Sobering Trip to Bass Pro Shops

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pinnah

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Jul 28, 2011
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This post has no point and I certainly don't want to stir the "Made in China" debate...

Some personal business took me by our regional Bass Pro Shop store yesterday and having a bit of time on my hands, I decided to stop in. Wasn't my first time or anything and I walk through was better than stopping at a Dunkin Donuts for a donut I didn't need.

I walked through the really massive store winding my way past clothing, shoes, gun stuff and ultimately to my real reason for being there, the knife counter. As I made my way through the retail wonderland maze, I noted just how much stuff is made outside of the US, including, to be honest, pretty much every stitch of clothing I was wearing. Aisle after aisle of it.

I was hoping to lay hands on a Bucklite Max 486 and somehow, I just assumed that of any of the shops in my area that would stock them, BPS would. Not only did they not stock it, but the selection of Bucks was much less than I remembered. And the Bucks that they did stock surprised me. There were a few fixed blades, but no 119s. Folding lockers consisted of 1 Vantage model, a bubble wrapped Bantam and several made in China tacticals, the names of which I forgot the moment I read them. They had a bunch of the made in China wood handled slip joints in the $20 to $25 range and if I looked hard, could find only 2 made in the US stockmans. The number of Buck 110s? Zero. 112s? Nothing.

Bewildered, I literally backed away from the counter to take in the whole scene. There was a whole row devoted to Kershaws, another devoted to (I think) CKRT and another to their own product line. All of these were tacticals. Next to the counter, there was a free standing display case of Case slip joints in the $50 range. In the aisle next to the counter, there was more knives in bubble wrap, including Remingtons, Old Timers and more made in China Bucks.


I really don't know what to think of this and I have no real point in this rambling. I guess I understand more that tastes in knives have really swung towards tacticals - so much so that they entirely dominate the floor space in a store devoted to hunting and fishing. I guess I also have a deeper appreciation for the acceptance of made in China products (I wear the stuff, for heaven's sake) and the real price pressures facing Buck as they fight for retail footage at stores like Bass Pro Shops.

My 112 is in for service. Can't wait to get it back. Needless to say, I didn't spend any money on knives the other day...
 
I'm fortunate that I have a BassPro and Cabelas by me but I find myself going to Cabelas almost exclusively. They have a large selection of USA made Bucks, Case, Knives of Alaska, Kershaws and Leathermans to choose from. Cabelas seems better laid out and larger variety to me. Made in China isn't going to go away but I do try to make a conscience effort to by US made products when I can. Trevor~
 
That surprises me. It's been a couple of years since I've been in that particular store, but the last time I was there they had a pretty nice selection of Bucks.

Even then, Cabela's was better, though.
 
pinnah said:
This post has no point and I certainly don't want to stir the "Made in China" debate...

Some personal business took me by our regional Bass Pro Shop store yesterday and having a bit of time on my hands, I decided to stop in. Wasn't my first time or anything and I walk through was better than stopping at a Dunkin Donuts for a donut I didn't need.

I walked through the really massive store winding my way past clothing, shoes, gun stuff and ultimately to my real reason for being there, the knife counter. As I made my way through the retail wonderland maze, I noted just how much stuff is made outside of the US, including, to be honest, pretty much every stitch of clothing I was wearing. Aisle after aisle of it.

I was hoping to lay hands on a Bucklite Max 486 and somehow, I just assumed that of any of the shops in my area that would stock them, BPS would. Not only did they not stock it, but the selection of Bucks was much less than I remembered. And the Bucks that they did stock surprised me. There were a few fixed blades, but no 119s. Folding lockers consisted of 1 Vantage model, a bubble wrapped Bantam and several made in China tacticals, the names of which I forgot the moment I read them. They had a bunch of the made in China wood handled slip joints in the $20 to $25 range and if I looked hard, could find only 2 made in the US stockmans. The number of Buck 110s? Zero. 112s? Nothing.

Bewildered, I literally backed away from the counter to take in the whole scene. There was a whole row devoted to Kershaws, another devoted to (I think) CKRT and another to their own product line. All of these were tacticals. Next to the counter, there was a free standing display case of Case slip joints in the $50 range. In the aisle next to the counter, there was more knives in bubble wrap, including Remingtons, Old Timers and more made in China Bucks.


I really don't know what to think of this and I have no real point in this rambling. I guess I understand more that tastes in knives have really swung towards tacticals - so much so that they entirely dominate the floor space in a store devoted to hunting and fishing. I guess I also have a deeper appreciation for the acceptance of made in China products (I wear the stuff, for heaven's sake) and the real price pressures facing Buck as they fight for retail footage at stores like Bass Pro Shops.

