Never realized St. Croix manufactures In Mexico

[needler420]

Recently purchased a two piece Triumph  and was disappointed to find out that it wasn't made in America at that price. I assumed made in China  only to find out they manufacture in Mexico and actually keep the high standards of quality.

 

Reminds me a lot of Fender stratocaster. Main ones are American made and very expensive. They also manufacture a stratocaster in Mexico that retains the high level of quality and standards of Fender while opening up to a bigger market.   

 

Goes to show how expensive American manufacturing is. Half of us that want American made products aren't capable of affording it. And the people making the American made products won't have liveable wages without some outsourcing.

[padlin]

Some of their rods ARE made in the US, the rest, as you found out, are not. Their web site shows "American Made" for the models that are so.

[needler420]

21 minutes ago, padlin said:

Some of their rods ARE made in the US, the rest, as you found out, are not. Their web site shows "American Made" for the models that are so.

 

 

Yeah Once I researched it I wasn't as disappointed and realize I wouldn't have been able to afford an American made one anyway. Most important besides the outsourcing is they are maintaining a standard of quality that can't happen on American wages. Which is why I made the Fender comparison. I used to own a MIM strat as USA made ones were out of my budget. Well now those made in Mexico ones cost as much as the USA ones used too and the USA ones have got really expensive with inflation.

[flyfisher]

notr trying to sound like an elitist but isn't that like a $100 rod and. the bottom of their product line?  The whole buying US made products is a close minded deal.  We are a global economy and I don't care where something is made as long as it is reasonably priced and good quality.  Sure if i had identical price and products or even a touch more expensive i'd buy in the US but it just isn't the case a lot of the time.  

 

[needler420]

28 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

notr trying to sound like an elitist but isn't that like a $100 rod and. the bottom of their product line?  The whole buying US made products is a close minded deal.  We are a global economy and I don't care where something is made as long as it is reasonably priced and good quality.  Sure if i had identical price and products or even a touch more expensive i'd buy in the US but it just isn't the case a lot of the time.  

 

 

 

It is their cheapest rod. But even more expensive models Bass X bass mojo etc. almost all of them are made in Mexico.   They have a few models made in USA and my guess is they are all a few hundred dollars plus.

 

There are other companies that do have American manufactured rods for less then mid entry st. croix rods. I am researching some now.

 

One thing I notice is there aren't many USA manufactures making or dominating in the reel industry. American companies are good at making expensive rods from blanks but lack the engineers to advance in the reel industry. Even to this day it's dominated by Shimano and Dawia which is all Japan manufacturing or design. 

 

Country of origin makes a huge difference. Over the course of the last decade or so I've seen major knife companies move from Japan to China to cut cost and the quality of the product suffers greatly. If St. Croix had outsourced to China instead of Mexico I don't think they would be known for the quality they are today.

Very similar to Fender. If the MIM was outsourced to China it wouldn't even be called a MIM and Fender wouldn't be as known as they are today without that market reach of quality product to make them known.

 

That's basically how the Triumph is. It's the cheapest St. Croix model. Meant for people who want to experience the quality and brand at affordable prices. Very Similar to Fender Stratrocaster American made vs MIM. 

 

MIM is the closest you'll get to a stratocaster without American made manufacture prices. You go lower quality then that and you're talking Squire made in China into cheap made in China non name brand strat clones. Such as a Glarry like I own.

[zell_pop1]

Actually ST Croix did outsource Triumph rods to China, as you might expect they had terrible qc so they opened up their own plant in Mexico and started manufacturing Triumph and the Mojo line, but personally I only buy Premier/Avid lines as they are US made.

[needler420]

12 minutes ago, zell_pop1 said:

Actually ST Croix did outsource Triumph rods to China, as you might expect they had terrible qc so they opened up their own plant in Mexico and started manufacturing Triumph and the Mojo line, but personally I only buy Premier/Avid lines as they are US made.

 

 

That is kind of a good example lol. They outsourced to China till they got so much public backlash and QC issues that they had to relocate manufacturing plants. Mine is is brand new model one and still has warranty. Plus it's still new with tags and returnable. I'm not worried about mine since it's new.

 

I was actually interested in the mojo line and then realized it's still made in the same facilities as the triumph.  

 

The fact they are very transparent with this information I still have high regard for them.

 

 

What made me do the initial research was because when you buy the rod new no where on the rod or any of the tags did it say a country of origin or manufactured.  ( without that info my first presumption is China)

[casts_by_fly]

3 hours ago, needler420 said:

 

One thing I notice is there aren't many USA manufactures making or dominating in the reel industry. American companies are good at making expensive rods from blanks but lack the engineers to advance in the reel industry. Even to this day it's dominated by Shimano and Dawia which is all Japan manufacturing or design. 

