I had some stuff from brodex, and at the time I had no problem with the gear or the service.
I just sold half of my 3yr old 24ft fiber glass pole for £20.
Still got 2 24ft and a 30ft on top of the shed roof. If I trip over the right person I will flog those as well.
The gear they had was good at the time, it is not their fault that the competition got seriously good all of a sudden.
These suppliers are in a land rush for some serious market. They need to be progressive. Brodex have been in the market for a long time, and they have supplied a lot of kit to a lot of people. It may be that the poles they supplied are now looking inferior in the face of some stiff competition, but to say that the poles are rubbish would be wrong on several levels.
1: The poles have generated cash repeatedly for hundreds, possibly thousands of people.
2: there are probably two more reasons, but I cant be bothered to think of them....

Just a tired rant really.
p.s I now live and shop in cornwall.