Well I bought a back up rod yesterday. Same rod I had my eye on earlier the Echo DH 9136, 13"6, 9wt. Haven't tried it yet but I'm sure it will suffice as a backup. Rod is rated to chuck 600-720gr head and mine is 600gr. Guy I bought it from said he chucked a 600gr skagit head and it casted nicely.
Another quick question just for kicks. What is Echo's warranty like? On their website it says it is lifetime warrantied for the ORIGINAL owner. Are they actually going to want a sales receipt if you break it? I bought the rod for pretty cheap and didn't think there was any point in asking the guy. I've busted a few rods in the past and had to send them off...never been asked for a sales receipt.
In the future if I ever break a rod I think I'll just take care of the mailing myself. Seems you'll save yourself a few bucks this way, and if you mail it yourself with a tracking # you'll KNOW when it was mailed and when it arrived at its destination.
I'm still waiting to hear back from Redington. Hoping I don't have to go back to the store where I bought it and inquire again as that has proven to be a waste of time