A lot of manufacturers have the same thing, unless they have a "no questions asked" policy.

Practically, if they can't prove that the breakage was cause by misuse or done intentionally the warranty covers it.

 

 

In New Zealand Ian, it pretty much is from my experience. The ads in FlyLife were placed because of people who were not Sage dealers finding a way of back dooring the product and the advertising campaign was done to make it clear that if the rod was not purchased from one of their official and approved dealers the warranty wouldn't be honored.

 

However in New Zealand I have not seen Don Fraser refuse a repair or at least not go out of his way to ensure the warranty could be met wherever possible including carrying literally hundreds of spare rod parts to ensure that a turn around of a few days is possible in most situations.

 

You are also correct regarding TFO. Their warranty is good and Feather Merchants have provided exceptional service in this regard. Many peop-le also have, obviously, good experiences with CD.

 

But I believe a bit of focus has been lost by dwelling on warranties... A warranty is a great thing to have in a fly rod and in the case of breakage gets your rod fixed and you back on the water pronto... but looking at which rods are most prone to breakage is more important because no matter how good a warranty is if your rod breaks it is nearly always going to mean downtime from fishing for that rod in your arsenal... I would prefer to never have to use a warranty than to judge a rod brand by it warranty. If a rod breaks five times and is repaired with no fuss or cost.. is that superior to a rod that doesn't break but has a lesser warranty...???

 

I'd suggest pick the rod for you first then look to warranties. You can tell here in this thread that most companies will want to look after you where possible so it makes sense to me to simply go for the best rod your money can buy.

 

There are a lot of different opinions here as to which are the best rods and I've never made a secret of my preference... But casting and fishing with one is the best way for any individual to judge what they prefer. Ask your shop for the opportunity.

 

If you can't find a shop that will let you do this, send me a PM and I'll organize a Sage for you to take out and fish with and make a personal decision on.