View Poll Results: Is buying cheap, a good option?

Voters
100. You may not vote on this poll
  • Buying cheap gear is fine - it works!

    13 13.00%
  • Buy the best quality gear you can afford

    72 72.00%
  • Top shelf (& top dollar) is what to aim for

    15 15.00%
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Thread: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

  1. #31

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Does el-cheapo do the job
    yep in some cases it certainly does
    But i have to say that extreme fishing requires extreme gear poppering for 50 lb gt`s , gamefishing for marlin and big yellowfin , 40kg yellowtail kingfish , 50kg amberjacks , these fish will make short work of anything lesser quality of a saltiga or stella or similar because of the long runs and heavy drags requires to stop them your cheapie you buy for $150.00 will not last the distance if you were fishing for these fish often .
    I am happy to be proven wrong if someone wants me to blow up a reel for them .
    I know it may sound a bit ignorant but i have had cheap and will not go back while my pocket can afford it
    Last edited by 1lastcast; 22-12-2008 at 07:38 PM. Reason: type error
    quote of the day ( guns don`t kill people fathers with pretty daughters do ) !!:wink:

  2. #32

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Quote Originally Posted by MONOSTRETCHO View Post
    Does el-cheapo do the job
    yep in some cases it certainly does
    But i have to say that extreme fishing requires extreme gear poppering for 50 lb gt`s , gamefishing for marlin and big yellowfin , 40kg yellowtail kingfish , 50kg amberjacks , these fish will make short work of anything lesser quality of a saltiga or stella or similar because of the long runs and heavy drags requires to stop them your cheapie you buy for $150.00 will not last the distance if you were fishing for these fish often .
    I am happy to be proven wrong if someone wants me to blow up a reel for them .
    I know it may sound a bit ignorant but i have had cheap and will not go back while my pocket can afford it
    Mono ....... no need to justify the need to use quality gear on those babies ....... That is why charter boats run reels like internationals , tiagras , stellas & saltigas ........ No W_nk factor there.
    Like any tackle though ...... you can catch great fish on very cheap gear - but try to continue it on a regular basis ........ CRUNCH , CRACK & BANG

    Chris

    PS ..... It IMO boils down to the application & technique used ( I still use a 10 YO ugly stick & Baitrunner 4500 for snapper fishing with floaters - - - cannot fault it would I want to use it for plastics fishing for reds ...... No way )
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  3. #33

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    How many of us chase fish that will blow away cheaper gear. I would put a TLD 25 or Penn Spinfisher 850 up against almost anything swimming around SE QLD waters.
    A lot of charter boats don't use top end stuff and their middle of the road gear goes the distance
    A Proud Member of
    "The Rebel Alliance"

  4. #34

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Quote Originally Posted by Horse View Post
    How many of us chase fish that will blow away cheaper gear. I would put a TLD 25 or Penn Spinfisher 850 up against almost anything swimming around SE QLD waters.
    A lot of charter boats don't use top end stuff and their middle of the road gear goes the distance

    Horses for courses ..... so to speak
    middle of the road gear will take all commers ( hell how many big marlin were taken on star drag game reels) .......... but you aint talking about el cheapo gear ( just cheaper).

    Maybe I've picked well ...... but every game / sportfishing charter I've been on ran
    Tiagras , Inters , Finnors down to TLDs (for the lighter work) Spinfishers were common place

    Chris
    Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
    Teach him how to fish
    & he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
    TEAM MOJIKO

  5. #35

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    I guess in a funny sort of way, the newcomer and the department store shopper is where the Manufacturers/retailers make their money, there can be a good margin in some mid range gear, but at the top end, the buyer usualy knows what he/she is buying, has surfed the net endlessly, has shopped around by phone and screwed the price down to next to no margin (in comparison to the buy price) whereas a newbie will see the name (say) Shimano and imediately see quality, and buy the elcheapo combo unit that may have (say) a 30% margin or more, but a high ticket item cannot ever attract the same mark up, same goes for bicycles as well, a Kmart crap heap has "shimano" gears, it must be good, but in reality it is the lowest end of the range, but the "mum and dad" don't see it when Christmas shopping, does that make sense? so in essence, the cheap gear will catch Fish, and good Fish at that, but it probably will not be doing so in 5 years time, it will have been dumped and replaced 3 times by then.

