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Taylor fly fishing

5K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  kootenaybow 
#1 ·
I know this is primarily a spey site with two hand rods but I'm sure we all use our single handers as well. So I was wondering if anyone out there has any feedback or experience with Taylor fly fishing products ? I bought a reel of theirs 3 years ago and was not impressed but I have heard good things about their rods.

Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Nope its a Rod and Reel company out of New Mexico, its own brand. They been getting popular the last few years, 100k followers on instagram now. Their products are very nice looking, but like I said the one product I had wasn't my taste. Found the reel was too heavy and didn't like the silent drag.
 
#6 ·
They probably have their stuff made over seas. A well designed taper made in South Korea is not really a bad thing as they know what they are doing and Im sure we all have a rod or two with blanks rolled in South Korea. The reels Im sure are made over seas. They are intentionally vague about where their stuff is made which means its probably China.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the reply, I have seen that shootout where they are included however Yellowstones reviews have to be taken with a grain of salt in my opinion. George Anderson likes to put rods in the number one spot that he helped design. And the rods that they leave out of the shootouts are questionable to say the least. Then things like a Fenwick placing above a Scott and Winston...lol and the brands that Taylor finishes above is extremely questionable. Those Yellowstone shootouts are the same every year - George Anderson picks G-Loomis as the winner lol.

I also have to seriously question how a small company that hasn't had their name in the game very long all of a sudden thinks they can be charging 900$ canadian for their high end rod !?

As you can probably tell from reading this it sounds like I already had my mind made up about them, and I guess I lind of did but I just wanted to see if any others had actually used their products and it doesn't seem like it. Thanks for taking the time to reply !
 
#9 ·
Bushman - Always need to take a review by anyone with a grain of salt, it's all objective as not everyone has the same casting stroke etc... However a well put together comparison by various folks does provide insight. That being said I never was one to believe the cost of a rod is directly related to performance. Yes the Winston and Scott rods are highly regarded and costly. I believe a lot of that has to do with history and attention to detail with regard to aesthetics. Aesthetics are nice, however do not add performance as it applies to an individuals tastes.
 
#10 ·
All good points, im sure they make some okay products, although the reel i bought from them was not at all the quality I expected. But its definitely hard for a smaller company to make a sale on a 900$ rod when they arent a household name. I mean the average consumer is gonna spend the 900$ on a well known name before a not so well known. Atleast I would for the most part. Plus when youre a smaller company I feel like your first sale to a customer is your only chance. For me it came down to with Taylor, was why would I ever buy a 900$ or even a 500$ rod when your 200$ reel was underwhelming. I feel also like alot of their sales come from people who don't know the difference between good gear as now adays alot of newcomers to the sport care more about aesthetics and looks and base their decisions off of that. I mean sure looks are important to ! But that's why companies like Abel can give you the looks options along with performance. Anyways idn what im trying to even say here lol just rambling really. Thanks for the reply, and to all others that have replied, I appreciate it 👍
 
#11 ·
Meiser and Burkheimer are very small companies with zero advertising budget. They are easily researchable and the information you find on them is very positive. The quintessential boutique graphite rod outfits. Its the same for boutique reel makers. The good word spreads and you build a loyal customer base. Other small rod companies like Beulah do a fantastic job delivering a great product at a great price with no large corporate owners just a love of fishing and a loyal customer base. Same for Orvis, although they are a wee bit bigger than the previously mentioned three, they love the sport and walk the walk as far as giving for and spearheading conservation and they will back up their product 100%. Anybody can have gear made in China and then package everything up into a slick web site for sale. They don't even offer a two handed rod and their reels are ugly as #@$. Support the small roots based rod companies and call Jefferson, or Burkheimer, or buy a Beulah. Then go onto the classifieds here and get a nice loud reel. Since you mentioned that looks are important what could be better looking than a Jefferson with a well fitted Hardy or CFO?
 
#13 ·
Since I made my first post on the thread I did chat with Matt Taylor, they are still machining the reels in South Korea from their own design specifications. All of the custom anodizing is done at his shop in USA. It would be very expensive to set up the same level and quality of machining shop here that would match the existing quality so for the current time they are manufactured off shore.

I may take a whirl with one of the new models, super light and Spey sized.
 
#14 ·
Since I made my first post on the thread I did chat with Matt Taylor, they are still machining the reels in South Korea from their own design specifications. All of the custom anodizing is done at his shop in USA. It would be very expensive to set up the same level and quality of machining shop here that would match the existing quality so for the current time they are manufactured off shore.
As a new company just starting out, they all need to develop a toehold in order to start out in business. Going with a S Korean company is much better from my viewpoint then going to China. But as @Bushman88 has mentioned "they can be charging 900$ Canadian for their high end rod". I can't see the justification in that, not for something that hasn't proven or developed any credentials to justify this extra cost. Just my 2 cents..
 
#15 ·
I looks like this company has gone with high end components and materials, multiple models, coupled with low volume, probably has high manufacturing costs, and since small, is passing these costs onto the customer. Anybody can buy quality blanks and wrap them up up with bling, but are these blanks unique and designed with a purpose? Or are they off-the-shelf from a manufacturer and the same blank floating around in other boutique companies, some of which may be cheaper (moonshine comes to mind) dressed up to be unique. It reminds me of the Instagram ads, 5 different companies all hawking the exact same junk from China. To me, it's the R&D that is what's worth paying the top dollar, but others like the bling, to each their own.

Off-shore doesn't not necessarily mean poor quality. Many Asian manufacturing facilities are light years ahead of many in NA and are often leading edge. If the importing company is doing it's job with proper QC/QA, there's nothing wrong with that, but if it's going straight from offshore to a NA distribution facility there could be problems.

I've always been skeptical of companies that come out of nowhere and charge top dollar, with all the hype and no real 'street cred'. But if they're still around in 10 years, maybe they're doing something right.

This is sort of my bag since I work in Quality and have always took an interest in the smaller outdoors manufacturing industry (dream job).
 
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