Does cost=quality? fishing reels

The first time I looked at all the shiny reels in the case at Troutfitters two things caught my attention. The quality of these reels seemed to be much higher than the $25 one I had previously purchased. I took a few out to play with and immediately was impressed with how smooth they spun. The perfect clicks they made sounded like precision. I was so amazed at the difference in visual quality I hardly noticed what the employee was saying about sealed drag systems and durability. The next thing I noticed was the price. $300 for a reel! That’s ridiculous, who would pay that much. Well as it turns out two years later, I did. I purchased a Ross evolution lt to pair with my Winston boron IIt. The difference the reel makes was immediately noticeable not in the ability to catch fish, but in the balance of the rod. I noticed it felt better in my hand; the whole thing seemed to be lighter and hardly felt like I was holding anything. I didn't plan to use this reel for catching huge 20lb salmon or anything, just the average 10-16 inch trout in some of the small rivers and streams in Montana. While in California over the summer I had the opportunity to try to catch some salmon. For this I purchased a new setup from Cabelas. The reel cost about $80. With this reel and its non-sealed drag system I managed to hook 9 salmon ranging from about 10-20lbs. I didn't land a single one not because I wasn't using a $300 reel with a more powerful waterproof drag system, but because even on this reel the drag system was stronger than the line I was using. With the drag fully engaged the fish would simply snap the line. Over the days of salmon fishing I managed to hold a king on the line for about an hour and the reel survived flowing down rapids being completely submerged and much more abuse than I imagined I would put it through. In the end I did not even clean it and it still worked perfectly. Recently I found a company that has the benefits of a $300 reel but costs only $150. I immediately jumped on this deal and found myself with a new Allen Trout II reel. Immediately I noticed a weight difference between it and the Ross, however, it balanced the rod perfectly so the lighter reel would have been worse in this case. After a few months of fishing all I can conclude is that it preforms just as well as the $300 reel for half the price! It still has the flashy color options, lifetime warranty, and fully sealed drag system. The difference is in the reputation. Allen is a small company trying to build its name while Ross is in nearly every fly shop. So when it comes to buying a new reel, price has little to do with quality. Many of today’s reels have tons of excess stopping power which you will never use. There are so many reel options out there today it is easy to find an affordable reel that will balance your rod and perform well for the rest of your life. They may not be in the fly shops around town, but someday they will be. The choice is yours, either wait for them, buy them online, or spend around double the price for similar quality.