Drennan Acolyte

[rob48]

No issues, just recounting the situation as it happened in my locality. In answer to your question,yes, I've got a 14' Ultra but I've not used it much.

 

[bullet]

No issues, just recounting the situation as it happened in my locality. In answer to your question,yes, I've got a 14' Ultra but I've not used it much.

I'm not surprised, after all that, you're probably too scared

 

[dalesman]

What I witnessed in the early days, anglers trying to cast with line wrapped around the tip, not enough drop before trying cast.

 

[rob48]

Tip wrap-arounds wouldn't account for the middle sections collapsing would it?

 

[tigger]

Tip wrap-arounds wouldn't account for the middle sections collapsing would it?

Do you know if the people who had breakages transported their rods in made up sleaves?

I got myself an acolyte not that long after they were in production and have never had a problem with any of them.
If any of mine had snapped it wouldn't have surprised me as I pushed them well beyond what they are meant to do!
I even legerd with them, casting 2 ounce leads with my 14 footer was one test they were never designed to do.

 

[rob48]

Do you know if the people who had breakages transported their rods in made up sleaves?

I got myself an acolyte not that long after they were in production and have never had a problem with any of them.
If any of mine had snapped it wouldn't have surprised me as I pushed them well beyond what they are meant to do!
I even legerd with them, casting 2 ounce leads with my 14 footer was one test they were never designed to do.

I really don't know. Probability is that some did and some didn't I'd think.

Looking at the problem logically: If you were able to push your rods beyond their practical/design limits and others experienced failures due to issues like casting or striking, that would suggest a manufacturing/quality control problem.
I can't believe that all these breakages were due to anglers absent-mindedly hitting their rods against tree branches or similar and unknowingly weakening them. If that was the case there'd have been issues, on this scale, with other brands.

 

[dalesman]

Tip wrap-arounds wouldn't account for the middle sections collapsing would it?

I am aware of tip problems only

 

[rob48]

If you google acolyte breakages you'll find lots of them.

 

[tigger]

I really don't know. Probability is that some did and some didn't I'd think.

Looking at the problem logically: If you were able to push your rods beyond their practical/design limits and others experienced failures due to issues like casting or striking, that would suggest a manufacturing/quality control problem.
I can't believe that all these breakages were due to anglers absent-mindedly hitting their rods against tree branches or similar and unknowingly weakening them. If that was the case there'd have been issues, on this scale, with other brands.

I often hear of breakages of lots of other brands of rods. Difference is, there arn't as many of those other rods sold so it stands to reason you won't hear of as many breakages.
There's always going to be some defected items of any mass produced item.
I have a number of other branded float rods, daiwa, normark, browning, hardys etc and only have the highest of praise for the accolyte float rods. Imo the accy float rods are as good as any of them.

 

[sam vimes]

I can't believe that all these breakages were due to anglers absent-mindedly hitting their rods against tree branches or similar and unknowingly weakening them. If that was the case there'd have been issues, on this scale, with other brands.

The problem with this reasoning is that there aren't many other rods that a) are as light as Acolytes, or b) have sold in the numbers that Acolytes have.

I've heard of just one Browning Sphere (float rod) breakage. I bought the actual rod in question once the owner got a replacement tip. However, I know of about five people that admit to having owned or owning the particular type of rod. It wouldn't surprise me if that one rod represents a higher percentage failure rate than if fifty Acolytes failed.

I believe that there are undoubtedly some Acolytes that have broken through no fault of the owners. However, once word of genuine breakages start to circulate, plenty of much less convincing stories start surfacing from people that are effectively jumping on the bandwagon in an attempt to get free replacements for breakages that probably are their fault.

I recall one of the most vociferous Acolyte critics that broke his own rod. He made a right song and dance of it on the forums. What he glossed over nicely was the five plus commie sessions and many hundreds of pounds of carp he caught before the supposed flaw in his rod showed up. Perhaps I'm not as demanding as some, but if that had been my rod, I'd have blamed myself, bought a new section and got on with it. I'd have not even thought to blame Drennan.

