Sage XP suffers a good death (hopefully a temporary one)

[SIslandBrowns]

I managed to break my Sage XP 7wt last week; (I call it a good death because I broke it trying to land a big fish on a trip to Patagonia - report to follow once I sort out photos).

No huge drama as it's off to Sage for repairs, but other rods I've broken in the past have returned slightly different - usually a bit stiffer from the repair.

I am interested in other folks experiences with rod repairs from Sage. This is the third rod I've ever broken, the first Sage. How different will it feel??

[Gerry]

David,
congrats on the trip. You really like fishing under the southern cross, don't you?!?
I have had experience with Sage repairs on two rods. The tip of my LL 4711 broke and I can hardly see where the repair was made and can't feel any difference. When I broke the tip on my RPL+ 9ft 4 wt they deemed it beyond repair and fabricated a new tip. For $70 I had them make me a spare tip. Both tips are just like new - maybe better. If they can't fix it pretty much like the original, they will probably replace it.
tight lines,
Gerry

[Steve H.]

I just had a new tip made for my 3-piece, 8-weight RPLX. Looks like they did a fantastic jobs, the blank and wraps are perfect.

Haven't fished it yet, but can't wait to tie into some stripers!!!

[SIslandBrowns]

Gerry,

I'm a lucky man regarding fishing in the Southern hemisphere. Five years living in Sydney made NZ easy and my wife's sister married a fishing guide and they now own a lodge in Chile, which is where I was... Beautiful country, amazing fishing.

Thanks for the insight in the rod repair. I like the rod a lot and hope it comes back as good as new, and quickly given the time of year.

Regards, Dave

[kmudgn]

Sage repaired my old SP that was broken during a trip to MT a few years ago. The repair process (section replacement) took about 3 weeks from when I sent it off to the west coast. If I remember right, you need to call (email?) first to set up repair before sending the rod to Sage.

[Steve H.]

Don't need to call beforehand.

Go to their website and download/print the Repair Form. Fill it out and mail it with a check for $50, along with the rod. I got mine back in about 3 wks or so. You'll get an email when it's finished and it's out for delivery. Very nice people to work with.

[TGIF]

I broke the tip on my four piece two years ago. Fortunately it was late season and I didn't need it anymore. It took about 3 weeks, and it cost me $40, but on the whole it has been great ever since... actually even a bit better, because I informed them that the last ferrule was a little loose and sometimes slipped out, it hasn't happened since.

Good luck, hopefully you have it back shortly... no better way to break a rod then on a fish...

TGIF

[SIslandBrowns]

Thanks guys, I mailed it out this morning along with the repair form and the check for $50. I'll let you know how things work out.

In the meantime, I'm probably going to buy a TFO Professional 7wt 9ft 4-pc SW rod as a back-up. That's what I used in Chile after my rod broke. For $159 buck, the rod is really nice. Cast Teeny 200 grain sink tip like a dream, even in 30+ mph steady winds...

[SIslandBrowns]

I got my rod back from Sage... Not good. They simply popped a blank in the sock and did not mount the guides!

When I called them to ask - what the?, I came to learn that despite going to Sage's website (8 years ago while living in Australia) and going to their local Sage Authorized dealer, I was sold a Sage rod that the local dealer had built from Sage blanks, not a Sage built rod. Therefore, my warranty was only good for a new blank, not a repair. I've been fishing a long time and maybe I should have known better, but when looking at a rack of 30 rods, I never thought to check for serial numbers, etc... The Aussie dealer made out and even though the rod is awesome (I have other Sages and there is no perceptible difference to me) the warranty is not so great.

I was a bit disappointed by Sage's response to my plight, which was basically - our authorized dealers are independently owned, tough luck. Also, given my written request for repairs and provision on of contact details, why they would ever stick the rod back in the mail to me without giving me a call was another big disappointment.

Long story short, the rods going back in the mail, I'm returning the blank tip, getting my $50 handling fee applied to a new tip custom built by Sage ($140, so I'm out another $90).
The new tip will have a full (not blank) warranty - I hope I never need to use it.

Good cautionary tale here...

[Solid]

Keep it and build a rod!! Use the guides off your old one...

[Casey A. Wood]

Hey, the 'ol if you got lemons, make lemonade. Good idea!

[Dave M]

I'd be seriously ****** off if I thought I was buying a factory rod and ended up getting a home builder rod. You're sure there's a "B" on the end of the serial #?? I'd check to make sure.......and if there is an e-mail to that shop would be the least I'd do.....chewing them a new ###.

Dave M

[Steve H.]

Gotta be careful when buying rods from "independent" sellers, especially from eBay, etc. There are a TON of rods on the market that are advertised by the brand name (of the blank) but only in the "fine print" does it explain it was built custom.

Sorry to hear that you didn't get the rod you thought you were getting. Don't know if the Aussie shop is still in business but if so, its "authorized dealer" status should be revoked for not disclosing that important detail. And I agree, Sage could have done better. Maybe they didn't know that YOU didn't know.

[SIslandBrowns]

Despite my initial angst... sure, I was pissed... I'm not too fussed about this to be honest -lesson learned and lesson shared. Yes, the blank is clearly marked with a B and there is no serial number. Again, I don't think you should need to check that stuff when going to an authorized Sage rod dealer, but you just live & learn.

I'm looking at it this way. I gave Sage an earful, respectfully and made my point and situation known as clearly as a could. They compromised a little and so did I. In the end, Sage is doing what they think is fair, I'll still have a great rod, and the section most likely to ever be damaged again will be fully warranteed - not a bad result in my eyes. I also ended up buying a TFO TiCr 7-wt from Scott at the Bear's Den (nice guy, BTW) as a back-up rod so I'm fully stocked while I wait for round 2 of the repairs.

One other postive note, when I bought the rod in Australia, the A$ was SO weak versus the USD, I only paid about US$375 for the XP, WELL below the going rate here at the time which was about $550. Even though the Aussie company could have done a better job telling me what was what, they had plenty of Sage built rods on the rack, too, and the quality of the rod is the same as a Sage built rod. I've fished it hard for 8+ years all over the world and love the rod. I went to that shop a fair bit in the 5 years I lived there and really doubt they were out to screw anyone. People in Australia are generally nice, honest folks and the guys running the shop there were good guys. You'd never look at it and say it looked "home built"... at least not my home anyway.

I did consider taking the guides off the old rod and having a go myself, but for only the extra $90 - I figure let the professionals do it and get the full warranty...

[Casey A. Wood]

I am actually humbled by that, and I 'm not being a wise guy either. People like you I would like to meet on the river.....

[Solid]

Did you get to keep the blank?

[SIslandBrowns]

Solid,

No, as part of the negotiation, I offered to return the blank as long as they gave me full credit for the "handling" fee they charged me on round one of the repairs against the the cost of a custom tip. I did consider keeping it, but figure now that it will be fully warranteed what's the point? Especially since I bought another 7-wt back-up...

Casey,

Thanks for the kind words, but I'm a bastard in real life - I'm only reasonable on posting boards. :)