which companies have the best rod warranties? also, are their any companies based out of pennsylvania?
thanks
chris
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"Live Free Or Die!"
-General John Stark
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which companies have the best rod warranties? also, are their any companies based out of pennsylvania?
thanks
chris
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"Live Free Or Die!"
-General John Stark
IMHO a ?life time? warranty is totally useless and nothing more than a marketing scam.
I have several glass rods that I bought 40+ years ago with ?life time? warranties that aren?t worth the postage it would cost to send them in for the work they need. That is to say that in some cases it would cost more in postage today than I originally paid for the rod. Besides, seeing all those battle scars brings back memories that are worth far more to me than being able to fish the rods again would be.
The way I see it there are several problems with lifetime warranties. First, the newer rods are so much better that, except for nostalgia?s sake, I don?t want to fish those older rods anymore. Plus, the older rods with all their memories are best kept just the way they are.
Second, after so many years most companies are no longer able to repair your old rod. They just can?t keep all those old parts and blanks in inventory. They?ll offer you an upgrade to a newer rod perhaps at a discount but they want you to surrender your old rod. No thanks!
Third, from what we?re seeing in today?s economy whatever the terms of your warranty were when you bought the rod may not be the case 20 or 30 or 40 years down the road. For one, there?s a very good chance the company won?t be in business 20 or so years down the road. Plus a lot of companies want you to pay a fee (TFO wants $25) for warranty work now. Presumably, depending on inflation, in 7 years of so they?ll want a $50 fee and in 15 years $100 and in 30 years maybe $250? Plus whatever shipping will cost then? And you only paid how much for the rod when you bought it?
Based on my 40+ years of fishing experience a 10 year warranty would have fit all of my real life needs, 15 years max. Just remember warranties aren?t free. You pay for them whether you use them or not. And the longer they?re good for the more you pay.
(Disclaimer ? None of the above applies to bamboo rods. Cane is a whole different story.)
I agree with JC although I am a mere child. Asking a question of who has the best warrantee simply promulgates the silly warrantees that are just now beginning to go out of style. That is charging higher original prices to replace rods someone tires of or is not careful enough with due to the silly warrantee. Let us all be responsible for our actions and pay less in the beginning. I have two fly rods, one new and one which is unscared after about 40 years of use.
I've used Scott and Redington for warranty work. I thought Scott went above and beyond the call of service. The repair was very fast and as expected.
Redington was OK. They did provide a replacement, but it wasn't with the same quality of rod that was broken..
I've heard very good things about the warranty work done by Sage. I think they are on par with Scott and others.
A good friend tried to get a Powell rod repaired. It didn't go well and from my point of view, Powell didn't uphold the warranty.
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[url=http://www.rockymtnfly.com:2d9c4]Rocky Mountain Fly[/url:2d9c4]
Well, it seems that so far the responses are limited to negative opinion on the intinsic value of warranties and are even critical of the original question - which seems unfair to the poster.
As to the question, a warranty is only as good as the people that back it up. Based on my experience and that of friends and acquaintances that had warranty claims, all of the major fly rod manufacturers, including those that are sponsors of this site, stand behind their warranties and honor them.
Are warranties that only cover manufacturer's defects, charge $25 for service, or $50, or $25 per rod section, or different amounts for tip an butt sections any better or worse than each other. Only the purchaser can determine that based on their own subjective evaluation of the rod.
I buy the rod. I couldn't care less about the warantee. BUT, then again, I don't spend $400.00. But even if I did, I think I'd be of the same opinion.
Eagle Claw just recently sent me a replacement rod after I asked them to match the tip section to an old fave of mine.This thing had to be 30yrs old and I was willing to pay. The amazing part of this story, is that again recently someone here mentioned that they bought the SAME model that I got in exchange for $13.00. Ands even more amazing is that Eagle Claw honored some kind of warantee I wasn't even aware of. For a $13.00 Rod ?????
Mark
PS: MY only "complaint" is the the exchange rod is labeled as a 6/7 wt. Well NO WAY. It would be a stretch to be a 2wt and that's exactly what I've lined it.
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I'd rather be in Wyoming!
[This message has been edited by Marco (edited 15 January 2006).]
Best: LL Bean-any time, any reason.
Orvis has treated me very well on two rods. One I broke (may have steped on it) and one which may have had a defect show up after a few years.
I find if you don't lie about what happened, it helps. Loomis treated me OK after I stabbed a tree with a GLX-Not free, but reasonable.
ll bean huh? sweet, i have been a fan of them for years and was contemplating purchaseing from them since i've always been treated so well by them but i've been hearing so much about orvis in general and other good stuff about st croix and cortland giving me much to research about,
what do others think of ll bean rods etc
Fortunately, I have only had to use the warranty twice, and both times, the manufacturer took care of it with exception of the postage on one occasion. On the other, it was a White River fly rod that had a guide come loose and they replaced the whole rod for free...thought that was pretty cool.
Having been on both sides of the warranty issue (manufacturer and in retail) I have problems with lifetime warranties on some things. I do believe that they have their place and are in need with today's consumer.
Actually I think most all higher end rods have a full guarentee now, with a few companies you may pay a modest fee of shipping charges, it's built into the price. That is also one of the ways rod companys keep the lower cost rods cheaper, no guarentee. I have heard stories of guys breaking rods on purpose at the end of the season to get a new rod. Companies like Orvis change thier rod lines every few years or so, if you send back an old Orvis rod that they no longer make they up-grade you to a newer model.