Where are Orvis Mach Reels made??

[Ionian]

I am getting ready to purchase a Orvis Mach IV and was just wondering if they are made here in the states or England? Do any of you own this reel? What do you think of it? It looks like a nice reel and the price is right. Thanx!

[Jim Miller]

Ionian
I just bought a Mach IV a month ago. Haven't used it in the salt yet. But I have played with a few king salmon & steelhead on it. So far I like it. Light weight and a smooth drag. I also like the large drag knob..... easy to use for winter (gloves on) fishing. We have a Orvis outlet store in my area.... the price was right too!

[Ionian]

Jim, are Mach reels made in England? I will be getting one here soon and will be using it for steelhead and kings here in the midwest.

[Jim Miller]

Yup....just looked.
MADE IN ENGLAND stamped on the reel foot.
Back to Falcons/Lions!

[ctchuck]

Great reel. Nice feel, easy to clean and can stop fish.

[Ionian]

Well guys, I got the reel from my wife for Christmas along with a St. Croix ultra 8 wt. rod. The rod is beautiful, but I was dissapointed to find out that the Orvis Mach reels are made in China. It was hard for me to find out, but the box has it printed in small letters near the bottom and the reel case has a made in China tag. This may not be a big deal to most, but it looks like this reel will be going. I hope I am not making a mistake. Take care. :)

[albacized]

If you don't mind me asking, why are you going to return the reel? I know some folks are into buying 'Made In The US' for patriotic reasons or whatever (which I don't really agree with can respect those who do). However, the last I checked, England isn't in the US and therefore, offers no advantage over being made in China. There may be some political discussions regarding alliances or whatever. However, at the end of the day, I just want the best reel in my hand and as long as it wasn't built by Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, I don't care who made it. To me, the Mach isn't the best reel. But that isn't the point here.

[ctchuck]

I have one and love it

[SamRiley]

Just a thought but maybe the reel itself is made in England and the reel wrap and packaging were made in China.

I fished my Mach V pretty hard this season. Ditto on ctchuck's comments. No problem dealing with Bluefin either.

[Ionian]

Thank you kindly for the replies. My choices are more political then anything else. I used to be concerned about quality, but since everything that I own regarding electronics is made in China and they rarely break, I guess I can't use that excuse. I will hang on to the Mach IV untill I can afford an Able and then the Mach will get passed on to the wife. ;)

[Rokus]

Ok, I bought a Mach 5 about 2 months ago and only had trouble with it.

The first thing that happened was that all the numbers on the drag wheel came off after only a week of using it - something that has not happened to a friend of mine who's reel was still made in England.

Then about three weeks later the clicking sound disappeared and the spool came completely loose along with the fact that I was no longer able to take the spool off the reel to look inside and check what was happening.

Thank god Orvis is really good with products that are damages. I took it to the New York store today and they immediately replaced it with a new one - and when I took a closer look at it I saw that the replacement reel was MADE IN ENGLAND! I was obviously stoked!

The new reel has a much better sound to it and the drag wheel feels a lot less "plasticky".

I am for globalization but in the case of Orvis being such an old company that relies heavily on its traditional values, I feel it has been an incredibly bad move. Even the guys at the store aren't too happy about it.

My 2 cents.