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Never Buy a Fly Fishing Rod Without a Warrantee. Buying Right the First Time Pays in the Long Run

“A quality fly rod can set you back a pretty penny.” A true statement that many fly fishers already know. Another statement many would also agree with is “A rod with a lifetime warrantee costs a lot.” And, that, my friends, would be wrong. As a matter of fact, except in only a few circumstances, unwarranted rods actually cost more than warranted ones.

A point in demonstration: During last year’s annual trip to fish Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, I broke my “affordable” four-piece 5wt rod. I contacted the company and found it had no warrantee. Ah…what to do…well, since the break occurred at the male part of ferrule, as so often happens, I repaired it, only to have it break again on the first fish of this year’s Platte River trip. I went straight to the local fly shop (It’s on the river, I just clumped right in, dripping waders and all, with reel in hand chirping about needing a new stick.) and found a truly affordable rod that, while it cost more than the broken one, has a lifetime warrantee. Lucky for me I was close to a shop.

So, the new, more expensive rod, will end up being cheaper over its lifetime because if it breaks, it gets replaced at little or no cost to me. Obvious now, but not when I bought the now re-broken “affordable” one.

A quick survey shows that the price difference between warranted and unwarranted rods is often no more than $100. That’s it—a hundred bucks. Some are even in the same price range, and one manufacturer (that of the unwarranted rod I had to replace) even offers less of a warrantee on a rod that’s more expensive than a model with a lifetime warrantee. I know, confusing, isn’t it? Let me state it again: One of their cheaper models has a better warrantee than one of their more expensive ones. Go figure.

What do I make of a manufacturer that won’t warrant a rod when others will? Well, my first impression is that the maker doesn’t have confidence in its product. If it did, it would warrant the rod, right? My second, inescapable impression is that the maker cares less about customer service than it should. In any event, neither case is acceptable, and a buyer should seek out a maker who covers both bases.

Now, if you are in the market for a rod, say you’re a beginner or have limited funds, you cannot afford to buy an unwarranted rod. Break it once (there are two types of people—those who have broken rods, and those will) and you will end up spending more. If you don’t have the money for a warranted rod—wait until you do. Again, the price difference is relatively small. If you can’t afford the additional hundred bucks, you may want to reconsider fly fishing for the time being, because it can be an expensive sport. “Can be,” doesn’t mean it “has to be,” and buying a warranted rod is the first step to controlling costs and keeping fly fishing affordable. Sort of.

See more by this author at: http://www.EdwardMaurer.com

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See more by this author at: http://www.EdwardMaurer.com

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