Hi,
I've had mostly positive experiences with Orvis.
I do roll my eyes when visiting a "fly-shop" and have to navigate the huge "life-style" area to go in back to find fishing gear
But, then again, what do I expect in SF and Palo Alto. Its a good compromise, you have to pay the rent.
The fishing sales people that I've talked to have been very friendly and knowledgeable, and felt very genuine. I felt as I was benefiting from their knowledge rather than being "sold". Definitely keep knowledgeable people in the fishing department.
The mid-arbor battenkill reels seem to be a great value. I bought one for my wife, and liked it so much, I got 2 for me. I haven't had any trouble even with fishing in pyramid and salt-water.
I also have the tailwaters XT waders with integrated boot. The waders developed a leak in the wader-boot seam after 1 season of use. Customer support worked well, Orvis replaced the leaky waders and over-nighted them in time for my next trip. It would have been better to last a few seasons before leaking, but Orvis made it good for me.
Besides retail channel, I also appreciate the catalog, newspaper, and email notices. The Orvis emails are the few commerical emails that I read (Blue Ribbon Flies also). Maybe its a way to appear like I'm working while thinking about fly fishing, but I digress.
One example of the value of the multiple channels, I learned of the tech vest in the catalog and was very interested, but had doubts my camera would fit in the pocket. I brought the camera into the retail store and verified that it fit before purchasing.
Good luck with your project.
John
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