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.

I have and still use Gary Loomis rods from the ‘80’s on. I have, over the last two years bought 6 new Edge rods with wait times from a month to six months . I purchased a Golden Ticket , ordered a new EFX rod along with a 708 for lighter glide baits.

I received the Golden ticket EFX rod in 6 weeks. Now 7 months later I am still waiting for the 708, a commonly stocked rod. Having emailed on several occasions was told it was in production, number 7 of 15, having eyes put on, in the drying room, almost done!

I emailed again last week and was told they have no idea when it will be done,,,,,,but sometime soon. BS

Their new business model is by far worse than ever. I love the Gary Loomis rods but will never purchase another rod from Edge, if I ever receive the 708. I would hate to even venture into having one repaired by Edge.

Gary Loomis rods was a business, Edge is a pyramid scheme.

@spoonplugger1 if you’re not aware of the dismal customer service reviews of the majority of customers you have your head buried in the sand, sorry to say. Their BBB rating says enough.

20 minutes ago, Motoboss said:

Gary Loomis rods was a business, Edge is a pyramid scheme.

@spoonplugger1 if you’re not aware of the dismal customer service reviews of the majority of customers you have your head buried in the sand, sorry to say. Their BBB rating says enough.

Quote from Cal over at TT regarding someone else saying it's a pyramid scheme. "More like a ponzi-scheme ... there are not multiple layers to the Edge/Northfork business. It is just those two entities.. NFC for blanks, EDGE for built rods."

48 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Quote from Cal over at TT regarding someone else saying it's a pyramid scheme. "More like a ponzi-scheme ... there are not multiple layers to the Edge/Northfork business. It is just those two entities.. NFC for blanks, EDGE for built rods."

Completely right. I stand corrected! 👍🏼

its amazing to me that such an industry legend as Gary Loomis could run a company so poorly and screw over his customers that badly.

You'd think a guy who saw death in the face and lived to tell about it would try and treat his customers better..

I'm amazed Edge Rods are still in business.

You guys all have valid points. It’s simple, over promote and under produce. I live 20 minutes from the factory. I frequent the show room and have gotten to know the fellas in sales pretty well. I have two Rod orders pending. I plan to show them these posts. I question the company’s infrastructure to produce rods at the rate they take orders. The speculation it’s Ponzi scheme troubles me. I was in the pro shop and walked past the shipping department in February and saw pallet upon pallet of shipping tubes. Three weeks later they were gone. This is why I think it’s over commitment in sales and under production. That’s not me defending Edge but sharing an observation.

So I ordered a blank Sept of 2025. In stock. I ended up emailing in Nov to cancel it. In November the carbon mesh email was sent out. I ordered a confirmed In stock blank (guaranteedto ship in 2-3 weeks) and the free full sheet of carbon mesh 46 minutes after the drop.

3 weeks, nothing... emailed nothing. Saw post on the custom rod fb page of guys who ordered after me (I asked) with the mesh. I then asked if the mesh would ship separately on the chance the blank was on backorder. The owner said yes. More posts from guys that ordered after me. Owner made a post about 2000 mesh orders.

End of first week of January I called the shop, guy was a great guy, little car salesmanish but decent dude. Told me the rod is in shipping with the mesh. We chatted he told me about the new online store and I checked on the canceled order. It wasn't canceled even though he saw the email, but assured me it was now and all was good. Emailed me a video on the mesh on the call. I posted on the same FB group... owner liked the post.

The very next day I get an email from a lady there. They don't have my blank in stock. I questioned how that could be as it's one of their always in stock and has shown in stock since I ordered and that I spoke with her coworker and he told me something completely different. She had no answer aside from now they ran out of shipping tubes. I asked about the mesh (I have builds waiting on it). It won't ship until the blank does and they have 2000 back orders. I ask her to explain how 2000 orders came in during the first 46 minutes of availability and how dozens of people ordered after me have theirs and why the owner told me it would ship separately? No reply...

I call again about a month later leave a vm. 2 days later an email that my blank was shipping, March for a guaranteed in stock blank. I got it it's what I wanted, rod came out great. The mesh was only a half sheet, which to my knowledge none of the guys with the free mesh only got half (cut in a square so there's no orientation which is super important with it. Look at FB posts and they tell you about long and short sides)

Oh and that cancelled order... they still never canceled it and charged my card when they shipped it.

For a small number of employees they sure can't get on the same page with the stories they tell. Super frustrating because I can't find a similar blank to the MB807 anywhere.

Also Mr Loomis is barely more than a name/occasional PR guy to them.

On the G Loomis side yes there are issues, and on the Washington Edge side the same. But you have to remember they make blans for a lot of the companies selling rods. If you go to the Spring TX Edge store it's a completely different world. I can have the team build me a custom rod with any spec I want and have it ready in a week. They also don't sell just edge rods, they have blanks from many different vendors. The last rod I bought (last week), I was told to take it to my next tournament, use it, and if I didn't like it just return it and they would build me something different. Almost no one does that. So email support is horrendous, no doubt, but trust me when I tell you the value, performance of Edge rods, including their customer service, is a different world at the Spring TX store. Judge each one on their merits and shortcomings.