My 112 is in for service. Can't wait to get it back. Needless to say, I didn't spend any money on knives the other day...
Click to expand...

This sobered me up and I do not even imbibe.

:(
 
My Cabela's has a VERY small selection of U.S. made Buck knives.

As has been noted, tacticals dominate.

I think the tactical part of this is simply a reflection of the urbanization of America.

As to the lack of classic Buck knives......there's a lot more profit in China-made knives, so why stock U.S. made Buck?

That's just the way it is.
 
We have a new Big 5 sporting good store that is just like that.I went there only once,that was enough.
 
Our local Gander Mountain is about the same. Very limited selection of Buck products but tons of Gerber with Kershaw a close second followed by Browning, Winchester, etc.
 
I will only buy made in the U.S.A Bucks period! I do not buy mainland China made knives and to be honest I hate it that they make most of our clothes now!
 
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The whole China issue has been hammered to pieces and is now trolling for a moderator shut down when it comes up. Just search this site and you will find tearful indignation mixed with xenophobia every time it is mentioned. So, I won't feed that fire (isn't it already ashes?).

As far as the BPS stores go, they seem to be different in every store, following the Walmart model of tailoring the inventory they carry to their prospective purchasers. After all, the cold, hard, ugly facts are that if they didn't sell them and didn't make money with the tactical knives they simply wouldn't sell them. I am sure it is that way for any store of any type that wants to stay in business.

The BPS by my house has few Bucks on display. They are blister packed in one isle with (a ton of) Gerbers, a couple of SOGs, a couple of CRKTs, a few no names, and a bunch of Kershaws. No touching, all are blister packed.

Behind the large counter at the cutlery station on a glassed in wall display, they have a real mix of better quality knives. Probably about 75 - 80 knives. They have everything from Buck 110s and Buck fixed hunters to Kershaws, Bokers, and others. I would say that tacticals make up about 25%, utility type knives like Kershaw Blurs are another 25%, and the rest are some type of hunter/skinner/camp knives.

Under the glass counter, they have about 50 different models of traditional style folders where they sell mostly CASE, BUCK, and BOKER with a few different Asian knives in traditional patterns.

Prices aren't bad on these; not great, but not bad.

Seems like you might need to change stores!

Robert
 
Robert,

I really agree with you regarding the evils of xenophobia. As I tried to make clear, I can't imagine my life without non-USA made goods. I'm awash in it, as are most people and it's really just a fact of life.

But, as a fan of traditional knives, I want my Opinel to be made in France, my SAKs to be made in Switzerland (Ok, I'm done with SAKs but that's another thing), my Mora's to be from Sweden (don't have one... yet) and my Bucks to be from the US. I don't fault Buck from making knives outside of the US, but for me, Buck has achieved an icon status and where it's made is important to me in a way that, say, Kershaws aren't. I couldn't care less where Kershaw knives are made. Or Gerber for that matter.

The thing that sobered me as seeing how completely out of step my perspective is with the buying public. I think you are spot on. BPS sells what sells and from what I'm seeing, not only is country of origin not important, but traditional designs don't seem to be important, at least not judging from shelve space allocations. My local consumer peers want modern tacticals.

This thread is only about me feeling a bit out of touch and has really nothing to do with international economic or political issues. Sorry if I didn't do a good job of making that distinction.
 
Many of us here live out an anachronistic existence, Pinnah.

You'll get used to it.

The world is changing too rapidly for effective processing by human beings.

The future ain't what it used to be and neither is the present.
 
It's not where they're made that is the issue here, nor is it entirely cost basis. It's how the stores are designed and stocked, and marketing. These stores, and EVERY OTHER large chain store (no matter what the specialty products are) is stocked by a corporate plan. Every inch of every shelf is dictated to the store management. The products are purchased to fit the plan based on marketing that covers the entire area of the chain. It does not matter if one store sells more fly fishing gear than the entire rest of the chain, it's limited to the same basic product line up.

Part of this lays directly at the feet of the companies who's products are either sold by, or not sold by, the corporation. If Buck knives are on the shelves, then Buck has some degree of influence as to what knives are being sold. Buck helps by providing product that fits the area allotted, providing incentives for products sold, and marketing supporting the products selected to maximize both their profit and the corporations.

If you dislike what products you see in the stores you shop in you need to make that clear to both the manufacturer and the store management. Be advised; if you do not do this in writing it never happened.
 
pinnah said:
Robert,

I really agree with you regarding the evils of xenophobia. As I tried to make clear, I can't imagine my life without non-USA made goods. I'm awash in it, as are most people and it's really just a fact of life.
Click to expand...

