Regarding the warranty issues...I agree with Gary. People are paying for the warranties, make no mistake.
Ask yourself...just WHY is a Sage Z-Axis (or whatever) R 6,000.00 plus???? Think about it man...no seriously...SIX GRAND for a fly rod??? You'd be hard pressed to find a bass rod, surf rod, freshwater rod, etc that even comes NEAR that price, yet has more rod and more intricate components than a Sage could hope for. What makes that Sage so special, in all seriousness? You want to tell me that it casts so good that it's worth R 6,000.00? Come on, that's bordering on ridiculous.
BUT...you know WHY it's R 6,000.00? Because they have a lifetime "unconditional" warranty and believe me the people take advantage of it (look at James's post up here). They take a portion of that price, and it goes to insurance (which is pricey), and also covers maybe one or two rods brand new at their cost...so they are not loosing out, believe it.
There was a 5wt rod shootout on the internet, and they took ten top rods and pitted them against each other. These are professional guys, and they used good lines and brilliant reels (all the same) on each rod.
They tested it at short, medium and long range...accuracy, feel, action, cost, the whole lot, and then took the scores and saw what happened. Here comes the interesting part...the Albright A-5 595 rod beat out some big names like the Orvis Zero Gravity, Thomas & Thomas, TFO (both finesse and TiCr-X models). It tied with the R.L. Winston rod. The guys even suggested that if you didn't know what you were casting, you'd think it was a Z-Axis.
We are talking about a rod (the Albright A-5) which retails for around R 1,800 to R 2,500.00...versus rods that cost almost THREE times more.
What's the real difference? The "top" names have a lifetime warranty...the Albright has a one year warranty against defects, there-after a replacement fee will apply.
So...is it REALLY worth spending R 6K on a rod, when there are clearly rods out there which are exactly the same, similar, or in some instances even better? It doesn't make sense to me.
I built up a Sage Z-Axis for myself...why did I do it? Because I've just always wanted a Sage! Okay, it worked me out half the price of a store-bought one...otherwise I would not have. But what rod do I use the most when I am out fishing? Not the Sage...I like fishing my A-5, my Rainshadow, and my Sage. I cannot say one is superior to the other.
The "unconditinal" lifetime warranties are good...but believe me, you ARE paying for it...and getting a product which may not even be the best out there anyway.
Oh, if you guys want to read that 5wt shoot-out, here it is. It will really blow you away, interesting reading. Everyone claims to have the best rods out there, but as Gary also said, there are no real cr@p rods out there today. What's the real difference? Price, in most instances. People just CAN'T believe that a rod that cost R 2,200.00 or so, can be the same (or even better!) than a rod that cost R 6,000.00. But you need to look at the difference...and most times, it's the warranty issue.
If you look at this test...read the individual rod's results and write-ups...it's really eye-opening.
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