - The emperors new clothes . . . . . . . .

__________________
Illigitimi non Carborandum

In a word - having been a tackle tart when I was a coarse fisher in my 20's - jack.

Fitness for purpose is what matters, with value for money in a strong second place.

__________________
"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

Orvis, Hardy, G.Loomis, Sage, Bruce & Walker - Expensive, not tackle I've ever bought.

Scierra - have one of their bum-bags, pleased with it, don't know much else about them.

Daiwa - have relied on their gear for years. My first two match rods were Daiwa, my beachcaster is Daiwa, I've a Daiwa seat box somewhere, I've had their reels in the past and recently bought a pair of their Regal baitrunners for tench fishing. Dependable, reliable workmanlike quality at a reasonable price (though I think their top end reels are pushing the brand beyond what people will swallow)

Greys - have one of their cartridge reels. Good. My perception of the brand is that they are nudging premium pricing with upper mid-range products, though.

Snowbee - I like their lines, but they aren't cheap.

Airflo - when I started fly fishing, some of the earliest advice I got was that Airflo floating lines were rubbish. That impression has, to be honest, put me off them, even though I hear that their other products are fine.

Sonik - I like this company. I like their gear and their business model. I've had three really nice rods from them (four if you include the one I broke which they replaced) and I've been really pleased with the performance to price ratio.

Ron Thompson - I have bought few things from this company, and they have all fallen to bits. My perception of the brand is "buy cheap, buy twice".

Wychwood - my first fly rod was a Wychwood, and in retrospect, it wasn't great for the money.

Shimano - reassuringly expensive. Too expensive, really, I agonised over the Shimano alternatives before buying the Daiwa Regals - the Regals are not quite as nicely engineered, but the price differential was impossible to ignore.

Browning - have an old 11m pole and a match rod from Browning. Think they tried and failed to enter the fly fishing market. Neither the pole nor the match rod is anything more than mediocre.

Okuma - I have one of their fly reels and one of their centre pins. A budget brand with a few premium/niche products, gradually moving upmarket. My SLV fly reel and my Aventa centrepin are both excellent.

Drennan - coarse fishing gear only, I think. I have two of their tench rods and an avon/quiver, and of course have used their terminal tackle for years. Their rods are superb. All of their products are characterised by innovation and quality. If they started selling fly fishing gear, I would find it impossible to ignore.

Ron Thompson: The illigitimate love child of Lidl & Aldi

Hardy: decent enough kit, just 3x more expensive than a 'fair' price for the items. The weapon of choice of "Tarquin & Rupert" because they can brag on the junction pool in October that they paid £xxxx for their kit...

Shakespeare: good quality mostly, cheap, functional, underrated brand.

Sonik: up & coming brand at a sensible price range

Greys: Hardy kit at the price all other Hardy kit should be sold for.

Wychwood: reasonable budget brand, a favourite for luggage items IMO

Airflo: once bitten, twice shy. Never again, enough said.



As someone above said though, if the price is sensible and it's functional for the task it doesn't matter what brand it is.

Shakespeare: does the job and costs next to nothing.

Hardy: just been looking at their bags! >£100 for a simple canvas job? Is it hand woven by virgins from organic cotton? How do they justify their prices?

Wychwood: I love my light Truespin forworming; what are their fly rods like?

Great thread: looking forward to seeing what people think.

Disgracefully, you left out Guideline, one of the top brands out there now. The make great stuff.

Guideline = Upmarket Vision – Cool new Scandanavian kid on the block. Well-thought-out, well-made, well-performing stuff from people who fish. What’s not to love?

Also - brilliant customer service levels.

__________________
Irish by birth, Munster by the grace of God.

Hardy: expensive nostalgia. An elderly and increasingly confused Edwardian gent, resting on the laurels of a glorious youth.

Airlo: does what is says on the tin, no frills.

Lamson: functional art for the collector.

Guideline: unglamorous high-performance tool.

Sage: over-paid neurotic over-achieving artiste (were it a human, would specify the brand of mineral water, threaten to storm off in a tantrum every 10 mins, but every now and then stun the crowd with a flawless performance).

Loomis: bloated city banker (were it a human, would boast about its bonus, drive a fast car and fail to show any correlation between wage and performance).

Orvis: sanitised and climate-controlled wilderness 'experience'. The human would own a faux-rustic hunting cabin that had taken a fortune to get to look *just* right.

[QUOTE=davidms;1019350]Vision – Cool new Scandanavian kid on the block. Well-thought-out, well-made, well-performing stuff from people who fish. What’s not to love?

Shakespeare – Around since forever, uncool, cheap-as-chips but truly fantastic quality for the money.

Which just leaves Orvis, Hardy, Diawa, Greys, Snowbee, Sage, Airflo, Sonik, G.Loomis, Ron Thompson, Wychwood, Scierra, , Bruce & Walker, and whoever I’ve forgotten.

I'll agree with both of the above David, Vision is top notch, as is the Guideline Farrio.
You did leave my first love out, Winston, and Ari Hart, both niche markets perhaps, but it's the handbuilt quality that for me sets them apart.
Overpriced? probably, but hey, we only live once.
S.

__________________
"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.