It is, and most just won't face up to it or admit it. I use my truck to get to work and get home, which to me is more important than worrying about where its parts are made. I rely on my two computers and their peripherals to organize, run, archive everything for my company every day. Every single day, there are hours spent on these machines managing and making my company work. Arguably more important than the few minutes a day I enjoy using my knife. Yet, where did the computer and its parts come from?

Years ago, +/- 1970, I worked with a guy that served in WWII. He was in the thick of it in the Pacific, in his early 20s. Fast forward 25 years after WWII in his life, which is when I met him; he was considerably younger than I am now! He would have nothing to do with anything Japanese or Asian. Nothing. Not one thing. He saw first hand what the Japanese did to he fellow Marines, and he hated every Asian man, woman and child for it. Chances if him carrying a Japanese knife (you know, some of the ones prized here) were zero. He considered anyone that carried a non USA made blade as un-American. He pointed out to me, that we were talking about a country that had gone to war with us, launching a sneak attack on our country. Never mind talking about the atrocities.


Later, I worked with a man that battled all across Europe in the 36th Texas. He had a box of medals that he showed me (once) and had 3 or 4 purple hearts. He saw what the Nazis did, thought of all the friends he lost, and how disrupted his life was after being yanked off the family farm to stop a madman's quest for world domination. He was very resentful. He hated everything German, and after a long, hard lecture and a lot of him dogging me for showing him my new Boker stockman, I switched back to CASE. After listening to him tell me on very rare occasions about what he had been through, all the friends he had lost, and what he had witnessed, I felt guilty about carrying anything other than American in my pocket. In the 10 years that followed, I bought one Japanese made knife, and one German.

And I have to admit, I had pangs of guilt from doing it, and it took me another 20 years to buy another knife that wasn't USA born.

Those guys, well I could understand why they hated the folks they did. I can't imagine supporting any group or nation that we had been to war with, no matter what the reasons, after they had cost their entire generation so much.

However, with today's modern xenophobes, I find little in the way of understanding. They never went to war with an Asian country, and have suffered little or no loss from their association with them. In fact, they have benefitted. They happily drive well made American, Korean and Japanese cars and trucks full of Asian components, work on Chinese made computers, use Asian made camping gear, use Asian made cell phones and tablets, and wear Asian made clothes.

We only went to war with one Asian country, and it wasn't China. Yet many wear Vietnamese made tennis shoes that come from there. I have read that Nike and a few others have a large amount of their goods made there, even after our prolonged war with them.

And I don't buy the flag waiving "pro USA" argument, either. If that was the case, they wouldn't buy (and sometimes actively seek out) knives from France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Japan, Norway, or South America. They would only buy USA made knives. It is simple; it is either made in the USA from US made components with our labor or it isn't. Three of the countries mentioned above have American blood spilled on their soil when we were at war with them.

To me, we are all so far into the global economy (whether we wanted to be or not!) that it is disingenuous to crow about only buying domestic anything. The folks that do this pick and choose what they want to spend their money on, how they want to view their expenditures, and I'll bet there are plenty of foreign made products in their lives.

But for them, as long as it is from the right foreign country, that's what counts. That's what makes it OK.

pinnah said:
The thing that sobered me as seeing how completely out of step my perspective is with the buying public. I think you are spot on. BPS sells what sells and from what I'm seeing, not only is country of origin not important, but traditional designs don't seem to be important, at least not judging from shelve space allocations. My local consumer peers want modern tacticals.
Click to expand...

Yes they do. Only one of my contemporaries likes traditional patterns, and being in construction we can all carry what we want. I have even seen the venerable Buck 110, a job site staple for 30+ years be replaced with all manner of tactical looking knives. Not all cheap ones, either. One of my plumbers carries a really nice USA made Benchmade ninja assassin looking affair. For the most part though, they carry inexpensive mall bought affairs or something from the very isles you saw in BPS.

pinnah said:
This thread is only about me feeling a bit out of touch and has really nothing to do with international economic or political issues. Sorry if I didn't do a good job of making that distinction.
Click to expand...

No problem with me. I was more concerned about the tone this was taking on; I have participated in more than a few threads the mods had to shut down because it go so nasty between the participants. Just didn't want to see the discussion get nasty again, or turn into a China bashing, chest thumping thread.

Robert
 
And let's have that be the last word on that subject, before this one gets shut down too. OK?
 
cheeseychung said:
Tell me about it, I work at one :(
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I bought a WHOLE BUNCH of buck knives in Orlando bass pro that were USA made,that was 2009 though.I wanted to buy some new camo,made my order of items on the phone and then askled where they were made,all made in veitnam,banggladesh,korea,etc,but NOTHING made in USA,So i just told the lady i only buy camo gear made in the USA or Canada,and to cancel my order.I told her i won't be buying anything made overseas.
 
Razorblades, I wasn't joking. One more post like that here and I call in the air strike.
 
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