sam vimes
Well-known member
I've little doubt that there were issues with an early batch of 15' Acolyte Ultras. There were simply a few too many of them reported to have broken very early after release and after little to no use. The dilemma for Drennan is that there has been a certain amount of bandwagon jumping since then on the back of it. Every man and his dog that has broken any kind of Acolyte since has tried to jump on, regardless of whether there's been a genuine problem or one that might have been in some way self inflicted. I can't really blame anyone for it, it's no surprise that someone would prefer to believe that there's been a flaw in a rod rather put it down to accidental damage, especially if there's a chance of getting a replacement for free. I'm not surprised that Drennan will have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. Those that are unfortunate are those with little used early 15' Ultras, or those with a genuinely flawed Acolyte of any type, that are being denied due to those chancing their arm. Whilst some seem to think that Drennan should be replacing anything and everything to preserve their reputation, I feel that their reputation would be in tatters if they simply accepted liability for every break regardless of model or the nature of the breakage. Dig a little deeper into some of the stories of Acolytes breaking and you find a fair amount of Chinese whispers, mates repeating tales of woe that didn't actually happen to them. There are also a few anglers that have broken rods several months, and several heavy uses, into their ownership. I'm afraid that flaws in rods don't usually manifest after several uses and hundreds of pounds of fish caught, but some seem to think they do. Barring the early 15' Ultras, I very much doubt that there have been any greater percentage of genuinely flawed Acolytes than any other brand or type of rod. My conversations with several local tackle dealers suggest that they believe that returns are actually lower than they might anticipate for the numbers sold.
Rest assured, if I manage to break one of my six different Acolyte float rods, I'll not hide the fact. I may well like them a lot, but that doesn't mean I have a blind loyalty to Drennan, I'm not getting the things for free. I actually held off buying Acolytes for a fair while after their initial release because I was wary that, whilst damned impressive in a shop, they might be a bit too light for their own good. I do rather suspect that the Ultra models are a bit too light for many folks more modern idea of float fishing and modern ideas of what a float rod should be capable of. However, these tales of woe didn't stop me buying the last one very recently, and it won't stop me buying one more if the right deal comes along.
Rest assured, if I manage to break one of my six different Acolyte float rods, I'll not hide the fact. I may well like them a lot, but that doesn't mean I have a blind loyalty to Drennan, I'm not getting the things for free. I actually held off buying Acolytes for a fair while after their initial release because I was wary that, whilst damned impressive in a shop, they might be a bit too light for their own good. I do rather suspect that the Ultra models are a bit too light for many folks more modern idea of float fishing and modern ideas of what a float rod should be capable of. However, these tales of woe didn't stop me buying the last one very recently, and it won't stop me buying one more if the right deal comes along.
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