.

reel assembly is very manual. There are some molded and cast parts, but there is a ton of manual working and assembly. Blanks can be rolled and baked in batches.  Reels are one at a time. So labor rate is the determining factor. 
 

rick

[flyfisher]

6 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

reel assembly is very manual. There are some molded and cast parts, but there is a ton of manual working and assembly. Blanks can be rolled and baked in batches.  Reels are one at a time. So labor rate is the determining factor. 
 

rick

good point which is probably why there are a lot of great fly reels made here in the US as there are fewer moving parts.  

[J Francho]

10 hours ago, needler420 said:

They have a few models made in USA and my guess is they are all a few hundred dollars plus.

Victory come in at less than $200 and are made in the Park Falls, WI.

[Deleted account]

7 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

good point which is probably why there are a lot of great fly reels made here in the US as there are fewer moving parts.  

That niche are like the bald guys in the $200k convertibles, lots of cash, and not too much time left to spend it. Sad part is your hair is supposed to blow in the wind...

Oh, I've got a Mex Tele that folks who play (wish I could) tell me is a good one.

[J Francho]

10 hours ago, needler420 said:

I was actually interested in the mojo line and then realized it's still made in the same facilities as the triumph.

So, skip on the Ferrari because it's made in the same place as a Fiat?

10 hours ago, needler420 said:

lack the engineers to advance in the reel industry

Our engineers have better things to build than fishing reels, lol.

[Jigfishn10]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

So, skip on the Ferrari because it's made in the same place as a Fiat?

Always picking on the Italians, J.  

[J Francho]

1 minute ago, Deleted account said:

I've got a Mex Tele

You can get a Chinese one that's probably better, but costs less.  The whole Mexican Fender thing is blown so far out of proportion, they're overpriced now.  The fishing market is so far behind.  

[Deleted account]

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

You can get a Chinese one that's probably better, but costs less.  The whole Mexican Fender thing is blown so far out of proportion, they're overpriced now.  The fishing market is so far behind.  

 

Oh, I don't doubt it. China manufactures some very good high end products as well as cheaply made ones, and they do both well. The cost of shipping and transportation is going to open up opportunities for more manufacturing here in the US as well as our geographically close neighbors, but I'm sure we'll figure out a way to screw it up. 

[J Francho]

7 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

reel assembly is very manual.

 

[FishTank]

I think you need to pick the rod based on what you think of it and kind of ignore where it's made. For example....Megabass is made in China, the St. Croix Mojo in Mexico, and the Shimano Expride also in China. All good rods.

 

As far as Mexican made guitars go..... one word....Paracho. If you know, you know.

[JS8588]

"Made in America" is no longer the sign of quality it once was. Just look at the dumpster fire that has been the American attempts at making AK clones.

 

If I like a rod/reel's specs, I buy regardless of country of manufacture.

[Deephaven]

The working wage American no longer wants to work hard for said wage which means the quality suffers.  I love to support local as much as I can, but expect then that care and attention is included in what I am paying extra for.  Sadly that is not always the case.

[TnRiver46]

[Jigfishn10]

32 minutes ago, JS8588 said:

"Made in America" is no longer the sign of quality it once was. Just look at the dumpster fire that has been the American attempts at making AK clones.

 

If I like a rod/reel's specs, I buy regardless of country of manufacture.

 

6 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

The working wage American no longer wants to work hard for said wage which means the quality suffers.  I love to support local as much as I can, but expect then that care and attention is included in what I am paying extra for.  Sadly that is not always the case.

 

Don't you guys think you're making a blanket statement that isn't 100% true? I know a bunch of wage workers who take pride in their work.

 

I think you're being a little too hard here.

[TnRiver46]

6 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

 

 

Don't you guys think you're making a blanket statement that isn't 100% true? I know a bunch of wage workers who take pride in their work.

 

I think you're being a little too hard here.

Yeah there’s a good many of us that have already sweated thru our clothes by 10 am making poverty wages. We don’t make it onto the news though

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Don't you guys think you're making a blanket statement that isn't 100% true? I know a bunch of wage workers who take pride in their work.

May not be 100% true - but my last 10 years in the work-force was in manufacturing.

 

I'd say about 15-20% of my co-workers were conscientious and attentive to detail

The other 80-85% were varying degrees from 'it's good enough' to 'I'm just here to get paid'.

[J Francho]

You'd have to try unionizing like the local Starbucks employees around here have in order to get on the news. 

[Deephaven]

13 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

 

 

Don't you guys think you're making a blanket statement that isn't 100% true? I know a bunch of wage workers who take pride in their work.

 

I think you're being a little too hard here.

Not what was intended.  It used to be that by default made in America meant high quality.  That is now a misnomer and not true 100% of the time.  There are definitely companies and people that take pride in their work, but it is far from across the board.  This is particularly rough if you grab the under 30 crowd.  The direction we are heading isn't great.