  6. #36

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Just to put what I just posted in perspective, a long time ago I almost bought a Tackle Shop, the guy who owned it more or less specialised in "tourist" Prawn nets and lights, packets of hooks and sinkers and so on, I quizzed him about better quality items and his reply was simple " leave that to someone else, you have a $500 reel in stock, people come in and you talk to them for 1/2 an hour and they either go elsewhere or want you to price match, leaving $30 or so profit, for that same $500 you could by a stack of cheap tackle, the Tourist comes in, hands over some cash in 5 minutes, walks away happy, and on the $500 you could clear easy $500 to $750 profit, so why would you want to stock good gear?" kind of made sense to me, especially when his shop was almost forever full of customers and employed 3 full time staff!

  7. #37

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce_Bogtrotter View Post
    I personally feel a lot of people are caught up in the marketing of the 'Name' product & spend way more than they need to just so they can be one of the 'gang' & say" i have a 4-6kg youbeaut floppycastor" too..."with matching reel" my 2cents..

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremy View Post
    Ain't that the truth.
    Jeremy
    That’s me for sure - unashamed to say so. i get sucked into the culture - marketing and branding...

    Some guys are car guys.......some guys like flash watches. .....................Whatever blows your hair back!!! ....................

    My car gets me where i want to go and my watch tells the time.

    And yes a less expensive reel relative to one i have would do a similar (more likely indistinguishable) job to the flash stuff but hey i appreciate it for what it is AND what it does.

    The engineering behind it all – the workmanship - the finish. Probably the same reason half the car buffs like their cars.


    Do i need a reel that weighs 20 grams less than the cheaper model? -No way...i don’t even fish that often

    do those guys need HSV 317kw utes with 20inch rims.....or rolex’s....

    yep there is definite fashion scene there...

    “my mates are gonna think this is awesome” ..................just like a young lady i know with her handbags and shoes or a bloke i know with his KTM

    but does the guy at the HSV dealership say "you’re just buying this so you can brag to your mates...."
    who cares if he is only buying it coz he thinks brockey used to have one...

    the bloke at the rolex agency doesn’t say “You’re only buying this because of the brand name.....” no sh!t Sherlock that’s why I’m here.

    Fortunately we all have a choice... to buy whatever we want for whatever reason we want.

    Jim

    p.s Great read so far ..... mery xmas everyone i hope santa brings you whatever you have asked for be it flash or el cheapo

  8. #38

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Real Life Example:

    My mate is giving me the task of recommending a beach fishing outfit for him to buy but he reckons his budget is only $150 bucks.

    I also want to buy myself (and my wife) a set up. My budget would be $500 for both.

    So, for my mate do I hit K-mart and get him an el-cheapo, ready made combo for $150 that might or might not do the job or do I see if I can find 'the best quality he can afford"?

    I'll go for option two:
    I am going to recommend to him a Silstar Crystal Powertip 10' 6-10kg 2-pce rod for $82.00 from Mo Tackle matched to a PENN Captiva spinning reel for $75 also from Mo, so that equals $157 which I'm sure he can afford (yeh, I know...and the line etc etc so all up including terminals it'll push closer to $200) He can handle it!

    ME: The best I can afford for my budget would be something like...
    Silstar Crystal Blue Powertip 10' 6-10kg for $155 matched to a PENN Slammer for $169 (from Mo)

    My wife can have the $82 model, like my mate's - matched up to a PENN 6500 Spin Fisher for a great 'on sale' price of $99 (too good..!)

    So the "best we can afford" total for two set-ups would come to $505 (five bucks over budget). Plus another incidental hundred bucks or so for the line terminals.

    So that's an example of buying the best you can afford. I could find cheaper but I most likely wouldn't be satisfied with the quality. At least the gear described above has a reasonable reputation plus there'd be a better warranty buying from a reputable tackle store like Mo!

    Of course - re: top shelf gear - it would more then easy to spend $1000+ on a single beach fishing outfit if elite gear was what you were after.

    Again, it depends on the purpose of why you are buying and the intended usage, as well as $$$.
    Last edited by PNG1M; 23-12-2008 at 02:56 PM. Reason: typo...
    "...a voice in my head keeps telling me to go fishing..."

  9. #39

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    A penn spinfisher when they were a new model years ago was one of the best spinning reels going it is only since the refinement of tackle in the form of stella`s and saltigas over the years that they became middle road gear and imo are still ok .

