That's what is so frustrating about this site. For weeks and months now, all we read about on the TFF is how great the Skeet Reese rods and Carrot Stix are. Some people even claim they are the best rods they have ever used regardless of the fact that they are made in China. Then, Falcon has one series made off shore and all the sudden that is a big deal to people. Just a funny observation to me.....

I dont think they all are

I just wish all these China crybabies owned their own business. It's funny how all these guys cry because products aren't cheaper then when a company is trying to stay competitive in a struggling market, someone cries foul. I'm curious, what rod company out there doesn't have Chinese products. How about that Ranger your drive OP, is it 100% American? What I think is really funny, everyone howls about buying American, yet the leading importer to the US is having a very rough time with their vehicles and one of the culprits are parts made right here. The products they aren't importing aren't having all the same problems. That is an interest observation too.

Well said!

Everything in this country has some tie back to china in some way im sure. Falcon is a great Rod and a great company and i put no blame on them from choosing China as a manufacturer of the bottom line rod. I have no doubt that they did there research and made a good business decision. Perhaps they crunched numbers and just cant find a way to make it worth their time to make these low end rods here in the US. Paying the workers 15 bucks an hour working say 2 hours per rod start to finish. Ive never seen the manufacturing line at Falcon but im sure if they could have done it here they would have. In america where the average worker is clearly paid more than the average China worker, it is probably costing Falcon more than 69/rod to manufacture here.
Just my opinion none of this is fact

They are right it is just the HD series all the other models are still USA made.

I talked to a guy not too long ago who is a custom rod builder. He told me that several companies who have rods made in asia actually spend more money than it would to actually have them made here. The problem is they cant find Americans that will pay as much detail to a product that asians do. I didnt really know what to say to that comment. True or not I found it interesting.

St. Croix... made in good ol' Wisconsin

Guess you didn't read the post.

Coming from a guy who should know. And some of you are getting close on the concept that some rod companies import components and assemble in the good ol' USA but how many actually make their own blanks?

There's a whole bunch of rods today built today in China. I can show you a rod built in China and a rod built in the US and bet you can't pick out which is which. Rod quality is determined more or less by the quality of the components used and not by who is putting it together. Quality control in China has gotten to be excellent when compared in years past. I don't think Falcons are built in Broken Bow and they never have. They are built in Harrison Arkansas. I would almost go out on a limb and say that every rod you buy at Academy and >95% of all the rods sold through BPS, Cabelas, and Gander Mountain are built in China!

I never worked for a rod company but I have worked for a Japanese company in the USA. Most of the time we would run the line over here, get all the problems associated with the production line worked out and then ship the whole line overseas or to Mexico. Our machines and everything. We would re-assemble the line and start making the products. We could have 50% bad products form overseas, sort them until we had enough good products to make shipment and still come out with a pretty good profit. VS if it were 100% American made. There is no OHSA in China or Mexico. It is very hard to make a profit for an American manufacturer if it is 100% American made. In a nutshell, we design it and have it made by the lowest bidder.

Please let me expand just a little on that subject. Some companies own their own mandrels and someone else wraps graphite or other material over them and they then become that companies specific rod. And some companies own only the propietary rights to the graphite or how it is spun and they still employ somone else to actually spin it onto the mandrel. Most of which is done overseas.

I used to have ALL my rods hand made by custom rod builders and they did an awsome job. It is an art!! But even at cost it was SPENDY! And even at that ALL the components were ( you guessed it) Imported!

All I am saying is that all they are doing at Falcon is offering an entry level rod at a competitive price for the market that ask for it.

Sorry to rant but I think the heading of the post is what got me. BTW all my rods now are 100% American made FALCON!

Correct, all Falcon rods except this new entry level rod are made in Arkansas, not Broken Arrow. Broken Arrow, Ok is Falcon's HQ's. Falcon's blanks are all made in Arkansas as well.

Z21 and others,

Thanks for clearing it up. I appreciate the info and I'm glad Falcon will still have rods mfgrd in Arkansas.

I certainly understand the econimics of having items produced overseas and brought back here. I know there are also ALOT of good products produced there - just because the product is stamped "Made in China" doesn't mean it's a "lesser" product. I think alot of people, myself included, like to support a company that still produces their product here. I know I support alot of companies that have product made overseas, as well.

Thanks for the Falcon info, guys.

-Alton