Question about broken Berkley Buzz Ramsey IM8

H
hand_on_rod
I purchased a Berkley Buzz Ramsey IM8, and the first time using it the tip snapped off when I was trying to pull some weeds off the hook. My opinion is that it should not have broken. Fishermans will exchange it.
I really liked it up to the point that it broke, but I'm not sure if the same rod is the best option if it will just break again. The guy at Fishermans said that others have come back for the same reason.
Has anyone had experience with this rod, or heard reviews?
Is there a better rod in that price range, or would I be best going with the same rod?
I'm using a Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C3 Reel with it.
Thanks
 
M
meluvtrout
If you can afford it, go with a rod with lifetime warranty. Lamiglas, Shimano, WW Grigg have reasonable prices(as opposed to Loomis) and offer lifetime warranties.
 
D
davep
Graphite rods wont take the same abuse as glass...if you bump it on something hard and dent it, it will probably break the next time you reef on a hang up....I would suggest a okuma celilo....pretty much unbreakable...
 
K
Kodiak
I would go with a ww grigg, they are comparable price wise and good tuff rods. More importantly go with what feels good, let your third eye be your guide, then when he goes around the corner and is out of site and your wife ain't lookin, shell out a couple more bucks and upgrade!:dance::shock:
 
M
metalmania
I have 2 of these rods and love both, and amazingly I haven't broke either yet. I also have an okuma celilo, and like Davep said there almost unbreakable. Both have been great rods for the money.
 
T
Troutier Bassier
Okuma Celilos are Breakable.

I stepped on one when It was on the grpund and when i casted It snapped, Got a New one though.

My Friend wouldent let me get one cause he says the tips snap, Thank god i dident.
 
S
steelhead_stalkers
I had not really heard of the Berkley breaking much. Mine old salmon rod is bullet proof, heck I'v had the line wrap around my tip and a 35 lb salmon run and jump, snap my 50 lb braid and not break my tip!!!!! The most that every happened was one of the guides bend a little after my wife shut it in the glove box :)
 
M
Mike123
I've abused the hell out of my IM7 Berkely's....
I finally broke off the tip last winter, but it was my fault.. I pulled on the line right near the tip and I flexed just the tip wayyy to much and snap!!
Took it to Bi-Mart and got a new one fo free.

Oh and the Okuma's aren't invincible. I have two and they are really cheaply made. The coating on the rod is chipping off really bad. And they are not the most sensitive rod ever made that's for sure! You'd be way better off with a new IM8 for the money. I don't like the cheap Lami models, I do the more expensive models, but hey I'm not rich. $100 is about my limit.
 
F
fishgriller
Ugly stik is one of the best for the price i can bend mine so the tip is touching the botom of the handle no problem
 
L
luv2fish
lot of people criticised me when i bought my im7's. they all are working fine. if you have a reciept...fisherman will exchange it but they are certainly not as friendly like Joe's ( i know it was expensive but i liked their friendly approach and you don't mind to spend a lil bit more if the ppl are nice and warm).
i don't like fisherman's anyways cuz there's no warmth in that store and when you go in there it feels like your in a mourning crowd cuz nobody ( the managers or employees ) smiles in that store....jesus christ...its a sad place....

My son ( he was 2 yo at that time )...dragged my rods from under the bed ( i was working on my garage so i put'em under the bed..) and the next thing i heard was snap....i took it to joe's and told them the story....no receipt , nothing....didn't even took me 10 minutes to pick another im 7 and by god i had quite good catches on that now. They gave me the option of even getting something else and pay for difference which was not bad at all... but i like the feel of im7's.....for the price...i seriously doubt if lami or griggs or loomis can ever make anything like that. Not that i'm criticising them.....i've used them and they are good too.

Ugly stick is the bread and butter of fishing ..man that thing is tough and you can abuse it and the more you abuse it the tougher it gets....i like my 12' extra heavy.....and the 7' mooching rod.. as well....i don't remember how many times i've stepped on them or dropped from heights...still shinin...
 
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T
Troutier Bassier
Ive noticed the most common thing that Breaks on a rod is the Tip, Ive broken the tip on 2....... no 3 rods already, BUt both weere Fixed. Usually what happens is the Inner ring on the last guide pops out, I was expirementing rod breaking with my friends yesterday on a brick wall. The first think is always the Black inner part then the guide bends.
 
K
koboabe
prob going to jynx myself,
but I have an IM8 and it is great.
I have stepped on it once (while it was lying on the bank), but there is only a small nick in the coating.
no problems so far
 
N
ninja2010
hmmmm...

visible nick on blank = possible crack in fiberglass = definite disaster with fish on
 
O
OnSafari
I too just bought one. I had the tiop relplaced after the 3rd time out. and now 6th time out it snapped into 3 sections at the tip. What is uup. Im soo agravated. I shouldnt spend 90 bucks and not have a pole to last me. All I was doing was reeling back. No fish no snag just fast moving water lag. :( :( As a first time fisher(woman) It is discouraging. I have been ripped off re: 2 diff poles. First one the old guy sold me a surf pole for steelheading.. Im new how am i supposed to knopw the difference.. And now after that. I begged the guy at the store. Cause i thought this pole was to lfimsey. He assured me it would handle a great big fish. Well it couldnt evn handle rapids.... Grrrrr
 
B
BobbiDollPDX
I know a couple of people who have broken the tips on their Berkley IM8s, but mine is a year old and still holding up just fine.
 