    Remember the tss4 was also top shelf gear but even a cheapie these days seem to feel better than those cement mixers , so i guess the middle range gear is a lot better quality than years ago and value for $$$ is a lot better too .

    but as we start tackling bigger fish on spin gear marlin ,dogtooth ,gt`s ,aj`s and the like we need those top end spin reels to get the job done !! BECAUSE YEARS AGO YOU WOULD HAVE NEEDED A QUALITY OVERHEAD TO TACKLE THEM !
    quote of the day ( guns don`t kill people fathers with pretty daughters do ) !!:wink:

  10. #40

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    A picture can say a thousand words on a thousand dollar reel.

    I'm still waiting for a mate to send me a picture of a stella with a bent reel foot.
    Should have it soon to load up for viewing.

  11. #41

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Crikey spearsy,
    Is that photo of one of these things here below? The price of this one is $1150.00 it's close to the top end of top end of spinning reels. Surprising it busted like that - what does the add say about 'unyielding strength'. Oh well..just goes to show!

    (Geeze, sorry I can't get the darn photo to paste in. At least the blurb is there - or if you click it you might get a pop up)


    Van Staal
    VS Series

    You won't find weak die-cast aluminum or plastic in these reels. Van Staal premium spinning reels are expertly crafted from high-grade titanium and steel, the same materials used to build today's advanced aircraft. And this means unyielding strength and consistent peak performance each and every time you tackle the mighty ocean.The patented maintenance-free drag system features stainless steel ball bearings and an impenetrable gear case. The reel is sealed and water-tight to keep salt, sand and problems out, letting you fight the biggest fish in the harshest elements with no worries.
    Experienced anglers know the challenge isn't hooking big fish, it's landing them. Enter the hardened stainless steel Main Gear, oversized so it will never slip or strip under pressure, providing you more fish-fighting torque per crank of the handle.
    Last edited by PNG1M; 23-12-2008 at 05:14 PM. Reason: technical hiccups...
    "...a voice in my head keeps telling me to go fishing..."

  12. #42

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Never confuse advertising hype with reality

  13. #43

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    PNG1M...they now have had to re design the reel to stop that happening any more.
    And a diawa

  14. #44

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Yep pictures can also be decieving without the story behind them the van staal is clearly misuse i would bet it has been dropped as where it is broken of would be the strongest part of the reel seat thats not from the reel being fished , the saltiga z30 i think it is with the side plate damage is also clearly from being dropped absolutely no pressure ever on that part of the reel when fishing , and the spool on the other z30 i think it is anyway who knows also not broken in a place where pressure would normaly be loaded i would think that the pressure would be a forward force on the centre of the spool not on the sides .

    no reel is covered for the owner being a useless twit and dropping it .

    no threadline reel is unbreakable and a locked up drag with your hand on the spool with 130lb braid ,something has to give doesn`t it normaly its the line though

    to post pics like that to try to make the reel look bad is not very clever ausfishers are not that dumb mate
    quote of the day ( guns don`t kill people fathers with pretty daughters do ) !!:wink:

  15. #45

    Re: Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Hi,
    I think there's so many deciding factors when it comes to buying gear.

    Rods are definately all about feel. And every one is different when it comes to what they prefer.
    A $25 rod can feel better than a $300 rod depending on the type of fishing you are going to do, and what you're rigged up to catch.

    In the 70's BMW couldn't sell cars in Australia, no one was interested.
    They put the price up alot, and sales went through the roof.

    With 8000 customers I can clearly say most people buy for the bling factor, 50% will buy on price, 20% will buy for fuction, 30% will only feel like they have done the right thing if they paid a high price tag.

    As far as what's involved in the engineering and the cost difference between making a $1000 reel and a $50 reel it's no where near that much of a cost difference.

    It's all about ##### size, Some young gun with a 5 min stamina buys a $1000 reel and a red Ferrari.
    The guy with a nagging wife and 3 kids buys a $150 reel and a commodore wagon, he use to buy $1000 reels and red sportscars, but now he has matured, and become a little bit wiser.

    Fact ( fishing gear with red sells better than any other colour to young guns)
    Fact ( Darker less obvious colours sell more to guys in their 40's +)

    So Does el-cheapo do the job..?

    Ans: If you have a small willy it doesn't
    If you have a big willy with a proven track record for success it does.

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