acolyte ultra breakage

xenon · Nov 22, 2018

Hi,
For reasons i cannot fathom I took the tip section of my acolyte ultra 15ft out of the bag yesterday, only to have the top 12 inches snap off in my hand. Grr! Having had a look online for spare rod tips i seem to have drawn a blank-anyone any ideas where i can get a replacement from? Thanks in advance to those who take the trouble to reply.

sam vimes · Nov 22, 2018

Drennan tend to try and avoid dealing with the public directly. However, any Drennan stockist will be able to get one for you.

mikench · Nov 22, 2018

Assuming the rod is out of warranty I would contact your local dealer or the shop you bought it from to see what they will do! I would also contact Drennan direct to see what they have to say!

Ultra by name ultra fragile by nature it seems to me!!

Keith M · Nov 22, 2018

Like me I think you will be paying £60 for a new tip if your warranty has expired.

Keith

dalesman · Nov 22, 2018

Seems like I am not the only one having problems. Been quoted £75 for a replacement tip for mine 13'.

Second Acolyte post for breakages in one week?

Keith M · Nov 22, 2018

Mine broke a few months ago but I only returned it a few weeks ago, and because it’s warranty had run out Drennan would not replace it so I had to pay £60 for a replacement tip section.
Mine was a 13ft one too but It is also happening to a very few of the 15ft ones as well.

Not everyone is having these problems with their Ultras either, a lot of people have had no problems at all and my replacement tip section has been fine so far, so I suspect that they may have solved the problem (I hope so anyway).

My replacement tip section has a couple of extra markings on it that didn’t appear on the original so I’m thinking that these marks may indicate that it is a modified tip version?.

All of Drennans other rods are fine, and it seems to be only their ‘Ultra’ model that sometimes seems to be a little suspect.

Keith

108831 · Nov 23, 2018

I thought I'd read the Acolyte Plus was having some breakage too,sure I've read on site somewhere,been so many...

jasonbean1 · Nov 23, 2018

I can break any acolyte rod

to be honest I reckon if your pushy and the break is clean drennan will change it even if its past warranty

rob48 · Nov 23, 2018

Another amasing coincidence I'm sure.

sam vimes · Nov 23, 2018

I can't be trying hard enough. I've still not managed to break a single one of my six Acolytes. Three of them are Ultras too.

barbelboi · Nov 23, 2018

The tip's still fine on my 14' Ultra after some 3 years of hard use.................

Then again the tips still fine on my two almost 20 year old Normark 2000 series rods.

peterjg · Nov 23, 2018

Me too, my 14ft Ultra is fine after a lot of use.

nottskev · Nov 23, 2018

It does run and run, this one, which must mean something. Somebody posts that their rod has broken unexpectedly; someone else posts that theirs is intact after hard use. But it's not as if the second case cancels out the first - unless you choose to have it, and I wouldn't dream of insulting disappointed users with such a claim, that all breakages are due to misuse or accidents in use or transit. It does look as though some of these rods must be flawed from the outset, whether by quality control issues or through design which puts them on the very edge of the robustness a fishing rod needs, be the user never so careful. We aren't seeing comparable threads for any other popular model of light float rod. I feel sorry for people reporting these rod failures - it's bad enough if your expensive new rod falls to pieces; it must be even worse when it's implied you must have done something to cause it yourself.

Keith M · Nov 23, 2018

sam vimes said:
I can't be trying hard enough. I've still not managed to break a single one of my six Acolytes. Three of them are Ultras too.

Famous last words Sam

Keith

barbelboi · Nov 23, 2018

nottskev said:
It does run and run, this one, which must mean something. Somebody posts that their rod has broken unexpectedly; someone else posts that theirs is intact after hard use.