As a rule, I think anglers treat rods appallingly compared to twenty and thirty years ago. We've got used to carrying rods made up, using bands and the like. No one would have dreamt of treating match rods this way twenty years, and more, ago. Almost everyone took great care of their expensive match rods keeping them in rod tubes in appropriate holdalls.

 

[rob48]

I often hear of breakages of lots of other brands of rods. Difference is, there arn't as many of those other rods sold so it stands to reason you won't hear of as many breakages.
There's always going to be some defected items of any mass produced item.
I have a number of other branded float rods, daiwa, normark, browning, hardys etc and only have the highest of praise for the accolyte float rods. Imo the accy float rods are as good as any of them.

I don't doubt other rods break too, but without knowing actual sales figures over specific periods it's impossible to make comparisons.

 

[tigger]

I don't doubt other rods break too, but without knowing actual sales figures over specific periods it's impossible to make comparisons.

Yup, that's true. All I can say is I wouldn't hesitate getting another accy, infact I want a 11 foot carp waggler.

 

[rob48]

The problem with this reasoning is that there aren't many other rods that a) are as light as Acolytes, or b) have sold in the numbers that Acolytes have.

As a rule, I think anglers treat rods appallingly compared to twenty and thirty years ago. We've got used to carrying rods made up, using bands and the like. No one would have dreamt of treating match rods this way twenty years, and more, ago. Almost everyone took great care of their expensive match rods keeping them in rod tubes in appropriate holdalls.

So if they're breaking because they're so much lighter, isn't that a problem with the rod not being robust enough for intended use? I keep hearing about how many were sold, I don't hear any actual numbers.
I never carry rods made up. They're in their bags, inside a tube, inside my holdall.
How other anglers carry their rods is something I guess only they know. There's no data to correlate rod transportation methods to acolyte breakages.

 

[tigger]

So if they're breaking because they're so much lighter, isn't that a problem with the rod not being robust enough for intended use? I keep hearing about how many were sold, I don't hear any actual numbers.
I never carry rods made up. They're in their bags, inside a tube, inside my holdall.
How other anglers carry their rods is something I guess only they know. There's no data to correlate rod transportation methods to acolyte breakages.

Regarding their lightness, browning spheres are even lighter and to carry them made up banded together would be like playing russian rulet!
I would never carry any match float rod in a made up sleeve or a quiver, it would only be a question of time before a section got broken or a guide was bent. The rods are just to delicate to be transported like that.

 

[sam vimes]

So if they're breaking because they're so much lighter, isn't that a problem with the rod not being robust enough for intended use?

Some people will undoubtedly think that way. I'd suggest that you definitely can't get away with treating them like the average commie float rod. They definitely aren't as robust as that. It's inevitable that a reduction in material, in pursuit of lower weight blanks, will result in a rod being less robust than a heavier equivalent with a thicker blank. Whether that makes them not robust enough for the intended use is largely down to the user. I've not broken one of the six I own. Unsurprisingly, I think they are robust enough, but I treat my gear better than most.

I keep hearing about how many were sold, I don't hear any actual numbers.

Try Drennan, but don't hold your breath. All an individual angler can reasonably go on is what they see on the bank, see on the forums and what they might be told by their local tackle shops.

I never carry rods made up. They're in their bags, inside a tube, inside my holdall.

Neither do I, but there's no doubt in my mind that almost no one did thirty years ago. These days, most people have abandoned tubes and holdalls for ready rod bags. Some rods are fine with such treatment, I wouldn't dare treat others, old or new, this way.

How other anglers carry their rods is something I guess only they know. There's no data to correlate rod transportation methods to acolyte breakages.

No there isn't, but it's not remotely unreasonable to hypothesize that a relatively delicate rod, treated in the same manner as a more robust one, might suffer more breakages as a result.

 

[rob48]

1.Unless I've been misinformed their intended use is not commercial fishing.None of the breakages I know of occured on these venues.

2.So no-one actually has the figures, therefore conjecture.

3.More common on commercials, where acolytes are less likely to be used -conjecture on my part.

4.Also, it's not remotely unreasonable to hypothesize that a relatively delicate and not unexpensive rod would not be purchased by someone ignorant of the manner in which it should be looked after. - Conjecture by us both.

