Lews

[RangerR83]

Lews has gone full blown corporate and lost their collective minds. Since the holding company bought it it’s become less about the customer and providing any sort of service and all about the almighty dollar. Give it 6 months, if that, and you won’t recognize the company. 

[dtrs5kprs]

11 hours ago, RangerR83 said:

Lews has gone full blown corporate and lost their collective minds. Since the holding company bought it it’s become less about the customer and providing any sort of service and all about the almighty dollar. Give it 6 months, if that, and you won’t recognize the company. 

Handwriting was on the wall when they got into BPS.

There's a place out of Alabama that usually has a good selection of Lew's, also Daiwa and Dobyns. Sportsman's Outfitters.

[Ryan Miloshewski]

It's so odd because they did the same thing years ago and went to hell. Then they resurfaced and the store opened and they started back up strong. Good quality and service. Now it's just reverted back to, like others have said, caring about money and that's it. I have a lot of Lews gear but I am looking elsewhere now. I've heard the Shimano DC is a good reel. Not sure on rods yet. Loomis sounds like about the best for my budget.

[Devan S.]

Its almost like they did what ever "entrepreneur" does.....start a business....build it up, get a reputation. Sell to a corporation/holding company. Wait out the no compete and restart the exact same company. Rinse and repeat. 
 

[dtrs5kprs]

8 hours ago, Devan S. said:

Its almost like they did what ever "entrepreneur" does.....start a business....build it up, get a reputation. Sell to a corporation/holding company. Wait out the no compete and restart the exact same company. Rinse and repeat. 
 

That does seem to be a pattern in a lot of sectors.

[rps]

Only a few have stood firm against the big cash in model. In a few other cases the acquisition company realized the need to stick with what made the company. Falcon rods are still in the first tier. Rapala has stopped trying to kill the original Dave baits. Pure Fishing still tries to keep the top end Abu Garcias relevant.

Let us save our disgust for Pradco and for a certain bootlegger's son.

[rps]

Just now, rps said:

Only a few have stood firm against the big cash in model. In a few other cases the acquisition company realized the need to stick with what made the company. Falcon rods are still in the first tier. Rapala has stopped trying to kill the original Dave baits. Pure Fishing still tries to keep the top end Abu Garcias relevant.

Let us save our disgust for Pradco and for a certain bootlegger's son.

On this same subject, Wrench and I may never forgive BRP.

[fishinwrench]

15 hours ago, rps said:

On this same subject, Wrench and I may never forgive BRP.

I can't fault BRP for pulling the plug. 

They continued with quality and weren't going to sacrifice that in order to just give away truckloads of engines every year like Mercury Marine does.    As a boat dealer it paid them more to rig Mercury's on them because they could get them cheaper.    The fact that BRP refuses to sell the line and transfer the patents tells me that SOMEDAY they may be back in the game.    I hope I live to see it.  

[MNtransplant]

It's unfortunate because Lew's used to make very affordable rods with great balance..now almost all their rods have a foam EVA butt section that is way lighter than the old style which makes em very tip heavy and clunky...the base Mach 1's used to be what I would consider a premium rod and you could catch em on sale for $40-50...now to get the microwave guides with a balanced feel you are looking at a tp1 or tp1 black for $100 to $130. I've been looking for a new medium light or light action setup for light jigs and im consoderong the new Abu Garcia veritas (great reviews) or forking out the extra cash to get into a st croix avid series. Part of me is scared that I will still like my $60 pflueger trion combo better haha! I've caught so many fish on that darn thing and i never seem to miss bites even tho it's sort of a moderate action...ive looked all over for a replacement rod and cant find one that's exactly like it...bought it at the catalog outlet for $20 and its my favorite rod that I own. The closest ive seen is maybe tje fenwick HMG that makes a 6-6 light with a moderate action..

[dtrs5kprs]

11 hours ago, MNtransplant said:

It's unfortunate because Lew's used to make very affordable rods with great balance..now almost all their rods have a foam EVA butt section that is way lighter than the old style which makes em very tip heavy and clunky...the base Mach 1's used to be what I would consider a premium rod and you could catch em on sale for $40-50...now to get the microwave guides with a balanced feel you are looking at a tp1 or tp1 black for $100 to $130. I've been looking for a new medium light or light action setup for light jigs and im consoderong the new Abu Garcia veritas (great reviews) or forking out the extra cash to get into a st croix avid series. Part of me is scared that I will still like my $60 pflueger trion combo better haha! I've caught so many fish on that darn thing and i never seem to miss bites even tho it's sort of a moderate action...ive looked all over for a replacement rod and cant find one that's exactly like it...bought it at the catalog outlet for $20 and its my favorite rod that I own. The closest ive seen is maybe tje fenwick HMG that makes a 6-6 light with a moderate action..

The TP1 Black is a nice stick for the dollar. Bought three of the 7'6" "open water" spinning rods last spring. It's as close to my custom 7'6" Ned rods as anything I've seen.

Really liked the Abu Venerates, which of course were discontinued. 

An Avid, or the other rods built on the SCIII blanks, will fish well and last. To me, they run just a little light of rating, so it's worth trying to find some to play with vs ordering online.