I have a 6'6" MH Avid X I loved throwing jerkbaits on. Paired it with 10lb Big Game and was light and (for me) a great setup for jerkbait on my kayak. It snapped during a jerk last night - didn't get a strike and didn't have it hung up in any weeds. Just snapped between two guides 2/3 of the way up. I'm assuming it got damaged unbeknownst to me (I consider myself careful with all of my stuff) OR there was a flaw in the blank. I would've assumed a flaw would show it's face much sooner as I've fished this for 7 months now and have caught quite a few fish on it. Either way, I submitted to St. Croix for warranty this morning. I've never had to do this with St. Croix so I'm hoping for two kinds of replies here; 1. will they offer a different rod of equal value if they have none of these kicking around and 2. what rod performs similarly to the Avid X from them that I should consider if that ends up being the route to take?  

Unless I missed a new line of rods from st croix, the victory will be the closest in terms of price and should be a slight step up in performance.  
 

knock on wood I’ve never had to make a warranty claim with at croix so I can’t help there.