Picked up my second custom Edge rod today. First one was a Black Widow, for this one I needed something that would allow me to take 1 rod vs 3 in tournaments. Picked up a 7'7" xhvy fast LMX rod 1/2 - 2 1/2 oz. lure rating. Should hit most but the heaviest of swimbaits. Believe it or not they have a rod in the custom shop rated from 6oz to 16 oz, and it's not a total broomstick! Added a Shimano Scorpion 150 to the last one, putting a Lews Megajaws on this one. If you haven't tried edge rods they are one amazing rod for sure. Nice thing is that if you don't want to wait for Gary and team to build you one (wait time is up to 9 months) you can get them out of the Houston TX store. They have an amazing setup here and can build custom rods within a week.

I had a couple and I liked them although I didn't keep them long and I took a beating on the resale side.

I think they are having trouble trying to outrun all the customer service horror stories on both the Edge and NFC sides.

If they will warranty them at the store where you bought them, that would be a big step in the right direction.

I personally wouldn't wait 9 months for a light saber.

Edge/NFC doesn't sell their products at stores, until recently the only place you could get one was at the factory, they now have a few pro shops, one at the factory where I do business with them and another I have heard of in Houston, there may be others I haven't heard of as they are a new addition, there are also have some internationally. I have no idea how you expected to go to a store for warranty as there never has been one. I haven't heard any "horror" stories and I have been a rod builder using their products and watching what happens on rodbuilding.org for 22+ years, NFC is super well regarded, there is more info about the products on that site from builders/tournament anglers then any others company, it isn't even close by a factor of 20+. It wouldn't be that way if the number of complaints weren't minuscule compared to pleased customers, it would surprise me if it exceeded 2%. In 40+ years of building rods, and 65+ years of fishing I have broken 4 rods. Rods just don't break on their own, we do stupid things that break them. The biggest problem about their products is that no one seems to get their business model that has been with them for near their whole existence. They use a boutique business model, if you don't know what that is, try asking your wife/other, they have never built rods for massive markets by other stores like G Loomis, St. Croix, etc. They aren't the slightest bit interested in it as it ruins innovation and the use of superior materials that are always in short supply because they and all rod builders are a minute market of the suppliers' sales, our use of materials has never exceeded single digit percentages of any market. Because of this just who are the high-end material makers going to cater to? Lastly being a rod builder and lover of the "light sabers", would I wait 9 months? In a heartbeat. There is a reason there are more rods made form IM8 and lower materials than any other, it is old materials made by many companies, near 40 years, by the way Hexcel quit using IM numbers at 9 and that material is lower modulus but tougher than IM8, there is no such thing as IM10 and even if there was it wouldn't necessarily be a good rod material, very few really work well for our needs.

1 hour ago, spoonplugger1 said:

Edge/NFC doesn't sell their products at stores, until recently the only place you could get one was at the factory, they now have a few pro shops, one at the factory where I do business with them and another I have heard of in Houston, there may be others I haven't heard of as they are a new addition, there are also have some internationally. I have no idea how you expected to go to a store for warranty as there never has been one. I haven't heard any "horror" stories and I have been a rod builder using their products and watching what happens on rodbuilding.org for 22+ years, NFC is super well regarded, there is more info about the products on that site from builders/tournament anglers then any others company, it isn't even close by a factor of 20+. It wouldn't be that way if the number of complaints weren't minuscule compared to pleased customers, it would surprise me if it exceeded 2%. In 40+ years of building rods, and 65+ years of fishing I have broken 4 rods. Rods just don't break on their own, we do stupid things that break them. The biggest problem about their products is that no one seems to get their business model that has been with them for near their whole existence. They use a boutique business model, if you don't know what that is, try asking your wife/other, they have never built rods for massive markets by other stores like G Loomis, St. Croix, etc. They aren't the slightest bit interested in it as it ruins innovation and the use of superior materials that are always in short supply because they and all rod builders are a minute market of the suppliers' sales, our use of materials has never exceeded single digit percentages of any market. Because of this just who are the high-end material makers going to cater to? Lastly being a rod builder and lover of the "light sabers", would I wait 9 months? In a heartbeat. There is a reason there are more rods made form IM8 and lower materials than any other, it is old materials made by many companies, near 40 years, by the way Hexcel quit using IM numbers at 9 and that material is lower modulus but tougher than IM8, there is no such thing as IM10 and even if there was it wouldn't necessarily be a good rod material, very few really work well for our needs.

