I've building rods for about 3 yrs now, I get cross eyed trying to figure out a quality product. I read and try and try to learn from various sites and decided the NFC X-Ray must be a good product based on price and of course the name (Gary) behind it. So I ordered 3 rods about 18 months ago. The 1st I put together was great, totally happy with it, the 2nd not so much, about 3" from the end it had 20 degree bend in it, but my reading , it wasn't a big deal, I put it together even though I don't like the bend, it has performed as it should.
The 3rd 1 I pulled out of the plastic bag about a month ago and spent some more on grips and handles than maybe I should have. About 20' from the butt looks like a black snake ate a egg, a very obvious swell in the rod, not trying to get hung up looks , I went ahead with it. 1st time out it felt great until the 4th cast, while yo yo'ing a worm over a brush pile limb I had to give it a pop to clear it over the limb, the rod snapped like pretzel about 2' from the tip.
I accept the fact the warranty is 90 days, I sent them a nice e-mail 1st, response was basically " To long a time past 90 days" but they offered to sell me another .
Just venting and sharing info , and looking for a new rod source, Rod Geeks Carbon 4 looks pretty good right now !