There is no question that Carpenter lures are among the most expensive on the market.
There appears to be an assumption here that all Japanese lures are made and tested the same way and hence, there should be no reason for such a price gulf between Carpenter and the rest. This is not the case. Many companies release a lure to the market after a test trip or two and certainly, no more than a season of testing. I won't mention any names but I have seen products go from prototype to production in one trip.
Carpenter doesn't work like that. I thought I was a perfectionist (something Chris Young would attest to seeing I drove him insane
) but Konishi San is at a completely different level. To give you some idea on the testing horizons, a lure I first tested in October 2010, I was still testing variations of last week. We're closer but we're not there. Another lure which I first saw him testing in 2007 and which I have encouraged him to put into production since remains a prototype because it just hasn't met his standards for going into production. This is notwithstanding this lure catching more fish than just about anything else every trip it has been on but he just isn't satisfied with the action, even if the fish seem to be.
Carpenters lures have been tested all over the globe. These testing trips are expensive and Carpenter's testing expenditure each year is frightening. I would also advise that the rods go through the same rigorous testing process.
When you buy a Carpenter lure or rod, you are buying a product that you know has been through an extremely rigorous testing process and one that has been tested in numerous locations around the globe by one of the best anglers in the sport and his very small team of testers. Unfortunately, you are also paying for all the costs involved in getting that product into production.
Are they worth money or the premium you pay? Only you can decide that ultimately.
