Hardy Marksman Rods

[lutra]

I agree that Hardy live on their name...It was and is the quality of their rods which gave them their name, they are still in business, Normark are not, Bruce and Walker are still in business, because of the quality of their rods, Normark are not. If Normark were so great what went wrong?

 

One thing I will ask because I do not know, how many national and international matches have been won on Normark rods?

 

Why have Normark rods never been very popular, except among a few devotees?

Who say's Normark rods have never been popular? Given their price i would say they were very popular in there price range.

 

Which Normark rod did you have lock up on you Rod and was that with your 22's hook and 12oz bottom?

 

I had a good look (in the shop) at the Preston and Hardy float rods last year when I was after a new rod. Both looked nice rods, but I couldn't see why the Hardys was more money. Weight, balance and action all looked very similar to me.

 

I ended up taking Tigger's advice and buying a Normark (Avenger) and have nothing but great things to say about it haveing used it for a year.

[mick57]

Who say's Normark rods have never been popular? Given their price i would say they were very popular in there price range.

 

Which Normark rod did you have lock up on you Rod and was that with your 22's hook and 12oz bottom?

 

I had a good look (in the shop) at the Preston and Hardy float rods last year when I was after a new rod. Both looked nice rods, but I couldn't see why the Hardys was more money. Weight, balance and action all looked very similar to me.

 

I ended up taking Tigger's advice and buying a Normark (Avenger) and have nothing but great things to say about it haveing used it for a year.

 

I am pleased to note that my first post has renewed interest in this thread,for myself the positive of a good forum is to be able to read the views of other members who have bought the products with thier hard earned as opposed to those of manufacturers or thier sponsored anglers (no offense intended)

 

I find my 11f marksman feeder combines the rigidity of simular antares with the responsive non lock playing action of the carbon actives.Coupled with a diawa airty 3000 reel i would deem it close to all round perfection.It does not make you a better angler but does add to the enjoyment when trying to be so.

 

I tend to be very critical of fishing tackle but after much use can find no fault with either of the above.

[watatoad]

I am pleased to note that my first post has renewed interest in this thread,for myself the positive of a good forum is to be able to read the views of other members who have bought the products with thier hard earned as opposed to those of manufacturers or thier sponsored anglers (no offense intended)

 

I find my 11f marksman feeder combines the rigidity of simular antares with the responsive non lock playing action of the carbon actives.Coupled with a diawa airty 3000 reel i would deem it close to all round perfection.It does not make you a better angler but does add to the enjoyment when trying to be so.

 

I tend to be very critical of fishing tackle but after much use can find no fault with either of the above.

 

hehehe...next try it with a centrepin...that will bring a whole new world of fishing...feeder / pin...but it is addictive...and takes a bit of mastering...hehehe

[Alan Roe]

The issue for me with Hardys is they tende to maximise the designed in England aspect of their advertising to draw attention away from the fact that these rods are chinese imports whilst they stayed within the letter of avertising standards they did nott in my opinion stay within the spirit of same as they sought to maximise the chargeable price for their good in some ways many still thought they would have been getting English Craftsman made products when in fact they are clealy not.

The same very much went for their range of conquest centerpins which in my opinion are really not worth anything like the money. Frankly as a fishing tool I prefer the little Bewick every time though they also need a little careful work with a set of warding files if you are going distance casting with them I will be happy to show anyone what I did to mine to overcome a line cutting issue that can occur on very long casts.

 

The reasons why Hardys have stayed in business when Normark and others have fallen is that their real market has always been the game angling market where markups have traditionally remained higher and frankly snobbery also comes into play, within that market they have developed a solid following from the days when their stuff really was craftsman made and this is also reflected in the residual value of old Hardy gear in the collectors market which has been helped by the fact that Hardys numbered ther stuff they made and kept records so provenance can be established.

 

When Hardys launch a product especially reels they have one eye on that market as a significant percentage of that gear will be bought to go into collections without ever seeing the water!

Those who remember the hardy coarse rods of the 60s and 70s like the matchmaker don't tend to do so with much fondness I still have one of these and it is easy to see why in those days other manufacturers were able to do better, the ABU range of the period were prefered.

On the sea angling side the Hardy Longbow was a classic but the latter Tourney certainly wasn't and again the ABU product was much prefered which of course is why they pulled out of those markets prefering to concentrate on the infinitly more profitable game market.

 

To return to the current range of coarse rods they are ok as rods go I would call them solid performers but they are seriously overpriced. However for those who are happy to pay that sort of money well good luck to you quite honestly I wouldn't.

