You only get what you pay for - who sez!

[Bartnmax]

Time & again I've read threads where someone says "you only get what you pay for" as a veiled substitute for "you need to spend a heap of money to get good gear".
I strongly disagree. Generally yes, spend ya money & you'll usually get better quality - but not always.
Here's a couple of examples;
1. Bought a Shimano Tiagra 50 + 37kg Pack Bay fully rollered rod for game fishing. Cost $420 complete with 5 never used black magic 150lb wind ons.
2. Had TWO Penn Intenational 30s given to me for nix.
3. Recently bought a Shimano CI4 2500 - price - $120.
4. I've been using 4 overheads on snapper for the past 10+ years & not one of those reels has come anywhere close to malfunctioning for me, despite catching a heap of decent sized reds. Absolute perfect performance for each one for over 10 years now. The reels? Shakespear Tidewater 15s with 8kg berkly mono on board. Bought the lot for under $100 brand new.

Yeah, sometimes you just fall into a bargain.

On the other hand I've got a mate whom is part owner of a charter biz in Vanuato. They catch a lot of big wahoo over there that can absolutely destroy sus gear. He had 5 Shimano Stella 20,000s, that cost him an absolute packet, s _ _ t themselves bigtime within a 12 month period. Shimano just said "user abuse' & didn't want to know because it was a charter biz, which I know it wasn't abuse coz I was there when a couple of em bit the dust. Drastic gear failures all when faced with the big wahoo. Last one I watched him pitch overboard in absolute disgust. He now only uses Diawa Saltigas which have performed faultlessly for him since.

So, generally yeah, I agree you do need to be willing to spend a bit to get the best quality, but deep pockets also aren't any bomb-proof guarantee of quality either, and there's nothing that sez a bargain must automatically be rubbish.

Bill.

[Nude up]

Thanks for that I am a shimano man normaly but last year I got talked into buying a saltiga and its great iwas going to buy a saragosa but glad I got talked out of it only thing was I had to change the handle it felt terrible bought a big round aluminium knob from mikes reels in canada for 30 $ easy to fit and feels much better

[frozenpod]

Tiagra and Ci4 would be regarded by most as very fine reels, still there may be some out there who think $120 for a reel is a lot of money.

I don't think you can compare second hand bargins vs getting what you pay for as a general statement.

I think you will find the sentiment is avoid buying very cheap rubbish that is built with one goal in mind price.

For example I have a reel here from a mate that he wanted repaired. Used once, handle rusted to the point of being frozen, drag is poor notchy plastic drag washers and the bearings on the main shaft are badly rusted. The reel had no lubrication or grease and very little to prevent water intrusion. The reel has a heap of bearings looks good on paper and was probably smooth before use but they are all stuffed.
This reel costs less than the braid it was spooled with and IMO is nothing short of complete rubbish.

On the flip side I have a reel that was purchased from Kmart, cheap and basic but has proven to be reasonable quality, cost was $35. It has no breaings just bushes, fiber drag washers and I wouldn't rave about it weight smoothness or performance.

But 3 years on and plenty of fish later it still works. I pulled it down the other week and found it was well lubed and no signs of excessive wear. $35 well spent.

[Redgum]

Tiagra and Ci4 would be regarded by most as very fine reels, still there may be some out there who think $120 for a reel is a lot of money.

I don't think you can compare second hand bargins vs getting what you pay for as a general statement.

I think you will find the sentiment is avoid buying very cheap rubbish that is built with one goal in mind price.

For example I have a reel here from a mate that he wanted repaired. Used once, handle rusted to the point of being frozen, drag is poor notchy plastic drag washers and the bearings on the main shaft are badly rusted. The reel had no lubrication or grease and very little to prevent water intrusion. The reel has a heap of bearings looks good on paper and was probably smooth before use but they are all stuffed.
This reel costs less than the braid it was spooled with and IMO is nothing short of complete rubbish.

On the flip side I have a reel that was purchased from Kmart, cheap and basic but has proven to be reasonable quality, cost was $35. It has no breaings just bushes, fiber drag washers and I wouldn't rave about it weight smoothness or performance.

But 3 years on and plenty of fish later it still works. I pulled it down the other week and found it was well lubed and no signs of excessive wear. $35 well spent.

Good post Frozenpond well put