lets see if I can shed some light on why I use Loomis. First of all, people say they can't justify spending $300. for a rod. Well, how do you justify spending $100 on junk? Here's an example. I took a fried fishing the other day and let him use my rods, which were all loomis. HE was using my spinning outfit because he felt more comfortable using spin gear. He asked how much I paid for the rod. I told him 240 minus the reel. He said he could never spend that much on a rod. The following week we went fishing again. This time he brought his own rod. It was a combo from Bass Pro. I kept catching fish and he complained of not getting any hits. I gave him on of my lomis' and he started feeling the hits. So yes, there is a big difference in feel. That's just one example and there's plenty more. It's not that you need to justify in buying it. It's how do you justify in NOT buying it.