I like trout hunter. Great tippet. They have half sizes so you can step down a touch. I would suggest that you investigate that route…if tou do not want to move to a different rod.
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Don’t be sorry. That’s your experience. Never be sorry you have a differences. Being respectful is what is important.
I use Stonfo rings. I get them from Chris Stewart. I really like them for tenkara. I’ve had my rig cast by more than a few people that didn’t know I used them, here and in Japan.
They work and are a non-issue.
You like them, good for you. They do many things more than make a uniform place for a knot to break.
Every rod I broke, I either fell on it or was doing my best Bill Dance hookset impersonation.
I don’t feel like any of my breaks were due to manufacturing issues, but having broken the same rod in the same place, twice… and having others say they had the same issue… I am curious about it.
Rod was a Nissin Pro Spec 2-way (320 6:4)
The Pro Spec rods have an issue with the third section from the tip section (tip section being section #1). I know a number of rods that broke there. I don’t think it was just you setting the hook hard. There was something wonky with the graphite, at least I’m convinced.
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I for sure believe that is possible.
That being said, I’ve had all four pro spec and only broken that one (twice)! Haha
Rods should not break.
Or I should say, the rod you choose should not break.
Accidents happen, let’s just get that out there and now we can forget about accepting rod breaks.
A good rod should not break.
There are more good rods out there than ever before but still way too many rods break and people just accept that.
Go ahead and accept rod breakage, probably everything I write is bullshit anyway so just move along, I’m broken.
Strong rods have a little fiberglass in them. Strong rods without fiberglass are wrapped tight without void in the epoxy. It’s a choice the manufacturer makes, the modulus, the epoxy, the manufacturing techniques.
An angler can take a cheap rod, fish the crap out of it and not break it. Does that make it a good rod?
Hell no.
It makes the angler a good angler.
A good rod should be able to handle less than perfect opening and closing technique. Check. It should be able to handle less than perfect casting techniques, ok. But does that really make the rod good? Well, it’s the angler that makes the rod good.
Mass produced rods have a higher incidence of breaking because of quality control at all levels. How many seconds are used in each step of the manufacturing process?
It’s the angler, his (or her) skill that makes a good rod as much as the end product.
Tough but excellent rods: Sakura, Tenryu, Gamakatsu.
Certain models of: Nissan and Daiwa
Shimano makes good rods.
Oni rods are nice, the Karasu rods are too.
But is it the angler or the rod or both?
I say it’s both.
I haven’t cast all rods and don’t profess my opinion to be all encompassing but what I write stands for my experience and I do not overextend. I can back it up with what I know.
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“I’m broken” 
no your not! I have an Oni , am I a good tenkara angler … NO
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Why & when do rods break?
While fighting a fish, following unseen damage done to the rod by a previous non-fishing event.
More about what this material is that sometimes breaks.
https://sciencing.com/differences-between-graphite-carbon-fiber-8150298.html
http://www.allfishingbuy.com/Fishing-Rods-Materials.htm
Tom Davis in a recent blog about what he carries in his car wrote he doesn’t leave expensive rods in a hot car. Something I try to be mindful of myself.
http://tetontenkara.blogspot.com/2019/03/what-i-carry-in-my-car.html
But does temperature extremes harm modern fishing rods? Are extreme cold temperatures as damaging as high temperatures? Like Tom I tend to be mindful of rods or other things kept in my car that might be damaged by cycles of hot and cold. Rods in hot cars or in winter my liquid filled compasses. Nay, nay. (A great reason to like cammenga compasses, air filled).
[ generally I’ve noticed that highway pavement is damaged more over winters that frequently cycle below and above freezing, than damage to roads in places where temperatures drop below freezing and stays there for weeks. iow temperature cycles seem to be more damaging than the temperature itself. I tend to be more weary of damage from frequent temperature cycles than temperature alone]
But what is the risk of rod damage due to hot or cold temperature cycles? An internet search mostly turns up opinions about high temperature damage to CF rods. Not much found thus far with facts to back up the opinions. Mostly what I was found was discussion about temperature damage to CF golf clubs or mountain bike frames. Not much about fishing rods.
I don’t believe that just hot or cold temps will hurt a rod sitting in a dark trunk. I think leaving a rod on the passenger seat in the blaring sun will cook it, but in the trunk not so much.
Getting a rod soaked, putting it in the trunk and leaving it there- yeah that’s gonna mess it up… But if it’s cared for, I don’t think that leaving it in the car is necessarily bad for it.
A certain angler I met up with in Japan, who many of us know of and respect, had a trunk full of tenkara/keiryu rods. I laughed about it, he said it’s no big deal like people make it out to be. Some of his rods are decades old.
Like Adam said, it’s knowing how to use the rod, in combination with quality craftsmanship, that matters.
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Good point Chris. Rod damage that could result in later rod failure due to some kind of mold / fungus growing on rods stored damp in a dark warm place - might be just as damaging or more damaging to a rod than thermal stresses on the rods from extremes of hot or cold.
I have some used surf rods several decades old that are still operational.
In general heat and cold may have effect on components but we dont have any with a tenkara rod. The finish may break down but the real threat to our rods is abuse in the field.
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I agree, I have some rods that are well over 40 years old and they work just fine, maybe not as pretty as they once where but still functioning.
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One situation where I know “putting it up wet” did me in, was my Pro Spec 2-way… I fished it hard, put it up wet, in the trunk… When I went to collapse it the next time, i forced it down onto what I didn’t realize was an o-ring that had swelled up due to the moisture. CRAAAACK!
Lesson learned!
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I was in Montana one year and we fished in the rain the first 3 days plus mine inadvertently took a swim from time to time. The rods were continually wet. We would just disassemble the rods each night and let them air out on the dining room table. Didn’t have any problems.
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More than I would like, but usually because I was complacent for a moment when collapsing or loosening the Lillian knot. I have had one (Ito) that broke landing a fish, although I’ll go to my grave saying that I was being very careful and it wasn’t a big fish at all, but very cold out. I also broke the Hane twice (hook set and fighting a fish…still netted it!). I always have spare rods with me because most of the time I am many miles back in the wilderness on backpacking trips.
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