Paul Arden | Monday, 3 December 2018
I’m interested in buying quality, no matter where it is made. If it’s made in Timbuktu then fantastic! I realise that others like to buy goods that are manufactured close to home - even if of lesser quality - and that’s a choice which is also fine by me.
Here at Sexyloops we have our rod blanks manufactured in Spain. The reason for this is two-fold. First I have amazing synergy with a blank designer allowing us to develop rods that cast and perform in precisely the way I want and second, even if it was possible to have Hot Torpedo rods manufactured in China, I wouldn’t do so because I would immediately lose the uniqueness that I bring to rod design - because *my rod* would immediately be available to every man and his dog!
If you are going to spend the time and energy developing a unique product then you don’t want anyone else having access to it, right? And believe me, I spend enormous amounts of time developing the HT range - each rod takes two years on average.
For those of you interested in the details, the blanks are manufactured in Spain using Japanese graphite. The rod is immaculately built in England using British, American, Portuguese and Japanese components.
I’ve occasionally heard “not made in China” being used as a selling point for rods. However, apart from being shameful, it’s also poor marketing - not least because it eliminates you from the Chinese and ethnically Chinese markets. My wife is ethnically Chinese so I should know! (Actually she’s only Chinese on her father’s side, being Indonesian and native Sarawakian on her mother’s side but all sides come out when she’s pissed off! 
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Will you notice the Sexyloops difference? Actually the truth is that you will, no matter at what level of caster you currently are. Even in beginners’ tests our rods come out the best. At elite level you will know without question. The Hot Torpedo behaves just like a rod should.
Marketing? Yes of course. But I’m not a “marketing guru”. I’m a rod designer, flycaster and fly fisherman first. Pick up a Hot Torpedo today and you will immediately feel the difference.
Cheers, Paul
PS I’m in KL picking up my long-term (spouse) VISA today. This is exciting news for Malaysian fly fishing because I plan to launch a fly fishing business here and represent Malaysia in both flycasting and fly fishing at the respective World Championships!