Edge Rods Epitome

[Pagregss]

Did anyone else here get in on the pre-order for the Edge Epitome? If so, have you gotten it? I placed my order back in August and still haven't seen the rod. I had emailed them asking for a status once and was told they were taking pre-orders until October and then the rods would be built and shipped in October. 3 weeks ago, I emailed them asking for another status, as it was the last week of October. Alex Maslov, the CEO replied, and said they hadn't started shipping yet. So, then I pressed him as to when they might ship and he said he wasn't going to push Gary and the team and that pretty much I'd get it when I get it and then told me to contact the support team from now on. Thing is I didn't email him directly, but he responded, then acted like a jerk about it. This is my first Edge rod and so far, the customer service lives up to their reputation.

[ECobb91]

Unfortunately this isn’t the first time I’ve hear of nearly the exact tone from the owner on here. In the rod building forum, one member reached out and basically was told the same thing. It’s surprising cause On rodbuilding.org he’s really helpful.

[JJohnSind]

It’s surprising cause On rodbuilding.org he’s really helpful.

Maybe it’s someone else responding on his behalf. I’ve not had an issue with their customer service warranty claims or exchanges. I also now accept that they are just going to be slow when it comes to shipping. Agonizingly, unfortunately. I did call and cancel one time when it just took too long and they didn’t have an issue with the cancellation.

[fishnhams]

Good rods, bad service. They are somewhat local to me but if they weren’t I would definitely give someone else my money

[lperry]

Ordered and paid for one about 3 months ago. talked with a rep named Steve if I recall. Tried e-mailing them about a month ago. No response! I will say Steve offered to send me another rod-whatever was in stock at that time-but like most others I want the latest and greatest. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised since we have seen so many negative comments about their customer service.

[MeatHead1313]

I ordered mine August 8th and nothing yet. I did see someone post on another forum today that they got shipping info for theirs so hopefully they'll all ship out soon.

[tidewater]

Thanks for the information.

[willwork4fish]

Haha, welcome to NFC. lperry you talked to Steve Pitcock, nice guy pretty knowledgeable but not exactly a good fit for Customer Service. Alex is probably just tired of hearing complaints, I don't think he cares for me much after talking to him on the phone a couple of years ago.

Good rods/good blanks bad service is a good way to put it (when they're straight). I still buy a decent number of blanks from them when they're on sale to have as stock, I just no longer have any expectation of when they'll show up.

Sorry I know it doesn't help you but it's just how it is with them, I've got 2 of the new blanks on order and I'd be shocked if they show up before the end of the year. Ordered them in August too.

[Mcjenson]

Just far too many good rod companies out there to put up with nonsense like that IMO

[basscat tyler]

Just far too many good rod companies out there to put up with nonsense like that IMO

100%

[ThomasD]

Had to dig in another forum for a post i did about Edge rods a few years ago. Copied and pasted below. Seems like their customer service hasn't changed a bit.

I don't post on here too much but I'll put my .02 cents in. Back in Oct. '18 I ordered a Delta rod from them. 8 weeks later it showed up broken in half from the cheap rod tube it was sent in. I called and got someone on the phone the same day. He gave me an email to send pictures to and said they would send out a replacement. Aside from being broken in half it looked to be a surprisingly nicely built rod for $149 so I went ahead and ordered a second one. Two months later and over a dozen attempts to get ahold of someone on the phone and email I finally connected. This time the lady I spoke with knew nothing of my broken rod and had no update on the second rod I ordered. After all the confusion was cleared up I think it was another 6 weeks before I got a replacement for the broken one. This one looked to be assembled by a drunk monkey. Lower rod handle was glued on crooked and the sharp edges right below the reel seat sliced my hand open. Instead of even bothering with customer service I sanded down the sharp edges of the graphite handle. A few weeks later the second rod finally showed up. This one had two eyelets on the rod guides glued over. Took it to a local guy to have them replaced. I've wasted more on less in my life by I will never buy another rod from them going forward.

[Chode]

Hopefully that drunk monkey is no longer working there and become a social media influencer.

[Pagregss]

Still waiting. It's now been 4 months since I placed my order. I hope it makes for an outstanding ice fishing rod. Anybody else get there's yet?

[2eachhisown]

Not sure if this helps but I received my blank from NFC yesterday. Still to early to say anything definitive, but it looks good and is about 15% lighter than my MB724 X-Ray Blank. I posted the weights in the rod building section.

[somerdink]

I know this is a little off topic but that’s why Kistler and one other left NFC because of this, poor customer service and poor QC as well

[ECobb91]

I know this is a little off topic but that’s why Kistler and one other left NFC because of this, poor customer service and poor QC as well

i think Kistler left NFC also has a lot to do with costs too. He raises the prices more often than any other company. By going to a Chinese made blank he just significantly increased profits.

IMO, Kistler rods are overpriced anyways. i built a rod with the same components as a ZBone on an NFC XRay blank and it cost me around $190… $360 less than the cost of a ZBone. And that’s without wholesale pricing. I wouldn’t be surprised if those rods are now less than $100 in materials now for a rod that has a normal retail price of $550.

[Drakestar]

I preordered an Epitome on Aug 6, soon after they opened up the sale. Still don't have the rod, and haven't gotten any updates on order status, either. I haven't cancelled yet because I really like X-ray blanks and want to try out this new one (and luckily my lakes don't ice up in winter so I'll be able to at least make some casts with it when I finally get it). But man, it's a worse customer service experience than I expected after various forums had already warned of bad Edge customer service experiences.

Kistler switching away from NFC blanks unfortunately killed their rods for me. I ordered one rod after the switch with their new highest-end KC9 blank (same action/power as my old X-ray Zbone), and in my hands it's clearly an inferior, less electric blank. Just my opinion, though. And Kistler are a small company and need to do whatever they need to do to thrive, and that dependency on NFC was probably straining them.

[willwork4fish]

I just got a ship notification for the blanks I bought on Aug 8th...supposed to get them on Friday.

[Pagregss]

I just got a shipment notification for the rod I ordered August 6th.

[MeatHead1313]

I finally got a shipping notification for the rod I ordered August 8. Should be in Saturday so hopefully I'll be able to at least have a couple casts with it in the neighborhood pond after work if it gets in during the day.