Ranger is right about Echo rods being made in Asia...(Korea and/or China).  It is kind of a bummer for American manufacturing that Asia's labor costs are so low.  I would say that probably 80-90% of the worlds commercial production fly rods are now made in Asia, Greys, Echo, Ross, Reddington, Cabelas, TFO, Hardy and many others, in fact just about every large American "premier" rod company has a series of rods that are made off shore--either in Mexico or Asia.

For better or for worse, in the past several decades, Asian manufacturing has surpassed American manufacturing in labor cost, efficiency and often times quality or innovation.  I am guilty, of owning a Subaru, a Sony HD TV, Nike shoes, Flies tied in Sri Lanka, Stroft mono from Europe, and even a Greys fishing reel made in Korea...My home kitchen knives are fine Japanese steel--because nothing in North America comes close---certainly not "Chicago Cutlery" !

When I agreed to design the Echo Shadow series, I first wanted to produce a domestic high end rod...but I was informed that the price of such a rod would probably push $900.00 U.S.    So we decided to design the rods here in the states and have them built to specs in Asia to cut the retail price by 60-70%.  We are still considering building a domestic Echo Nymphing rod for next year, but it wont be cheap.

I dont have a problem with buying imported products per say, as long as the price is fair and I get what I want.  I must say though that I am disturbed a little by the fact that some rod companies are charging as much as $650.00 for an Asian made rod...and that does not pencil out for the consumer in my mind.  Of course Nike shoes probably cost 2 dollars to make, and a pair can fetch up to $200.00 here in the states!

the answers are not simple in today's global economy...

Thank you for that frank response Pete. Its a sad state of affairs we Americans find ourselves in. RangerKeen is one of Americas finest and I'm proud that he is a member of our forum. If RangerKeen flies into a hot spot in a Black Hawk made in Poland he is not going to feel as confident as he would if it were made here by his own people. Such is the conundrum we are faced with today. We are the worlds formost consumer base and super power yet our big money people have let greed diminish our stength. Korean rods such as the Echo Shadow is just a small symptom of a greater issue.

I see your point....I just try my best to buy american , ie rods, gear , trucks , guns and what not . Just my redneck upbringing .

You know when we could afford american products? When they were made by people like my grandfather who was willing to work outside a union, in horrible conditions for an awful wage. That's when american made stuff was affordable. Now that factory line workers make $65 dollars an hour or even $20 dollars an hour, we just can't afford their labor in our "affordable" products.

I am as liberal as they come and all for unions and a fair day's wage, but if one rod is $300 and made in korea and another is $720 and made in the US, and they are even close to the same performance level, then I'm going for the $300 dollar one. It would be another story if we could find a way to get the rods within $100 dollars of each other, I would be willing to spend a little more for an american made product, but not two and a half times more.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I am getting the feeling that our labor costs in the US have spiraled so far out of the range of labor costs elsewhere, that it would be almost impossible to compete in the future. It's my opinion that we better start figuring out how to train our labor force to do something else aside from manufacturing, because those days have passed. Nobody here is willing to work for $4.00 an hour assembling some product with 12 hour workdays, no benefits and no retirement pension. I don't blame them, I'm not willing to either.

Capitalism is a harsh system, that rewards efficiency and value. The free market can be a totally cold hearted b#tch!