Paying Extra For Quality Equipment

[Pete-K]

A large portion of the fun for me is collecting gear. When it comes to rods & reels I expect to

keep them forever. 

 

 

 

That junk you call rods? Man give me a break, Moved one of your rods when we were fishing and almost passed out. Man the feel of that Rod and no weight. I almost thought kick the man overboard and keep his tackle.  I used to have all the best rods and reels back in the late 1980's. I'm taking about then rods were $200. each and reels were around that. Now I fish with what ever and thought I was happy. Until that one touch with the Rod of all rods..

I can see a rod build coming soon.

Pete

[Jon G]

I love quality gear. My philosophy is quality over quantity. Sure you can get by with $50 combos but they will not last as long as quality gear. There is a reason some gear is more expensive than other. It's because it last longer.

[Angry John]

John, two theories regarding fishing equipment.

 

1.  Purchase the highest quality you can afford.

2.  Purchase the lowest quality that will handle how you fish.

 

I like the first theory as I want to use the best equipment I can afford.

 

My ex-fishing partner (got married and moved to Ohio) used junk. His philosophy was that when a rod or reel broke just throw it away and get another $20 reel and a $30 rod.

 

With this in mind, my friend could catch a bass in a bathtub half full of water with the "cheap" equipment. It was amazing to watch him fish with reel brands I had never hear of and see him rig his inexpensive rods knowing that he was going to catch something sooner or later.

 

So which philosophy do you subscribe?

I like to find deals on the best stuff i can find.  I own 2 steez reels right now and a few quality sticks.  My favorite is my st croix legend, but i also have some dobyns dx rods.  I would say i fit best in the second group, but finding my steez flexlight for half price got me really excited.  I love high end gear but i have yet to go all out with megabass or evergreen.  I would love an orange monoblock !!!!

[GANGGREEN]

There's a point of diminishing returns for any product, fishing related or otherwise.  That point is determined by two things, the financial ability of the buyer to pay a lot more for a small improvement in quality and the absolute value/quality of the product being offered.  Technology has advanced us light years and good to great products should be less expensive to produce to a large degree, although all manufacturers have to deal with the reality of inflation and increasing costs of limited natural resources to some degree. 

 

Personally, while I see the value of purchasing better/more expensive gear and while I happen to be at the stage of my life where I have some expendable income, I'd surely like to see the prices start to go the other way (in other words, come down in price).  I suspect that I'm like many on this board who believe that once you get to the $100 level or so for a rod or a reel, that the quality continues to go up as the price increases but probably more slowly than it did from $30 to $100.  I tend to purchase $80 spinning reels, $100 casting reels and $100 rods, though I have a few more expensive items.  Same for everything else, a $50 net is more than enough, a $600 electronics unit does fine for me, etc..

 

I would also add that most of us almost never find ourselves in the situation where we truly need a new rod, reel, lure, etc. and because of that, I'm inclined to purchase only when I find a deal.  I'm not sure when I last purchased a rod or reel at retail price.  Since I don't NEED one, why not wait until I see a smashing deal somewhere and get that $150 rod or reel for $80 (which I just did times 4 on some Abu and Fenwick products)?