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There's also something to be said for spending what you have to for quality gear that will stand up to beatings.
How many people resist spending $800 for a VS, Saltiga, or ZB, and instead spend $150 on a reel, and burn out the gears after 2-3 seasons? In 10 years you'll spend more than you would have spent by buying the quality reel once.
I tried all last winter to convince my fishing partner to just bite the bullet, and buy a Saltiga for Canal jigging and plugging. He was switching to spinning after 40 years of jigging with conventionals, the last 30 almost exclusively Newells--which he'd also burn out regularly. He went for the $150 Emblem Pro instead, and after 100+ nights of jigging, and 30 mornings throwing 2-3 oz plugs, the gears are already going, and he has another month of fishing ahead of him.
Now he's thinking of replacing it with a Saltist over the winter, so he's already almost halfway to the price of a Saltiga, and no guarantee that the Saltist won't burn up in 2 seasons, after which it'll be another deuce to replace it.
On the other hand, both of us bought the $240 Mojo 10-1/2 footer from St Croix instead of the $450 Legend, and both of us couldn't be more pleased with the Mojo's performance. It was a much better value for the dollar--so the most expensive also isn't necessarily always the best way to spend your money, if you're getting good value for the dollar.
Reels break and wear faster than rods. You can get great service out of a $100 Tica or Tsunami rod. But well built reels with quality metal critical components give you more for the dollar than reels with cast white metal gears.
There's spending money foolishly, and spending it wisely. Spending big money on a bag that's going to sit on the rocks, or stay slung over your shoulder while you're standing in the wash or along the shore of a bay, isn't spending it wisely IMO. Spending it on a bag that will remain tightly closed while you swim to a rock or skish, and has stitching that will stand up to salt water, and materials that won't tear on rocks, is spending it wisely.
If you fish 20 times a year, and toss plugs from the shore or from gentle surf, all you need is the $100 reel. Even if your reels don't go swimming, if you fish 100 nights a year and routinely crank 3, 4 and 5 oz lead against a 4 knot current, that $100 reel isn't long for the world.
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