 

As an interesting aside having been involved with forums for many years now I have seen endless threads about which rod/which reel with countless words expended on the subject.

From my perspective anglers are looking at this from the wrong end the important bit is the bit that they whinge about paying more than a few pence for .........that's right the hook....Go to a tackle shop and you will hear cries of "What a quid for a packet of hook? Robbery!" This from anglers that think nothing of paying a fortune for a rod or a reel.......providing it has the right label on of course!!!

[barbelbarmy]

I have had many rods, Shimano, Diawa, etc and the very expensive Bob James 13/15 float from masterline and must say I have never really liked any of them. My 3 all time favourite rods are the Greys 3 piece Barbel rod, Abu 13ft waggler white diamond and the Hardy 14ft float. I have also recently purchased a Greys 13/15 prodigy float but dont like it, Just doesnt feel right and a Harrison 15ft gti stepped up but it is too heavy.

 

The Hardy 14ft has quickly become my favourite rod of choice. If I had to pick any bad points is that it could do with a couple more eyes to stop line sticking to the blank in wet weather. I didnt pay full price for it, just £150, but would happily pay it now and really considering a new feeder rod from the range.

 

All rods are personnel choice but i feel that this is just quality. Why they have produced a centrepin with cheap plastic parts does baffle me though. Also, why does the ratchet lever dissapear flush when the ratchet is on. Surely should be the other way to make it out the way when trotting and casting.

[Tigger]

The issue for me with Hardys is they tende to maximise the designed in England aspect of their advertising to draw attention away from the fact that these rods are chinese imports whilst they stayed within the letter of avertising standards they did nott in my opinion stay within the spirit of same as they sought to maximise the chargeable price for their good in some ways many still thought they would have been getting English Craftsman made products when in fact they are clealy not.

The same very much went for their range of conquest centerpins which in my opinion are really not worth anything like the money. Frankly as a fishing tool I prefer the little Bewick every time though they also need a little careful work with a set of warding files if you are going distance casting with them I will be happy to show anyone what I did to mine to overcome a line cutting issue that can occur on very long casts.

 

The reasons why Hardys have stayed in business when Normark and others have fallen is that their real market has always been the game angling market where markups have traditionally remained higher and frankly snobbery also comes into play, within that market they have developed a solid following from the days when their stuff really was craftsman made and this is also reflected in the residual value of old Hardy gear in the collectors market which has been helped by the fact that Hardys numbered ther stuff they made and kept records so provenance can be established.

 

When Hardys launch a product especially reels they have one eye on that market as a significant percentage of that gear will be bought to go into collections without ever seeing the water!

Those who remember the hardy coarse rods of the 60s and 70s like the matchmaker don't tend to do so with much fondness I still have one of these and it is easy to see why in those days other manufacturers were able to do better, the ABU range of the period were prefered.

On the sea angling side the Hardy Longbow was a classic but the latter Tourney certainly wasn't and again the ABU product was much prefered which of course is why they pulled out of those markets prefering to concentrate on the infinitly more profitable game market.

 

To return to the current range of coarse rods they are ok as rods go I would call them solid performers but they are seriously overpriced. However for those who are happy to pay that sort of money well good luck to you quite honestly I wouldn't.

 

As an interesting aside having been involved with forums for many years now I have seen endless threads about which rod/which reel with countless words expended on the subject.

From my perspective anglers are looking at this from the wrong end the important bit is the bit that they whinge about paying more than a few pence for .........that's right the hook....Go to a tackle shop and you will hear cries of "What a quid for a packet of hook? Robbery!" This from anglers that think nothing of paying a fortune for a rod or a reel.......providing it has the right label on of course!!!

 

 

 

Can't argue with any of that Alan. I have to say though that I personally didn't buy a normark for the label as I know some people might, I bought it after seeing a couple of my friends normark rods. Infact I knew someone selling a lot of gear and one of the rods was a mint team normark titan 2000 which I got for my m8 for the grand sum of 20 ripp's ! I should have kept it for myself . I had an old silstar match rod which I used for just about all my fishing from spinning to ledgering and would most likely still be using it, if it along with all my other gear hadn't been stolen leaving me looking for a replacement.

Regarding Hardys pins, personally I wouldn't want any of them new or old as I just don't rate them.

[watatoad]

The issue for me with Hardys is they tende to maximise the designed in England aspect of their advertising to draw attention away from the fact that these rods are chinese imports whilst they stayed within the letter of avertising standards they did nott in my opinion stay within the spirit of same as they sought to maximise the chargeable price for their good in some ways many still thought they would have been getting English Craftsman made products when in fact they are clealy not.

