Have to agree with john on this one fellas…..the original situation was with a 9 ft interchangeable butt rod that broke twice ( there was a thread on his rods then)…. I must have given Swanezy the wrong impression with the customer service side of the situation. That was good and he did make it right, eventually . However, this was a one piece rod that only had been used maybe 3x and I take care of my equipment. It failed and I was out a combo I really was depending on for precious hours on some tough water. The last rod was my x heavy on chicagon when the fish had just started the evening chase. I simply can't afford these breaks have learned my lesson the hard way like I did with reels. You get what you pay for and although it will be replaced in a timely manner he wasn't in the boat next to me with another stick ready to go. Ill give the Guy props on his cs and contributions to the club but in my personal experience I'm done with his equipment and lures. Time on the water is too precious to take that chance for me.
I think it's fair to share your experience with a company, even if they're a sponsor, maybe even because they are a sponsor. I don't think anyone is bashing the TI rods and saying that they are junk, some concerns have been stated and hopefully those are shared with James and not just here.
I would, as I'm sure James would, be very interested to know which rod(s) specifically have been a problem. There can be a flaw in a specific blank that causes problems, this is usually discovered in the field testing process but sometimes it's so limited that a bad blank makes it to production and only then is the problem identified and corrected.
"Adam Minnick" said:
You get what you pay for and although it will be replaced in a timely manner he wasn't in the boat next to me with another stick ready to go. Ill give the Guy props on his cs and contributions to the club but in my personal experience I'm done with his equipment and lures. Time on the water is too precious to take that chance for me.
Very true. I can see your point.
"Will Schultz" said:
I think it's fair to share your experience with a company, even if they're a sponsor, maybe even because they are a sponsor. I don't think anyone is bashing the TI rods and saying that they are junk, some concerns have been stated and hopefully those are shared with James and not just here.I would, as I'm sure James would, be very interested to know which rod(s) specifically have been a problem. There can be a flaw in a specific blank that causes problems, this is usually discovered in the field testing process but sometimes it's so limited that a bad blank makes it to production and only then is the problem identified and corrected.
A very good point made. As a producer, I think James would want to hear the goods AND the bads about any of his products. He welcomes them. If no one tells him that there is something wrong, he doesn't know which problems to fix.
The problem with a rod, is that there are too many variables to why they broke. A rod that bounced in the boat just a couple times in the same spot can put a weak spot in it that is unnoticeable to the naked eye. Or, maybe in Adams case, he just got terribly unlucky. The cheapest rod I've ever bought was a Gander Rod that cost me $60. It's going on its 4th season I believe with no issues.
Well I bought two of the telescoping 9 foot xh. Not the super heavy. Both have already thrown 20 plus casts off our dock tossing Spanky baits. The real test will come when I pound 8 inch claws down the breaks. Those hard rips will break them if they are junk. If they hold up Ill sing them praises. I snapped the tip off a brand new St. Croix Avid just by yanking a bunch of weeds off the lure while the rod was vertical. Like I said, We will hope for the best. I got these rods at dealer cost so we wont be out much if they break. But I do appreciate the input on all this stuff. Michelle and I have fished St. Croix rods from Day one and Michelle has all St. Croix reels. However I cant spend 200 bucks for a rod and another 200 bucks for reel just to toss big buck tails. I have been an old school short rod guy and am just now transitioning to longer rods. I love my my 8'6" Okuma and like the feel of these longer 9 foot rods. I let you all know how they hold up. Ill be putting mine to the test soon and Ill be extra hard on it just to see. Ripping 8 inch claws will test the fabric of any rod. Mike
Well, we went one for two on the rods. Mine broke in about 10 casts. I let Michelle fish hers for a while and she stopped in mid retrieve and said If I have to do this to catch Muskies Im done. I hate Big Bucktails. She made up her mind today that double 8's are her limit. Quote" its not fun for me doing this"
So…. I took thew other rod and pulled her reel off it put mine on and beat the crap out the rod all day. I threw Dawgs, Double 10's and double 12's then pounded the deep edge with an 8 inch claw ripping it hard . One rod broke one performed great. Im going to have James send me a replacement and Ill keep breaking them until I have two good ones. I really like the feel of that rod and now am thinking down the road about getting a big nasty and call it done. But Michelle is back to doing what she does best. Fishing smaller baits and having a good time. Thanks for all the help everyone. Mike
I decided not to send the rod back. I ordered a size 11 tip for it and am going to use it as an 8 foot 6 inch heavy rod. If it breaks again James will replace it. I dont think it will break again. I showed it to a very good rod builder in Montague and he told me the taper is too severe and that is why they are breaking. It is near impossible to build a blank with that much power in the lower half and then marry it to light tip like that. For that rod to be right it should taper to a number 10 tip not an 8. Im talking to James today and relaying that message on to him. I also ordered another tip for the other one as I am expecting it to break as well. We wanted heavy action rods at 8 foot 6 and telescoping so in all reality we are getting what we want just by cutting them down. Mike
"Kingfisher" said:
update on the second TI ROD. Holding up well with no troubles at all. Im a little surprised that one would be fine and one would break the cork off the end of the butt and the tip in minutes. The other got pounded yesterday all day. No problems at all. Mike
If there's a defect in a blank that's when they break, generally if a rod breaks after more than a day of use it wasn't a defect.
I would highly doubt the taper in the blank is the issue, it's more likely that there is a defect in the mandrel used to build the blanks or they're not bulding them correctly in China (wrong scrim, wrong resin or not enough, etc.). If it's a defect in the mandrel all of the defective blanks will break in the same place and James will know this quickly.
The second one seems to be strong. Ill wait to see how the one that broke acts with the new tip and minus 5 inches. James has been real good about it. Any way we want to go is ok with him. He really is a decent guy. He told me he is looking hard at these rods in both design and materials. His goal is to get them as good as anyone else's. That's a good goal. Mike
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