I have bought and used $200-$300 rods, very nice, feel great and if/when I step on them or somehow break them
or lose them overboard I feel very very bad.

I have purchased $30-$75 rods and generally speaking, I would be better off chopping off a limb and wrapping a line around
the end, BUT, when I broke them or lost them, I only felt marginally bad.

What I have decided is I have to balance quality vs. value. I am (obviously) pretty hard on my rods, so for the amount of cost
$79 and quality of feel, I land on the Abu Garcia Vendetta.

(yea, yea, yea - stop stomping on your rods you dumbarse :):))

Just a suggestion: I hear you on the breakage. In the early 90's I was a Master for a short while & started visiting the local flea markets for equipment for the customers on my charters. I have bought a 30 gallon drum full of Ugly Sticks (saltwater - what I was doing at the time) for $25 - and all manner of custom rods for $10 on the head (Crowder, you name it). I have some painful experiences as well so can weed out bad ones - it's amazing what you can buy though, at a fraction of the cost. Perhaps this route may lesson the pain for you as well.

The old castaway rods were pretty jam up

Exactly, the best fishing rod is the one you like best. There are many brands that are good, you just have to find the one you like best.

I have a few brands including A couple g loomed glx
But I prefer my falcon cara rods - great feel - just bought a new style low rider for
C rig- like em all!

Yup!

If you get ones with warranty, at least it won't cost you too much. I have some Dobyns I bought used at 1/2 off new and can replace for like $70 even though I'm not original purchaser. I've broken a couple and had no issues getting a replacement.

I stuck on the GLX and NRX rods they are hard to beat with a stradic or core on top of it.