The same very much went for their range of conquest centerpins which in my opinion are really not worth anything like the money. Frankly as a fishing tool I prefer the little Bewick every time though they also need a little careful work with a set of warding files if you are going distance casting with them I will be happy to show anyone what I did to mine to overcome a line cutting issue that can occur on very long casts.

 

The reasons why Hardys have stayed in business when Normark and others have fallen is that their real market has always been the game angling market where markups have traditionally remained higher and frankly snobbery also comes into play, within that market they have developed a solid following from the days when their stuff really was craftsman made and this is also reflected in the residual value of old Hardy gear in the collectors market which has been helped by the fact that Hardys numbered ther stuff they made and kept records so provenance can be established.

 

When Hardys launch a product especially reels they have one eye on that market as a significant percentage of that gear will be bought to go into collections without ever seeing the water!

Those who remember the hardy coarse rods of the 60s and 70s like the matchmaker don't tend to do so with much fondness I still have one of these and it is easy to see why in those days other manufacturers were able to do better, the ABU range of the period were prefered.

On the sea angling side the Hardy Longbow was a classic but the latter Tourney certainly wasn't and again the ABU product was much prefered which of course is why they pulled out of those markets prefering to concentrate on the infinitly more profitable game market.

 

To return to the current range of coarse rods they are ok as rods go I would call them solid performers but they are seriously overpriced. However for those who are happy to pay that sort of money well good luck to you quite honestly I wouldn't.

 

As an interesting aside having been involved with forums for many years now I have seen endless threads about which rod/which reel with countless words expended on the subject.

From my perspective anglers are looking at this from the wrong end the important bit is the bit that they whinge about paying more than a few pence for .........that's right the hook....Go to a tackle shop and you will hear cries of "What a quid for a packet of hook? Robbery!" This from anglers that think nothing of paying a fortune for a rod or a reel.......providing it has the right label on of course!!!

 

 

Can't argue with any of that Alan. I have to say though that I personally didn't buy a normark for the label as I know some people might, I bought it after seeing a couple of my friends normark rods. Infact I knew someone selling a lot of gear and one of the rods was a mint team normark titan 2000 which I got for my m8 for the grand sum of 20 ripp's ! I should have kept it for myself . I had an old silstar match rod which I used for just about all my fishing from spinning to ledgering and would most likely still be using it, if it along with all my other gear hadn't been stolen leaving me looking for a replacement.

Regarding Hardys pins, personally I wouldn't want any of them new or old as I just don't rate them.

 

In so far as the Hardy centrepins go I am in complete agreement with you both.

 

I will not dispute your comments on the Hardy rods, you have stated your opinions which in this case differ from my own, as a person who does like the Hardy rods and I do consider them to be worth the money.

 

I have no doubt that you also will both disagree with me when I say that the Chris Lythe reels are o.k. but not so wonderful as to consider waiting for several years to get one at the current way overpriced level.

Edited November 28, 2010 by watatoad

[Tigger]

I have no doubt that you also will both disagree with me when I say that the Chris Lythe reels are o.k. but not so wonderful as to consider waiting for several years to get one at the current way overpriced level.

 

 

I can't vouch for Alan but imo the lythe reels arn't overpriced considering it takes Chris Lythe over 30hrs to make on plus he has to buy the materials etc etc. If his reels are over priced then all the other pins on the market, including the okumas are far more overpriced.

[Alan Roe]

To be honest I would not disagree with you I have used CL reels and whilst they are ok and very well made as actual fishing tools there are in my opinion more practical reels on the market.

 

On the grounds of sheer practicality a solid drum reel is in my opinion better than a caged drum as you do not get anything like the same issues with line bedding in which makes it more useable.

 

Caged drums had the advantage in the days of silk lines as they promoted drying which in those far off halcyon days was indeed an imortant issue as you had to dry your line after every session or they very quickly rotted and were by the standards of the day very expensive so line bedding in was less of a worry to the Victorian and Edwardian angler than was line rotting.

 

This is in part why the Aerial reel was such a revolutionary product along with it's center pin action however what has happened as with so many things the world has moved on and the need for the caged dum has gone but the product is now sold on it's traditional appearance.

 

It's the reason why Waxed cotton has also continued to sell even though there are now better products available folk still buy the traditional products and to some extent firms like Barbour trade on this ongoing nostalga.

I guess the problem for me is that I am not a misty eyed rose tinted spectical wearing person.

 

Look at angling and other country sports and they are shot through with ideas and values that were essentially laid down by our Victorian and Edwardian foebears...Nowhere more so than in river game angling!

Just a hard eyed realist me!