 

[sam vimes]

Rob,
if you want reasonable facts and figures, you could either ask Drennan or perhaps run a forum poll.
I'd certainly love to see the "my mate broke one" anecdotes removed from the the almost mythological status that Acolyte breakages have assumed. The problem is that not all correspondents could be guaranteed to be truthful.

Ultimately, the absolute facts as I know them. I own six Acolytes and have broken none.

I believe that there are a few others in a similar position, but I can't answer for them. I know that there's at least one Acolyte owner on here that has suffered a breakage of their own rod. There are quite a few forum members that slate Acolytes yet have never owned one. Ultimately, people will believe whatever they want to believe. That's fine, my livelihood doesn't depend on Drennan's success or failure.

 

[rob48]

I know two people who've had breakages and they claim to know others who've had the same. They're experienced, trustworthy anglers and I've no reason to doubt them. The fact that some of them have replaced them with different rods bears this out.
What I don't understand is why there has been such a drive to undermine and belittle the claims of those who've rods have broken by people who aren't party to the facts and circumstances.

There's a hell of a lot of acolyte breakages reported over the web, all pretty much around the same period. I see nothing mythological there, and the fact that it doesn't seem to have happened subsequently still makes me think there was a manufacturing issue that was later resolved. Drennan's ongoing silence does nothing to diminish my view.

Incidentally, I'm not slating the rod. I've got one but can't find a particular use for it, so it's of no consequence.
I can't help feeling that there wouldn't have been this defensive reaction if, for the sake of argument, there were suddenly umpteen reports of Cadence rods breaking while striking, casting, or even threading the line through the rings while the rod was in a rest.

 

[tigger]

I know two people who've had breakages and they claim to know others who've had the same. They're experienced, trustworthy anglers and I've no reason to doubt them. The fact that some of them have replaced them with different rods bears this out.

So some of them have replaced them with different rods suggests that some of them stuck to the acolytes then, so they must have liked them?
Out of curiosity do you know what rods some of them replaced the acolytes with?

 

[sam vimes]

I can't help feeling that there wouldn't have been this defensive reaction if, for the sake of argument, there were suddenly umpteen reports of Cadence rods breaking while striking, casting, or even threading the line through the rings while the rod was in a rest.

I couldn't even guess what might happen, nor could I care. All I can say is that I couldn't comment one way or another as I don't own a Cadence rod and have only met one person (maybe two) that ever has.

As I've already said, people will believe who and what they want. Personally, my own experience of Acolytes coupled with talking to the local tackle shops and a healthy dose of cynicism, means that I will remain quite dismissive of at least a proportion of the tales of woe. I have no faith that all of the breakages talked about on forums are real let alone genuinely attributable to a fault with the rod. Then there's the good chance that just a couple of breakages (genuine or not) are being talked up by multiple different posters and therefore appearing to be multiple different rod breakages.

People want to assume that it's an impassioned defence of Drennan and Acolytes. However, Drennan aren't my favourite manufacturer (I've never had one) and Acolytes aren't even my favourite rods. My only motivation to defend them is to counter what I see as unfair criticism, especially when it comes from those that have zero first hand experience. I'm not keen on seeing anyone, or anything, unfairly maligned. The only real shame is that some might be put off a rod that might be perfect for them.

Do I own Acolytes? Yes, multiple.
Have any of my Acolytes broken? No.
Could I legitimately blame a design or material flaw if they break in the future? No, I've used them way too many times and caught way too many fish on them. If I suffer any breakage in the future it will be my fault.
Do I believe that Acolytes have broken? Absolutely. I know full well they have.
Do I believe that every breakage is due to an inherent flaw, design or material? No.
Do I believe that everyone that reports a break is being entirely honest when they claim it wasn't their fault? No. I don't necessarily believe they are being underhand, it's just easy to miss a knock in use or transit and try and blame a fault rather than accept the fault as your own and have to pay.
Do I believe that there are anywhere near the number of breakages as forum chatter might suggest? No.

Plenty of people are going to answer those questions differently. So be it, it's a free(ish) country.