In the picture you see the duckett rods are all broken at the bottom cork, and another that has lost the black plastic insert and the cork is starting to split. next to the duckett rods are all St. Croix legend tournament rods and a kistler. All of my duckett rods are just over a year old, and the St. Croix rods are two years old. Is this a manufacturing defect in the design of the ducketts? I have never had a problem with any of my other split-grip rods of various manufactures.

I contacted duckett and they want to charge 35 dollars per rod to replace it plus another 15 per rod for shipping, and this is all for something that was not my fault. What is yall's take on this, and has anyone else had this same problem?

American manufacturing is tough to beat with the LT's and the Zbone, hope someone from Duckett can make it right for you

I see you have the TFO logo in your sig.... Must be bad JU JU beans! lol

Judging by the stains on the cork, I'd say you fished the Ducketts much more in one year than you did the St. Croix rods in two years?

At any rate, if the rods were six months old and showed normal wear (like the St. Croix) the failure of the cork is inexcusable. I'm sure Duckett Fishing would replace them, no questions asked.

Shoot me a PM if you'd like. I know a guy.

I called and checked this morning with duckett, and they are just over a year old. they look heavily used because they are, they probably get used 4-5 times a week.

I've heard about the cork situation as you have decscribed before as well from one of my customers on here, but it has not happened to me at all...I would say pm me because I know quite a "few" guys but then that would mean anyone else with this type of problem would need to speak with the "i know a guy" guy...You should be able to justify this "mfg defect" without having to contact anybody special...Duckett's customer relations is top notch and this could be just a one off...BTW Thanks for being a customer!

That don't look good. I am looking really hard at a couple of the new Ducketts but things like this make me stop and wonder if they are the ones I want or should I be looking at another brand......

I would not call it a defect more than I would call it unrealistic expectations. This has happened to every brand of rod that I have owned. Wear and tear. Over a year old, 4 or 5 times a week and cork. I expect to wear all my gear out including reels. I do every year. I think Duckett's offer to fix normal wear and tear was honourable and a great deal. That's the same thing as a rod lasting 5 years used once a week. Just my opinion. I don't beat up on Goodyear after 40,000 miles.

I am that other guy that has had a similar problem with one of my rods. I called that guy and he talked to another guy. $15 and a new rod later all is well. IMHO there was not enough glue or bonding agent used under that piece of cork for the split grip. Anywho....it has been the only one and I am very happy with Duckett's.

Agree with what Carlos and Gene said, above.

We can't put an item through four years of use in one year and expect that rod/reel/etc. to perform like a year-old product.

Unless we paid for it on the front end. In which case, we more than likely received product that would weather that type of abuse. Like a Daiwa or Shimano reel, or a Duckett White Ice Series rod.

Please don't interpret the statement above to mean "If it's not a WIS rod, tough."

I've never known the folks at Duckett Fishing to be anything but most accommodating to customer requests. Ever.

every brand of rod you have owned after one year has had its cork fall off?? Come on man, this is not wear and tear for 4 identical problems, its a weak design issue clearly.

I'd be willing to bet they will.

Falcon.

Hope they make it right. That stinks.

The TFO's are hard to beat, and they come with a lifetime warranty. I know from personal experiences their customer service will take care of you! Hope everything works out for you.