In my field of work we do alot of stress testing on various materials and we know the value at which they will yield but we never design to these maximum values because of manufacturing and user error. This same theory can be applied here, just because one rod bends like that doesnt mean the next one will....however, 90% of the time it's angler error that will break a rod... car doors, highsticking, lack of concentration on a hot fish etc.
But here are some funny stories sent in to ORVIS' rod warranty service...good for a chuckle
I was guiding this gal and her husband on the Deschutes. She was a lot younger and a lot prettier than he was and hadn’t really ever fly fished much. He told me to go and spend some time with her, and he’d go fish the run upstream. Well, within six or eight casts, she hooks a steelhead. Then, right after that, she hooks another one! That’s just amazing, and I’m thinking that this is going to be a great tip. At this point, her husband walks down, and she hooks another steelhead. This is one hot fish. It makes its run, and her husband is giving advice—do this, do that—and then it charges right at her. That fish goes right between her legs and then the rod tip goes right between her legs. Well I’ll be damned if I was gonna reach down there and grab after it. Needless to say, that rod broke.”