Quote Originally Posted by Alphahawk View Post
Rod warranty’s are really not worth much. Yes I know a lot of folks will say I have had great luck with so and so rod warranties. The truth is for all that comment just how good they were treated when their rod broke there are a hundred who didn’t come out so well. If rod manufactures honored all the claims they get they’ed be out of business pretty quick. This is the very reason rod warranty’s aren’t much to speak of today. Years back a lot of companies would have lifetime warranty no questions asked. Many times all you had to do was take rod back to where you purchased it and get a replacement on the spot. I did this several times at Bass Pro on their branded rods as well as rods from TFO, Shimano, and others. Took a Shimano Compre UL rod back 3 different times and got a new one. Companies soon found out this was not going to work, and they did away with it. In today’s world you may have to ship a rod back so the manufacturer can determine if the rod was defective. If they see it your way you’re good to go. If not then they will tell you they can replace for such and such a price, or they could turn you down period. In reality it is rare for a rod to break from a defect. Most are broke from misuse or by accident. Even for rods made in USA, which is very few, they also can’t honor but a very small percentage of warranty claims. ST Croix has a free lifetime warranty on their Panfish Legend Elite. See a lot of folks talk about how great that warranty is until they file a claim and read terms of warranty. Nothing free about it when it comes to a claim.


Regards


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I can fully appreciate companies cracking down on warranty claims. Many years ago I knew of more than one person who made multiple claims on a rod that broke purely because of their own carelessness. That seems unreasonable to me. I know there is a high profit margin in these rods but it still is not unlimitrd. At the same time it seems that a year is a reasonable time to expect people to find out if their rod has a problem not just six months. What if you bought it in late fall and didn't get to fish it until spring?

And at the very least a replacement tip should be available without too much difficulty as long as the rod is still being produced.