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.

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 !!!!

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)?