It just broke huh? You didn't even touch it I suppose. Read the article I posted if you'd like to know how to take proper care of your rod.

I manage a fly shop and I see how many of these rods go back to the manufacturers weekly, and it's always a manufacturers defect in the rod according to the customer. "I was just landing a fish and it broke" or "I was pulling my flies out of a tree and it just snapped in half" are the more common ones I hear on an almost daily basis.

The manufacturers will continue to raise their prices on warranty repairs because they are loosing money on the deal, believe it or not. Sage went up to $75 plus shipping this spring. Expect to see other manufacturers follow suit, or stop offering warranty repairs at all just like most spin rod companies. It's in your best interest to take care of your rods! Not just for you, but the entire industry.

Do a little research on how a graphite sheet is rolled onto a mandrel to create a tapered tube. There is very little, to no room for defects in the actual construction of the blank. Other components, different story, but defects in other components won't affect the integrity of the actual blank.

Id be interested to hear what kind of manufacturing defect you believe broke your rod? It's possible, but extremely unlikely. It's much more likely that you, or someone who was handling the rod before you slapped it against the wall or the floor and put a crack in the graphite causing a break.

I own over 40 fly rods, I've built hundreds of fly rods, and I fish over 200 days per year. My dog broke one of them (my fault), I haven't had a single customer break one of my rods (I'm very careful who I build for), and I've broken a total of 0 since the age of 8. All due to proper care and handling of my rods, and breaking them down after every use.