I agree, Kevin. An expensive or a brand name type rod does not mean that it is a good casting rod and the same for a cheap rod. Bad rods can happen at high end, medium end, or low end of the price range. The same can be said for good rods of the price range. If possible it is always a good idea to try a rod out before buying. Sometimes this is not possible so the best defense against getting a bad rod that I know of is to do some consumer buying research on rods or maybe trying one that a friend or acquaintance has. Word of mouth is not always a good thing since even though a particular rod may be good for a lot of folks, a rod is still not a "one size fits all" type of product.