Spent $200 on a fish tape that snapped on the second pull

Ngl, I got burned hard last month. Bought this fancy fiberglass fish tape from a supply house, thought it would last forever. First job with it, I was pulling a bundle of Cat6 through a 40-foot conduit in a new office building downtown. Second pull on a tight 90-degree bend, the core just snapped inside the jacket. Cost me $200 and then another $60 for a cheap steel one from Home Depot that actually worked. Has anyone else had bad luck with those composite fish tapes or did I just get a lemon?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelac6325d ago

@burns.ruby nails it with the flimsy comment - did you try fighting for a warranty claim or just eat that $200 loss? Curious if the supply house even cared when you brought it back.

burns.ruby26d ago

Wait, it snapped on the SECOND pull? Not like the 20th or 30th time, but number two? That's brutal, man. I would've been so mad I'd probably have thrown the whole thing in the trash right there on the job site. I've used a few of those composite tapes before and they always felt kind of flimsy to me, like they're trying too hard to be fancy. Sounds like you got a real dud, but honestly I'd rather just stick with the cheap steel ones and avoid that heartbreak.

dakota_singh3925d ago

That supply house ain't gonna do squat for a tape that snapped. They'll blame it on user error or say you bent it wrong. Best move is to take the hook off the broken end, file the edges smooth, and just live with a shorter tape. I've got a 25-footer in my truck that's now a 22-footer from that exact fix. Still works fine for most jobs.