I have $500 to spend on my first baitcaster and/or inflatable pfds at Basspro.

[onetime]

3 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I'm calling this statement into question.

I disagree.  Simple as that.  If you're offended, sorry.  This is a place to express opinions.  No one attacked you.  I simply disagreed with your opinion. 

No offense taken whatsoever sir, since we are expressing our opinions. If there are 10 people that have never fished before, and you hand them a $59 H2O Mettle, and a $420 MGL, and have them cast each one a few times, I'm not so sure all 10 or even 5 would say/know the MGL is the better reel. I take beginners out with me at times and can tell you, they will backlash a Mettle just as easily as an MGL. YMMV

[bigfruits]

they will backlash for sure with any reel but a better reel will be more forgiving. it doesn't take too long to learn to use a baitcaster proficiently so why not learn with the best you can afford? just my opinion.

[snake95]

On 9/14/2016 at 3:07 PM, Bassin2604 said:

So I walked out thinking that before I take the plunge (LLOOLOL) on an expensive reel combo, maybe I should subtract 150+ dollars from the equation on one or two pfd's. That is unless it would be better put towards the higher rod and reel price tier?

You are going to get many different opinions on here (thankfully) this forum includes everybody from high school kids with part time jobs to guys that can afford better bass gear than the pros.  I'll throw out my 2c into the mix.  I have fished for decades too but only got into weekly bass fishing about two years ago.  

If you are fishing in a boat or with kids (as I do) - my vote is to put the pfd first, or factor in getting one somewhere.  I'm a former lifeguard/instructor, competitive swimmer, and canoe/kayak instructor.  I can swim.  I also wear a pfd if I'm on a swift river or in a boat.  I just believe its a smart move.  I got an Onyx A/M 24-Deluxe.

[Turkey sandwich]

Seriously, Francho is spot on.  The level of forgiveness you'll get from a Chronarch/Curado/Tatula/Revo etc is MUCH different than what you'll get out of a cheap baitcaster with a cheap breaking system.  Unless you're trying to backlash, a Chronarch is about as user friendly a reel as you're going to find at any price range and you could always upgrade the bearings if you want to get into hot rodding it to perform like a $$300-$400 reel, but that's well beyond the scope of this thread.  You can easily upgrade bearings, breaking systems, not so much.