Yes Kev, but if some of the 'silent majority' didn't respond to the said thread that they haven't had a problem then the issue would be very one sided. Let's face it - you rarely have a thread started 'my new rod's not broken yet' and as they say 'bad news travels fast'.

sam vimes · Nov 23, 2018

nottskev said:
It does run and run, this one, which must mean something. Somebody posts that their rod has broken unexpectedly; someone else posts that theirs is intact after hard use. But it's not as if the second case cancels out the first - unless you choose to have it, and I wouldn't dream of insulting disappointed users with such a claim, that all breakages are due to misuse or accidents in use or transit. It does look as though some of these rods must be flawed from the outset, whether by quality control issues or through design which puts them on the very edge of the robustness a fishing rod needs, be the user never so careful. We aren't seeing comparable threads for any other popular model of light float rod. I feel sorry for people reporting these rod failures - it's bad enough if your expensive new rod falls to pieces; it must be even worse when it's implied you must have done something to cause it yourself.

I agree entirely that there are undoubtedly flawed Acolytes out there. Where I differ is in the belief that a flaw can manifest after months, or even years of use. I know people don't like to hear it, but rods that break after long periods of use aren't flawed. I firmly believe that Acolytes, especially Ultras, are simply too delicate to cope with the way many anglers have become accustomed to treating rods and getting away with it. I don't believe for one moment that the average 80s/90s angler would dream of treating a match rod in the way many expect to be able to now. Ready rod bags, tip tops and rod bands are fine and dandy for robust carp/barbel rods, and even commie rods. However, I believe you're asking for trouble treating a light match rod in the same way.

Keith M said:
Famous last words Sam Keith

Indeed, I keep tempting fate, but she's leaving me be. Perhaps my "kid gloves" treatment in storage and transit is paying off? The Acolytes don't get any better treatment than the rest of my match type float rods though. I'll not be in the least bit surprised if I break an Ultra. However, after many months of hard use, I'll be blaming nothing but myself.

tigger · Nov 23, 2018

I remember walking on a steep river banking holding my 14ft acolyte plus up as I struggled through Brambles and nettles etc. There was a suspended pipe going across the river and the pipe was suspended with a thick'ish piece of stranded wire. I would have struggled to do what happened next if i'd tried...as I struggled along my rod tip had gone inbetween the pipe and wire and i'd pulled it not knowing it was trapped there!
Anyhow I pushed and pulled the rod and it was bent in ways that should have snapped off the tip really. When I finally got the guides out of the gap between the pipe and rusty wire I honestly expected the carbon to be shagged and scraped etc, and the guides to be bent and I had resigned myself to buying a new rod there and then!
To my amazement there wasn't a mark on the blank and the guides where perfect. I put my hook into a post and bent the rod double a number of times and actually struck hard to shock the blank and it was perfect. I even examined it with a magnifying glass when I got home as I didn't want it to break on a session miles away from anywhere and so wreck my day out. There wasn't any sign of damage.
That is a true story and for a few sessions after that I was twitching incase the tip snapped off but it hasn't and I've caught a lot of hard fighting barbel with that rod!

nottskev · Nov 23, 2018

barbelboi said:
Yes Kev, but if some of the 'silent majority' didn't respond to the said thread that they haven't had a problem then the issue would be very one sided. Let's face it - you rarely have a thread started 'my new rod's not broken yet' and as they say 'bad news travels fast'.

I quite agree! I'm happy to believe both sides - those who have had problems, and those whose rods have performed faultlessly. It's not knocking anyone's favourite rod to say some examples have proved faulty.

tigger · Nov 23, 2018

nottskev said:
I quite agree! I'm happy to believe both sides - those who have had problems, and those whose rods have performed faultlessly. It's not knocking anyone's favourite rod to say some examples have proved faulty.

Yer right, it's not knocking them at all, it's just a little unnerving if you already have one and off putting if your thinking of buying one.
Personally i'd highly reccommend them, even to my best pal

.

acolyte ultra breakage

xenon

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sam vimes

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mikench

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Keith M

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dalesman

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Keith M

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108831

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jasonbean1

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rob48

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sam vimes

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barbelboi

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peterjg

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nottskev

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Keith M

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barbelboi

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sam vimes

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tigger

Banned

nottskev

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tigger

Banned