People keep getting screwed by them because of a post like this

We will see how long the boutique business model lasts. In my post I said IF you could do warranty exchanges in the store that might help.

If you can't find posts about their customer service your not looking very hard. No question NFC builds a great blank. I have several Kistlers built on them but as we know Trey went with another supplier .

By the way , a quick search shows a BBB rating of F. That's not very boutique

I agree with SpoonPlugger. They do make some of the best rods on the planet.

One thing a lot of people don't seem to get is that people like a Gary Loomis- a rod designer- are dependent on others for the business side of things.

Gary is a rod maker. Not a businessman per se.

Business people approach people like Gary and offer to help him in business or create a business for him like we see today. So Gary is very dependent on others big time. And it is those others who have been a let down at times, not Gary Loomis.

Gary deserves credit for what he has done for all of us. He is a living legend.

There will always be sour grapes here and there, but we can't let those few spoil it for all of us.

3 hours ago, spoonplugger1 said:

I haven't heard any "horror" stories and I have been a rod builder using their products and watching what happens on rodbuilding.org for 22+ years, NFC is super well regarded, there is more info about the products on that site from builders/tournament anglers then any others company, it isn't even close by a factor of 20+. It wouldn't be that way if the number of complaints weren't minuscule compared to pleased customers, it would surprise me if it exceeded 2%.

This quote does puzzle me tho'.... I do agree NFC is well regarded indeed, but the reason they are so heavily covered on that particular website I think is because of the man Gary Loomis is in business with Aleks Maslov, who is the man behind the business itself with Gary as a rod designer more or less, and not so into the business side of it all.

But the point is, Aleks Maslov purchased that rod building forum and today NFC owns it, and I think that is what accounts for the higher level of brand representation seen there.

Yeah, sounds like there's a little home cookin' going on there. Anyway, nothing but respect for Gary Loomis.

I don't think anyone who knows anything at all would question his contribution to the fishing industry.

The problem seems to be how the company as a whole is being run.

No one in their right mind would question his ability to design fishing rods.

It will probably never happen but I would love to see Shimano/ Loomis bring him back to the company he founded. I think his rightful place in the industry is better than NFC.

Well here is my take on this subject. I have been a Gary Loomis supporter since the 80's. Mostly IMX & NRX models. The warranty back then was overly generous & many people took advantage of it. The quality & value for the dollar was excellent. I purchased several rods from Kistler rods using NFC x-ray blanks. Once Kistler quit using NFC for blanks I looked into Edge rods. Since the transition to NFC & Edge rods I have purchased 8 rods from Edge waiting mostly 3-6 months. I understood the deal regarding wait times & have been very satisfied with the product. On July 10th 2025 I ordered a SWS HSR 7600-1 (Gary Loomis Signature Series) rod to use specifically for smallmouth with hair jigs & spy baits. The signature series rods were limited to a few blanks & included carbon fiber guides & other promotional items. I was quoted 3-6 month wait time. I patiently waited until Dec 12th 2025 to inquire regarding the build status as I was hoping to have the rod for an April trip up north. They replied they were currently asking production to get the blank & send it to rod build. They estimated 8-9 weeks at that point. In May 2026 I reached out asking that the rod has been in rod build since January & is that normal? They replied that it had been an unusually busy year & it has been crazy with the amount of orders and trying to get caught up keeping parts in stock for the builds. I decided to give them more time. "On June 26th I sent an email requesting a resolution to my order placed July 10th 2025. You solicited me regarding the Gary Loomis signature series offer & I have been patient for almost one year. I would like a refund if you can not complete the build within one year. I'm 78 years old so waiting longer is not a good choice for me." On July 13th after not receiving any reply from Edge rods regarding my email I have filed a dispute with American Express to get my money back from the credit card charge. Needless to say I am done doing business with Edge rods. I loved the product & was willing to wait but more than a year wait for an old guy is just too much time. The business plan is failing.

Back in the beginning of March of this year, I purchased a "Golden Ticket" and subsequently ordered the Edge SWC-SJR-732. I received it in early May and have been very pleased with the rod. Pleased enough to have purchased two more Golden Tickets and ordered two more rods (a Silver Widow and a Black Widow) knowing full well that it may be several months before I see either of them.

I understand that customers can have their own requirements and ultimately get to vote with their dollars. It's good to have options, both as a customer and a business.