I fished some lower end rods for a couple of years, I had alot of wrist issues after a full day of fishing. A friend let me use a couple of Dobyns rods for a few days, Not the most expensive either. As soon as I put them to use i Immediately felt more things down there.It is amazing the bites I was feeling now compared to before. I started feeling the bottom contours, rocks, brush better. It was like someone amplified the feel, with a better rod came Balance which completely solved my sore wrist issues. There is a reason they are higher,better components, better blanks and in most cases better everything.The outcome outweighs the cost in time.Take it slow, buy as good a rod as you can afford more so than as many as you can afford. You will become a better angler with more feel and more hook ups than you are currently. I have several Dobyns if your ever around Paris and want to try some out.At some point in the year Ill be on Palestine, Id be glad to take you out and let you throw some of mine.If you have any further questions, feel free to message me

A buddy of mine used to think the same thing till he used one of my rods. After fishing with it for a while he said "man I can feel everything down there with this rod". I said "Yep, that is exactly why I use them".

I've been pretty happy with my Powell. They go on sale a lot too. I got my 683-CEF on sale for $111.99, tax and shipping. Powell makes a nice rod, they have 3 big series now, and they have technique specific rods in each series. I believe Gary Dobyns worked on the Max and Endurance series designs as well.

The only downside is that not many retailers carry them.

Here's the Tackle Tour review of one of the Max rods. I don't know if they're bias or not. They seem to praise every rod Powell makes.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewpowell683cxfast.html

I can't spend a lot on rods, so I have a lot of different brands that were on sale at some time.

Oh yeah, a well balanced, strong, light rod makes me feel like a samurai.

If there is a difference I guess I just haven't paid enough to find out. At one point I had nothing but Abu Garcia Vendetta's ($79) in the boat. I upgraded to a Falcon Bucco ($129) during rod riot and the only difference that I noticed is that a MH Falcon is CONSIDERABLY softer (meaning less stiff) than the MH Vendetta. Now the Falcon only comes out if I am throwing something weightless or Sandbass fishing. I went to rod riot today to try a Falcon Bucoo in Heavy but just didn't see the sense in it. My Vendetta's work great. For me to pay $250-$350 for a rod I better be able to feel the fishing just thinking about biting my lure!!

I have really good service from rods under $200.
Bass Pro Carbonlight rod and reel combos can't be beat for the money.I own 5 of them.I have a KVD Tour 7'10 cranking rod that's AMAZING($129). My favorite my to catch bass is with soft plastic baits so I spent a little more and got a 7' MH Falcon Cara T7.It cost about $170...But I would love to compare it to a $350 Dobyns.
I went with mid-grade rods & reels after losing a couple of high-end combos.

The biggest difference is when your buying 10 or 20 at a time I can buy a lot more Powell rods at $139 than I can Kistler or Dobyns at $300+.

Itthis is an excellent question and the answer is totally subjective, IMO. I buy $150 - $200 rods when they are on sale. I am very pleased with my Falcon & St. Croix sticks.

My biggest criteria is that it not be made in China. Most all of the "big" name rods are made in China. I got rid of all of mine and now use mostly Falcon. The Boocoo is a great rod in that under 200 price point and it is made in the USA!!!

Power Tackle is made in the good old U.S.A.and they can't be beat.

In my opinion you get what you pay for most of the time. That being said I think dobyns rods are the best. And they start at $149, not $300. Also, gotta consider customer service and warranty. Dobyns is excellent in both areas.

Picked up 2 more Carrot Stix Wilds last night from Academy in Burleson, they must be good rods because there was not many to choose from. That gives me 6 now and I love the sensitivity these rods have.

$300 and above and then you see the difference

I grew up coast fishing and had nothing but Ugly sticks so when I started bass fishing that's what I used and once I got some nice rods, I could immediately tell the differences for all of the reasons listed in other replies. To me the 2 biggest differences were the weight and the sensitivity. As I tell my brother in law...i can feel a perch fart on my Skeleton rods.

The only rods I own that are around under 100$ are my bps cranking sticks. All my jig,worm,swimbait,flipping.etc are all Ross between 160-250. I use the more expensive rods in this ranger because of light weight an sensitivity.