I've broke one WM. It just broke like the BnMs when I was least expecting it. It is something you do to those rods when you are not paying attention. Bang a tip or joust a tree and that little bit of trauma can be all it takes for when the next time you pull a little drag by hand to get alittle more line to tie or something, SNAP. It pops right off and you wonder what the heck went wrong or if the rods are crap. Have a buddy that bought 12 WM rods and had 3 tips break on one outing. He said they just snaped off. No severe treatment on his part. It can happen with any of them. But I will say this, I have had 3 out of 7 BnM poles break and 1 out of 3 WM poles to break. CF