Sunday, March 22, 2009

Taking back our Quiet Sport

This is on my mind. How do we help our sport carry forward in the vein it's meant too? Is that possible, can we keep our casts true-blue? Do we let advertisement push us into that next purchase. Or do we make choices bassed upon a real need?

So many questions, more questions than answers.

Sorry to pick on William Joseph, but if their R&D folks actually fish, I would be suprised. I'm astonished at the amount of new product that company puts out. Think about product developement from a desgin perspective, just for a second. If you replace a model of chest-pack every year with a new line, what does that say about the life expectancy of your product?

I bet the average guy doesn't make it out past twenty trips per year. Not trying to knock anyone, any day on the water is a good day in my book. More so, trying to make a point about quality control going into the companies making gear for us.

What does it say about a company who knows, better than my guess of twenty days per year, that makes a product they replace every year?

Would you make gear to last, use materials that are strong, and processes that stand up: If you knew you had an new product due out in six months?

This is just one slice of the thoughts I've had lately. Seeing our banks under the microscope, as of late, makes me think the problem is larger, indicative of society as a whole, not just financial companies..

When did we stop accepting, the best from our own? Seems we lost the right as consumers to demand it and it's been so long we've forgotten that we deserve it.

3 comments:

Big Hoss said...

Great article.

BG said...

A very needed article... there is a few things that have gone on with WJ in the past. I feel a different approach is currently taken.

R&D is very critical and under utilized in the Ffing market. My gripe is with Simms & Cloudveil, new $500 pair of waders every year, new "gore tex" jackets... and Cloudveil waders don't make it past 15 or so days before falling apart. My current pair of Cloudveil pants (replaced my chest waders with pants!) have started to leak in the seams with under a weeks use. Ffing manufactures need to figure it out, and quick, this isn't snow sports, ffing cannot compete in this seasonal wardrob area. What they can have, is bomber products after years of R&D.


ooops.. ranted a little ; )

flynbird said...

All true! Boycott! Do we need $700 fly rods or $500 waders no. You can catch fish with a $100 just the same and why not buy Hodgeman Waders I know guides that wear them and get a year out of them then they throw them away. Add up the wader price and that is 3 years worth of waders for the price of a pair of Simms that will only last a year. The fact is that alot of fisherman like to show off their "high-end gear" to everyone on the water. (These are probably the same fellas that fish right beside you when the rest off the river is empty.) Makes you wonder why they out there. I say just fish hard and leave the river looking cleaner than when you showed up and don't wear about how our gear looks or what brand is stamped to it. P.S. The photos on this blog are amazing! Nice work!