btw, which model rod was it that broke?

Sorry the rod broke. I got a defective Penn rod last year from West Marine. It broke on the first fish and it wasn't even that big. I took it back to West Marine and they gave a refund without issue. I was very pleased with West Marine.

---

2200V Pathfinder

Gone away from Shimano rods and I am now buying Star Rods. Life time warranty on most of their rods.

---

He must Increase,but I must decrease. John 3:30

I did an internship at Shakespeare in Columbia when I was in the USC Business School . I found out it was a great gig . This was in 1976 and I discovered Ugly Stik fishing rods . I have been brand loyal since . I bought an Inshore Special at Walmart and broke it fighting a 30 inch red in the Toogoodoo River . I called Shakespeare and they said since I could not provide proof of purchase they would replace the rod ONCE for free . I had to send them a photo of the broken rod and they sent me a brand new one . They said if I could have provided proof of purchase they would replace the rod no matter how many times it broke . By the way I should have bought the Ugly Stik at Haddrells since I found out after my purchase Haddrells charges the same price as Walmart on Ugly Stiks.

Imo a lot of the big brands have went mainstream. You really have to watch what you buy and where you buy it from. Personally ive notice shimano seems to be pushing promotion more then quality. Like they sponsor the right and pro staff the right people and events. It use to be hard to match there quality but now its not hard to beat especially on the lower end. As far as customer service from companies it goes Okuma>Penn>Diawa>shimano>avet. As far as quality Diawa's high end stuff is insane. As far as rods go 100 dollar range, crap replacement, 200 dollar they work with you to get you a good rod for a fee. 300 plus rods with warranties usually are replaced by the company. Older rods and combo rods are hard to warranty because they usually dont have more of them. Its more a companys policy then a retailers.

Hadderals is competitive on some prices but you have to be careful with some stuff its a good bit higher. You go to stores like hadderals for service beyond the purchase, specialty purchases and the info you can get from workers and patrons. Ive seen them work with people with broken star rods and it made me think about buying a star rod from them, didnt need a new rod. Wally world does have easy returns and i dont feel like it has much impact on them.