I have fished with kistler's for the last 4 years and I have had only one break on me two weeks ago i tried to swing a 7lb largemouth in the boat and a LTA broke on me it was my fault all the way.

i had 2 kistlers and broke both of them on hooksets. i retured both of them and switched to falcon. have not looked back. ive broke 2 falcons. one i stepped on, the other was when i tried to swing a 6 1/2 #er on my froggin stick and 65# braid...

What the hell are some of you setting the hook on? I have about 30 LTA's that are mixed 08 and 09 models, anywhere from medium-extra heavy and range from 6'6"-8'. I have swung fish, slammed hooksets into the troll motor and hookset jerked 3# fish completely out of the water and over the boat, and never broke an LTA. I even have some 6'9" Spinner Bait model Graphite Plus Series that I completely just abuse and have never broke 1 at all.
I have said this before and I will say it again. Kistler will take care of you, get your voice to the right person. If you have a warranty issue, ask to speak to Ryan Smith. He is the Production Manager, a good man and will take care of you. If you are the original owner of the rod, in most all cases, they will do right by your purchase. If you bought your rod from your buddies girlfriends dads sisters brothers whatever, it has no warranty.
I live 20 minutes from the factory and go there often. The Helium LTX and LTA line of rods are made and assembled in the Magnolia, Texas factory from blank to finished product. Not in China!
The points bigfish76 made in this post is spot on. Most of the damage that is done to equipment is caused by improper handling, storing and usage.
Most people hookset way too hard, even myself. With the chemically sharpened hooks that we have today, it takes very little pressure to drive the point into the mouth of a fish. It may look cool, but hooksetting a fish with all your brutal strength is way too much. A quick sweeping snap is all it takes.

i broke one this weekend, but it was completly my fault. i tried to knock a crankbait off a limb that had line wrapped around it and ended up busting the tip off. i bought it from Belott, so no warranty.

one thing i dont like is the fact that kistler wont call me back...

Call and ask for Ryan or Billy. They will help you.

Kistler Rod Company is not for sale. The post in this thread, that claims it is, is false.

I make it a point not to bash rod companies, but the staffers can't act like Kistlers breaking isn't a problem that has had quite a bit of air time in the past. Just google 'broken Kistler' and see what you come up with. You will get at least 4x as many hits as Croix or Loomis.

Natural I respect your post. I wont say that you are wrong. I will say that I have been in the boat with a lot of different guys and watched how they handle and use their equipment. I have seen guys set the hook on fish so hard that it looked like they were trying to hit a softball 500ft with a bat. Todays rods are so light, so sensative and responsive that you cannot he-man set the hook on fish. Any major branded chemically sharpened hook in todays market are so sticky and sharp that it takes minimal pressure to hook a fish.
I understand that any product has flaws in the manufacturing process. I do not use nor recommend anything I do not believe in.