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Drennan Twist Lock Pole

Justin Cubberley said:
Drennan has added a maintenance guide to his web site for those people who have problems with the specialist landing pole.
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I can't understand why the problem has not been rectified at source, rather then letting anglers down with what is a fault that has blighted this otherwise good albeit expensive piece of kit.
 
Neil Smart said:
I can't understand why the problem has not been rectified at source, rather then letting anglers down with what is a fault that has blighted this otherwise good albeit expensive piece of kit.
Click to expand...

Spot on Neil...
I love mine, had it for years, but also had the common problem. Indeed, you'd of thought they would have made a subtle design change to correct this issue. I can only assume they've tried to come up with the answer but have thus far been unable to.

Ian
 
I,m sure the plastic insert in my latest edition is slighty different,although they have been great in the past with replacement part ,I do agree this needs rectifying a big let down on what is I think the best extending pole on the market.
 
Ian Law said:
Spot on Neil...
I love mine, had it for years, but also had the common problem. Indeed, you'd of thought they would have made a subtle design change to correct this issue. I can only assume they've tried to come up with the answer but have thus far been unable to.

Ian
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The odd thing is that during the many discussions on here involving this pole and it's apparently inherent problem, there are always some members who pop up and claim that they have had one for years and never experienced said problem :eek: They commonly infer that it is down to the angler, over tightening and such.

I must say that reading so much about this problem has put me off buying one, because I doubt I would be lucky/delicate handed enough to avoid the otherwise inevitable failure....and I am sure that I am far from alone in making that decision. What confuses me is the fact that as you say Ian, if all it takes is a subtle design change or whatever, why hasn't it been done? Drennan has an enviable reputation to protect, and I can't see Peter Drennan allowing that reputation to be mauled in the way it undoubtedly has been if a simple fix were possible.

All very odd indeedy, lots of questions but no definitive answers. A 'maintenance guide' doesn't sound too promising...but time will tell if it is a decent fix I guess.

Cheers, Dave.
 
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Having not long ago picked up one of these poles can you tell me what the problem is you're talking about? I've not had a problem with mine yet but not had it a month yet.
 
David Gauntlett said:
The odd thing is that during the many discussions on here involving this pole and it's apparently inherent problem, there are always some members who pop up and claim that they have had one for years and never experienced said problem :eek: They commonly infer that it is down to the angler, over tightening and such.
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It's a friction lock, so muck and grit is always going to be an issue and some maintenance required. Mine is usually restricted to giving it a dunk to flush the crud out, mainly if I'm fishing somewhere muddy, sandy or dusty.

As far as the ovetightening is concerned, that can certainly be an issue, if you are unaware or heavy handed. The locking device is a plastic widget with a screw thread into which a probe screws to expand the widget against the outer tube. Overtighten it and you strip the thread of the plastic widget. Once you do that, it'll never tighten properly until the widget is replaced.
I managed to do exactly that inside six months of owning the Drennan. I had to get a new widget. But now I'm painfully aware of the overtightening issue, I've not had to worry in over two years.

However, even if it's not overtightened or badly maintained, the widget will wear out eventually. I doubt that there is a suitable material known to man where this wouldn't be the case. Too hard and the widget wouldn't open up to lock. If they found a way of increasing the hardness of it yet still allowing it to open up, the cack handed brutes would overtighten and crack the carbon outer pole.

To my mind it's no different to a put over or telescopic landing net pole in respect of wear over time. Eventually, they all wear and fail to lock together properly. It isn't a fault, it's the way of it, nothing lasts forever. Cack handedness or abuse will accelerate the rate of failure, just as it will with the alternatives.

I even have the Gardner alternative to the Drennan to provide a direct comparison. I still reach for the Drennan in pretty much every situation other than when I know I'll be fishing from a high, steep bank. Is the Drennan perfect? No. Is it still the best out there? IMHO, yes. The only way to negate any issue of wear is to use a solid, single piece handle. Then you are stuck with around six feet or a complete PITA if you want longer.
 
The twist and lock mechanism on both the Fox and Drennan handles can prove troublesome and unreliable. They rely on a cam 'block' running in a parallel containing tube which when twisted expands - resulting in the cam block gripping the outer walls of the tube. The Fox and Drennan achieve this by different methods, but both have potential problems. Both landing net handles are fairly thin walled and can, if overtightened, lead to splitting of the handle. So the manufacturer tries to create a balance between gripping adequately, but not expanding the cam to an extent to cause splitting.
Here lies most of the problem. Without going into further boring stuff both types do not function reliably, don't like dirt and grit ingress and also can lead to the two parts of the handle separating. This has happened to me on both types. You can modify the Fox to prevent this - but that's another story. A change to the specification of both handles may go some way to minimise problems with this sort of design. But let's face it it's unlikely to happen while people still buy current types/models.
My conclusion is that for premium priced (and even normal priced ones) poles this is unacceptable - nice idea but do yourself a favour and buy an alternative!

