Hardy Zane reels

Can anyone confirm where these are made as I have seen reports they are made in Korea and not England. Any reviews of the Zane reels and rods?

I have never heard of that brand of real. I strictly use shimano stradic reals for spin fishing. I fish them very hard year round. I have even used the shimano symatree which cost around 40 bucks less than the stradic and there id still no compqarison. Depending on the size they cost between 120 and 140. Cant go wrong bleedingbaits.com

Ghostfisher, how did you hear these were made in Korea?

I read a note on another online forum and have since contacted Hardy direct. I have spoken directly to their customer service manager and have email correspondence with their managing director. The Zane rod and the Zane aluminium reel are both made in Korea. I have reported them to the UK office of Trading Standards for misleading advertizing.

Does it say on their packaging that they are made in the UK?

Danube. The Hardy website and their catalogue show photographs of a reel with "Made in England". Since my communication with them they have now changed their website photo (but only in the last 10 days). The reel and rod has a sticker saying Made In Korea (per Hardy's own confirmation). Their excuse for the catalogue was that they made the decision to move their manufacture to Korea after May 2006 when they printed their catalogue. I am awaiting news from the UK Trading Standards Office.

You think they should change their catalogues?
Reprint and redistribute them?
I don't know, maybe that's legally required?

You had better beieve this. Over 80% of Fishing Flies selling under US and UK brands are also from Korea. This is somewhat not very pleasing to people like me who are in the Fly tying business and believe in perfection.

Thanks Perminus www.fliesperdozen.com

Agreed. However, the main issue with Hardy and still not openly acknowledged is that their advertizing is still indicating that their product are made in England. That is at best misleading and at worse fraudulent. I understand the economics of it but not the deception.

Hardy has been making Reels in the East for a while now only the Angel, swift and the classic reels are being made in the UK now. With regards to perfection, the Angel, which is made in England is far from perfect and has a less foolproof drag system than the Zane Reel. I don't think their advertising is misleading, It doesn't mention anywhere on the 'foodchain ad' that it's made in England. I wouldn't be surprised if their reels will all be made in the far east pretty soon. Especially if they want to stay competitive.

My question:

Does it make any difference in their performance if the reel is made wherever it is made as long as it is to company standards?

I assume you also include quality control within "company standards". If so the answer would be "no". However, this is not the point of the original enquiry. Hardy advertized and continue either directly or through their distributors to advertize some of their equipment as being "Made in England" when it is made elsewhere.