T
Throbbit _Shane
OnSafari said:
I too just bought one. I had the tiop relplaced after the 3rd time out. and now 6th time out it snapped into 3 sections at the tip. What is uup. Im soo agravated. I shouldnt spend 90 bucks and not have a pole to last me. All I was doing was reeling back. No fish no snag just fast moving water lag. :( :( As a first time fisher(woman) It is discouraging. I have been ripped off re: 2 diff poles. First one the old guy sold me a surf pole for steelheading.. Im new how am i supposed to knopw the difference.. And now after that. I begged the guy at the store. Cause i thought this pole was to lfimsey. He assured me it would handle a great big fish. Well it couldnt evn handle rapids.... Grrrrr

Goto bi-mart and get a Okuma Celilo they go for 50 bucks. Iv had 5 steelhead on the one i got in january this year. great rod for the price imo. I got the ML 9'6 one.
 
H
halibuthitman
Go to the lamiglas factory and buy one of the rods from their show room, these ARE the benchmark oregon and washington steelhead rods, they have them for around $100- $150 second I would suggest an okuma sst steelhead series, Ive had one ive fished spoons excusively with for a year, this is a good 2 year rod but won't last longer, even alaska airlines couldn't break it. Ugly sticks are the poormans sage.. they are the toughest graphite rods in the world, but at the cost of tip sensetivety, you shouldn't have broken those tips off, the tip that broke as you reeled was a result of you ( berkley tests every tip before it ships ) nicking the blank during your time in the field or at home and it broke when the right pressure from the right direction was applied while reeling. It is unfair to blame the broken tip on the manufacturer.

New fishermen are hard on gear and must learn the things on expensive rods that a lot of us learned on $20 k-mart combos.. so rod damage is certain to happen in the proccess, even to $75-$600 rods, especially the $600 ones.. please be kind to the manufacturers, after all they have the balls to think they can build a long skinny stick that gets weaker as it goes that they actually want you to hook something living that weights 20 lbs or more, and then we kill em with snags, car doors, dogs, fall on them, step on em, use them to spread branches or try stupid moves to unhook spinners and spoons we can almost get to.. but just can't.... snap

If you drive over to your father or grandfathers home and open his garage behind the door you will find roughly 20 fiberglass rods, the handles will be broke, guides may be missing... but the tip is still there, mabe smashed flat, but still there.
It would be highly unlikely to go to the garage of a 45-50 yr old and find anything but a bunch of graphite rods, stunning grips, nickle plated guides, fancy names on them, probably even in their own tubes... all missing 4 inches of tip.... graphite is a weak inferior material used to achieve sensetivety, action, and light weight, all things demanded by the current market of fisher persons.. the manufacurers have met those demands, now its our part to be professional about the use of the gear.. and protect the tip.. mind your tip.. wheres your tip!? and just for good measure.. by far the most common mistake I see made that will result in a broken tip is putting a rod in the bed of a pickup truck and letting the tip ride in the slot of the tailgate... you might as well just walk back and snap it off on the spot. so in short:lol: I think Buzz R rods suck and would never use one.. others adore them.. go buy a lami.... and protect the tip like its a child.
 
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S
SNDSLGR
I have lots of rods, lots. With the exception of 2 okuma celilo they are all Lami or Buzz rods... mostly Buzz. I can't say enough good about them. I have beaten them like a red headed step child and the only break came from me stepping on the tip one cold morning on the Barview jetty. I do like the Lami rods I have but the price keeps me off them for most apps. I have never heard of anyone not being able to get a replacement on the Buzz rods.

That being said, I dont think the fish care which label is above the cork. Like many things fishing, I say find one you are confident with.
 
M
mikeredding
I have broken a few rods over the years but never have any of them been from issues other than my own carelessness and mistakes. Even the cheapest rod will last a lifetime if you use caution and treat it right.
 
J
JeannaJigs
I have a collection of salmon and steelhead rods that consists of rods by loomis, lamiglas, a br im8, an old Shakespeare, and a couple okuma celilos. Hands down for steelhead my lamiglas gets the most love, but I do appreciate the im8 and celilo pretty much equally as well for salmon, but it depends on the application. the only rod I've broken (knock on wood) is my Shakespeare that i purchased as my first steelhead rod, when I was fifteen years old. It only just broke two years ago and I filed it down, put a new tip on it and for nostalgia reasons still use the completely non sensitive, now custom, 8'3" rod for tossing spinners. bottom line if you take care of your gear it shouldn't break...but nearly everyone is guilty of treating their rods to neglect at least periodically. Buy something you can afford and something that feels comfortable to you, and take care of it. Or don't, and keep buying new rods every year or more.
 

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