ok, honest, i'm not starting a war either and i love my country, hell, i almost cry every time hear the national anthem before nascar races, :'( <----- ;D
but....
i took some time to check out ardent's webpage and i was a little embarressed of america's idea of what'll get their share of the fishing reel market.
1. only one spinning reel? i myself was looking for an ultralite, sorry, ardent thinks this is a one size fits all situation.
2. speaking of one size fits all, theyre awfully concerned about getting those shirts and hats on the market, even before the meat and bones, the fishing stuff. it screams all flash, no content to me.
3. i couldnt see the casting reels the website was really screwed up. (i went back on and saw the $250 reel they offer. i'm not sure how many people out there can shell out 250 bucks and for that kind of cash they had better put out the best, THE BEST casting reel out there, i watched the video and aside from the american selling point it seemed like it had everything i need in my $70 5500C3 swedish reel that i've been using for 10 years.)
4. they do have reel fixit stuff, for somebody else's reels i guess.
bust the chops of the overseas guys but i dont see them putting out a line of two reels, take a company like okuma, though i'm not a fan they have steadily worked hard over these past 20'ish years for a decent part of their market, do you think they'd jump into business with one spinning reel and one casting reel? two reels? thats crazy. i wish ardent make a better effort instead of just saying "pay extra, it's built in america" cause thats taking all of us for suckers and its doomed for failure. crush me if you want but when i troll offshore i use AVETS (2 brother's in California) and i love my Penn International 975 and 965's when i'm jigging for stripers (not made in america anymore sadly), i try to support american workers. thanks, chris