Chris posted while I was typing this post.

My Gardner always comes with me.

Cheers
Bob
 
Bearing in mind you can just go into your local Drennan dealer and pick up a replacement cam for free, it's still the best extending pole on the market without question. Or be proactive and pick one up before yours fails and tuck it into you fishing bag. ;)
 
Justin Cubberley said:
Drennan has added a maintenance guide to his web site for those people who have problems with the specialist landing pole.
Click to expand...

Justin,

No need for a maintenance guide, I have had one of these for years and there is a very easy way of making sure it locks every time. First of all take the trouble now and again to take the plastic widget off and take a wire brush to the thread it sits on to clean it and put just a tiny amount of lubricant on the thread only.

When using the pole if it fails to lock in the desired position simply place the blunt end on the ground, grip the end where the net screws on with the left hand and grip the point where the inner slides into the outer with the right. Now put a slight bend in the pole with the right hand and at the same time twist ...it will lock every time. Hope this helps.
 
Even easier, stick a small piece of electrical tape on the plastic widget to increase it's diameter, mine hasn't failed once since I did that !
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Justin,

No need for a maintenance guide, I have had one of these for years and there is a very easy way of making sure it locks every time. First of all take the trouble now and again to take the plastic widget off and take a wire brush to the thread it sits on to clean it and put just a tiny amount of lubricant on the thread only.

When using the pole if it fails to lock in the desired position simply place the blunt end on the ground, grip the end where the net screws on with the left hand and grip the point where the inner slides into the outer with the right. Now put a slight bend in the pole with the right hand and at the same time twist ...it will lock every time. Hope this helps.
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Yes but the point is that for as long as we have to carry out such self fix tasks Drennan won't feel obliged to fix the problem.

I can't think of any item that you can buy that has such a fail rating and the customer accepts the fault.

I believe the Gardner pole doesn't suffer the same problem, so not rocket science is it?
 
Neil Smart said:
I believe the Gardner pole doesn't suffer the same problem, so not rocket science is it?
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The Gardner pole isn't perfect either. Quite apart from the fact that it's way more bulky and not as stiff as the Drennan. Its locking collar is plastic and will wear just the same if muck is allowed to accumulate. However, the way it locks will still be an issue for those with a penchant for overtightening. It's quite alarming the creaking and cracking noises that can eminate from the pole itself as the collar is tightened. As you draw one back with a decent lump of a fish in the net, it'll pull the inner pole even tighter into the locking collar, the noises get worse then. Whether it's any more than the varnish creaking, I don't know yet. Time will tell, provided I actually get round to using it more than the Drennan.

My ideal would be a combination of the Drennan and the Gardner.
 
Over the years I have got through many different landing net poles .
I have had my Drennan for the last 12 months and would not swap it for any thing else .
Its like any thing else , If its not abused and over tightened and taken apart from time to time and cleaned , Then there should not be a problem .
 
Justin,

No problem, glad to be of assistance, though I suspect Mr Smart and his cronies would rather gouge their eyeballs out with a spoon than take any help offered by me.
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Justin,

No problem, glad to be of assistance, though I suspect Mr Smart and his cronies would rather gouge their eyeballs out with a spoon than take any help offered by me.
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What a nauseating reply, however I do stand by what I say to have to go through what you prescribe to get the thing to work is utter tosh. Drennan have a problem they should deal with it, and at c.£45 a piece we deserve better.
In effect your advice' will make any guarantee null and void, beware.
 
You would think wouldn't you that with all the engineering talent this country has that we can come up with a 2 piece telescopic handle that does the job without having a self help group to overcome the trauma.:rolleyes:

Well, might be something worth pursuing.
 
I really can't get my head round people moaning about the Drennan. The nature of it means that there is a part that will wear. If you don't look after it a bit or you treat it harshly, it'll fail more quickly. If you really want a landing net handle that is totally immune to wear, get a solid fixed length one.

I'm afraid that I see it as a bit like driving your car around and then moaning that your tyres are wearing. It really is a non-issue.
 
Neil Smart said:
You would think wouldn't you that with all the engineering talent this country has that we can come up with a 2 piece telescopic handle that does the job without having a self help group to overcome the trauma.:rolleyes:

Well, might be something worth pursuing.
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More years ago than i care to remember i had an Aluminium telescopic handle made up by a guy who used to work in the aero industry, i still use it, its dead rigid, not too heavy and its never bent/jammed/failed to lock, its made of two aluminiun tubes a locking collar and a brass locking screw, nice and simple. It really mystifies me why a tackle company can't get their act together and make something similar :rolleyes: maybe someone like Kalstan could be persuaded to do one ?
 
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