I purchased a two piece UL, RX7, in 2011 and the top part broke. It came from one of the “top” mfgs. Per the warranty departments request, I sent both pieces to them. I was informed that the specific blank was discontinued and they would give me a lesser blank, RX6, instead of an equal to or better blank. So I have to spend $15 on shipping and $20 on handle and seat for a $30 replacement blank in order to be made whole again. I don’t care about my labor. Is this customary? Thanks for responses.

Sadly, yes, it is more common than you'd like to think.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2016 04:20PM by John E Powell.

Bobby,

Since the rod was purchased in 2011 the manufacturer probably did feel the break was a result of a blank defect. I have had nothing but outstanding support from both Mudhole and Batson. Batson has replaced, at no costs, not even shipping, a rod that was stepped on by a customer! I was honest with them and they said they appreciated the honesty and the fact that the blank was only about 6 months old.

Most manufacturer want you back as a customer and will go out of their way to keep you happy.

I had a store bought rod, (a Kistler D/S rod), that I broke. I loved the rod and contacted them about a replacement. They had discontinued the rod and offer a substitution rod of lessor value. I turned down the offer do to shipping costs and charges for the rod that was offered.

You'll find most blank manufacturers to be more than understanding...at least I have!

Don Campbell
don@sensorfishingrods.com

I agree with John. Lucky you got anything back. Most builders would shrug their shoulders, salvage what they could, and add the broken rod to their broken rod stash. Accidents happen and rods break.
Norm

In response to Mr. John E. Powell:

I am not sure how you “created” your facts about my broken rod. I watched by son break it while reeling in a 10” stocked trout. He has used it very little in the four years because he has been at college working on an engineering degree. After reading your response and conclusions, I am certain that you do not possess an engineering degree, or any other degree, or you would not have posted that response.

To the others, thank you for your guidance.

Now Now children play nice LOL

Bill - willierods.com

Bobby,
Actually, John's post is pretty reasonable.

If a rod has been in service for 5 years - even if seeing modest use - with no issues, the fact that the rod broke with very little force on it, would tend to reinforce John's post about an impact damage to the rod, sometime prior to the moment of rod breakage.

By the way, I do have an engineering degree and John's analysis of the issue seems well based on engineering theory as well as simple historical fact about rod blanks and their breakage history.

Be safe

I am going to have to stand with John on this one. Manufacturing defects do not just materialize after 5 years of use. There was some sort of self inflicted or hazard that made this occur. I have seen this same scenario way too many times

Ron Weber

I would agree with John also There have been many posts here Some ones rod broke Why After a little discussion ya find out A lure hit the blank -- someone stepped on it - a window - door -- But it was damaged and not noticed Then after a few trips it broke

But you also got a lot of use out of it Strip off what you can and build another - Such is life

Bill - willierods.com

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Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2016 04:20PM by John E Powell.

Bobby
I am not a full time rod builder as others who have responded to your post. I do have more than 80 new builds out being used. The vast majority being of the manufacture of the RX7 line of blanks.

I have a customer whom I have build 5 rods. All RX7 or RX8 model lines. He broke an RX8 after about 1.5 years of full use. Meaning weekend tournaments, club and buddy tournaments. The break was about 12 inches from the tip. The break was made casting a 1/4 oz. shakey head. A mutual friend was with him and saw the break. He brought the rod to me to look at and I thought it was an strange looking break. I sent the rod section to the manufacture and they agreed there was a flaw. In their opinion the blank was "thin" at the point of the break. They replaced the blank. I rebuilt the rod at no cost to my customer. The customer was happy and still using the second rod today. That was about 4 years ago. I did not like having to rebuild the rod but the manufacture held up their end and I held up mine. I send very few broken rods back to the manufacture especially if I know the rod took some type of abuse. They see to many breaks and can pretty well tell you how or why a blank broke. I still use this manufacture today.

Mark Marshall

Bobby
I am not a full time rod builder as others who have responded to your post. I do have more than 80 new builds out being used. The vast majority being of the manufacture of the RX7 line of blanks.

I have a customer whom I have build 5 rods. All RX7 or RX8 model lines. He broke an RX8 after about 1.5 years of full use. Meaning weekend tournaments, club and buddy tournaments. The break was about 12 inches from the tip. The break was made casting a 1/4 oz. shakey head. A mutual friend was with him and saw the break. He brought the rod to me to look at and I thought it was an strange looking break. I sent the rod section to the manufacture and they agreed there was a flaw. In their opinion the blank was "thin" at the point of the break. They replaced the blank. I rebuilt the rod at no cost to my customer. The customer was happy and still using the second rod today. That was about 4 years ago. I did not like having to rebuild the rod but the manufacture held up their end and I held up mine. I send very few broken rods back to the manufacture especially if I know the rod took some type of abuse. They see to many breaks and can pretty well tell you how or why a blank broke. I still use this manufacture today.

Mark Marshall

I am taking the high road on this and apologizing to Mr. Powell. I was merely trying to find out what is customary on a warranty return for a discontinued blank and was not seeking a dissertation on the speculative history of my son’s rod.
Sorry for the education comments. I guess I have been watching too many Trump speeches.

I found the answer I was seeking which to take the down grade blank and be happy.

After 5 years you are smart to take what was offered.

Sorry your rod failed but at least you are getting SOMETHING.

After 5 years you are smart to take what was offered.

Sorry your rod failed but at least you are getting SOMETHING.

After 5 years you are smart to take what was offered.

Sorry your rod failed but at least you are getting SOMETHING.

I'm not sure what is customary for a discontinued blank, to be honest with you. I would be a little disappointed if the blank I had a brake with was an RX7 and they wanted to replace it with an RX6 blank. As this is a step down from the RX7 blanks in cost and development in their blank line up (RX6, RX7, RX8, ...).

I've built a couple of rods with the RX6 and RX7 blanks. Both are good blanks, but the RX6's were less expensive. So, it does seem to be a step down vs the RX7 blank you had. You could research their site and see for yourself if there was another option in the RX7 line up that would closer match the blank you had and ask if this was an option for replacement. If not and no other recourse, I would take the replacement and move on. I would ask for the old blank back so you could salvage any reusable components for the rebuild.

I'm pretty new to building and haven't had to deal with such issues. I've only built a couple of personal rods and a few for family members. No broken rods yet ;-)

Generally, if a blank is defective it will reveal such within the first few uses. At which point an identical replacement is usually obtainable. A few years down the road manufacturers may not have an identical replacement and any replacement may be more a matter of keeping customer goodwill than replacing something that was actually defective.

There is always the problem of having to rebuild a rod and replace some handle components. This seems unfair in the case of an actual blank defect. But all the manufacturers' warranties state that their responsibility is limited to the blank only.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2016 04:17PM by John E Powell.