I have had the same experience with Fenwick and 2Brothers. I have a Genesis 7 ft med light from 2B’s that failed. Ran into the same rigmarole about most likely not defective, buy a rod tube and have it shipped to me. Tube never showed up so I drove up to their small facility in Bemidji and dropped off the broken rod. 2 weeks later I received a new rod, no explanation.
2Brothers is pretty small specialty operation. Fenwick is part of a much larger group of brands and much easier to work with. I got a new Fenwick under a lifetime warranty after a 20 year old Fenwick had a spiral fracture!
I love both rods. Bought the Genesis at $200 after having a good experience with an Elliot ice fishing rod. I compared it to the Elliot and for the hundred some dollar greater price tag on the Elliot I chose to try the Genesis instead. Excellent rod for the money.
Now based on my experiences, if I was going to spend over $200 on a rod again, I’d buy a Fenwick. They still offer a limited lifetime warranty on their upper models.