ARE some people this absolutly freakin crazy to pay this much for a spiing reel. They say oh they will last a long time and i dont have to buy 8 at a time. SO yo u buy one and switch it out from rod to rod depending on what you are throwing. MY cheapos last me at least 8 years apeice

the price of rods and reels is crazy, i have a source for rods, but reels, i'm just glad i still like my little 4500 and 4600 abu's @ 55-79$

If you want to see some crazy expensive reels just google Van Staal. my uncle owns one of the spinning reels and it is amazing. But I sure couldn't afford its price tag. (He got a bunch of gift certificates so he could buy his)

Yes i noticed some very pricey fishing gear even in the carbelas& pro base cataloges they sent me

But $50 etc sounds reasonable for a reel that will or should last many yrs.

After casting a few times with a van staal and then throwing a penn spinning reel you can really tell a difference. Basically the extra 400 bucks gets you an unmatched smoothness as well as a lifetime warranty. (He bought his about 7-8 years ago and it still fishes like the same reel straight out of the package) My biggest problem would be what happens when a big fish yanks the rod out of your hands or somebody walks off with your pole... man that would be depressing (more than usual)

Those Van staals do sound like real nice reels- personaly like the high end binos& very expensive knifes etc out there - id be to afarid to use it& losing it etc too.