Your best cheap gear....

[robtherake]

Reading an old thread, a post by Budgie caught my eye (ouch!). The gist being that some rods sold at bargain prices are actually built up using much more expensive blanks and are considerably more capable than their modest price would indicate.

 

Wondering aloud about this in a local tackle shop I got an astounding response from the owner, who swore blind that a recent(ish) Leeda float rod was really a Carbonactive blank with Leeda decals, discounted to a measly forty quid! The story went that, faced with a shortage of their own blanks, Leeda simply bought the Preston blanks and carried on regardless. Apparently, he sold out his allocation in a single afternoon once word got out, with people almost coming to blows over the last few.

 

So lets hear about those bits of kit. Not just the obvious "wolves in sheep's clothing", and not only rods, but gear you've bought over the years with a performance and/or longevity far exceeding what the retail price would suggest.

[Anderoo]

I'd have to nominate my old Shakespeare Cypry Dome bivvy. It was very cheap and never seemed very sturdy (certainly not like a pramhood design), but it served me well for about 10 years without ever leaking or breaking. A massive electrical storm finally finished it off a few years ago and I was sad to see it go - it was also very light and packed down into a tiny bag. Brilliant.

[wotnobivvy]

Wondering aloud about this in a local tackle shop I got an astounding response from the owner, who swore blind that a recent(ish) Leeda float rod was really a Carbonactive blank with Leeda decals, discounted to a measly forty quid! The story went that, faced with a shortage of their own blanks, Leeda simply bought the Preston blanks and carried on regardless. Apparently, he sold out his allocation in a single afternoon once word got out, with people almost coming to blows over the last few.

 

Either that was a good bargain, or an example of good marketing to shift a lot of stock

[AddictedToScopex]

So far the best cheap product I have bought has been isotopes for night fishing. I got them from amazon after a post by Chris Plumb (pretty sure it was anyway) and they have been nothing short of great and saved me an absolute fortune. I am pretty sure I got 50 red ones for about £11 which compared to tackle shop prices (80p-£1.20 per pair) is very cheap and they can be gotten even cheaper now. They lasted for a full night in the summer and made a nice change from green ones.

[Dave H]

I'd have to nominate my old Shakespeare Cypry Dome bivvy. It was very cheap and never seemed very sturdy (certainly not like a pramhood design), but it served me well for about 10 years without ever leaking or breaking. A massive electrical storm finally finished it off a few years ago and I was sad to see it go - it was also very light and packed down into a tiny bag. Brilliant.

 

Ditto...

My shakespeare dome too served me well so much so i bought the R3 this year however it is quite big but then the wife comes in the summer quite a bit so it's perfect. It is even better now then when the first one came out. If you want a 2 man forget the £300/£400 domes get this one...Picked it up for £99.

 

However if you are winter fishing overnight i would get a pramhood design for several reasons

 

The other is a set of Belstaff trousers. The were quite expensive when i bought them in 1974 but they are still going now and they are totally waterproof and warm. That's 27 years !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I really think that rods are totally over hyped for what we use them for in this country. A wychwood Rogue 2lb TC costs you £50 and some others cost you up to £300 just plain stupid . The mark up on that rod must be well into treble figures..

[Bartman]

Ditto...

My shakespeare dome too served me well so much so i bought the R3 this year however it is quite big but then the wife comes in the summer quite a bit so it's perfect. It is even better now then when the first one came out. If you want a 2 man forget the £300/£400 domes get this one...Picked it up for £99.

 

However if you are winter fishing overnight i would get a pramhood design for several reasons

 

The other is a set of Belstaff trousers. The were quite expensive when i bought them in 1974 but they are still going now and they are totally waterproof and warm. That's 27 years !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I really think that rods are totally over hyped for what we use them for in this country. A wychwood Rogue 2lb TC costs you £50 and some others cost you up to £300 just plain stupid . The mark up on that rod must be well into treble figures..

 

Another vote for the trusty ol' Cypry Domes, never had one leak on me.

 

Also, the much aligned TFG brand which gave me the'River and Stream' rod on offer for £50. What little gems they are.

 

And finally the Wychwood Specimen Barbel rods ( The ones before the Rogues ). Lovely rods at £49.99 a pop !

[BoldBear]

I think that one of my better cheap buys was a 'Mitchell' float rod which I bought for £15 at a tackle show at Thorpe Park a few years ago.

 

It was designed for Tench, Bream and commercial Carp and I bought it for the wife but also used it myself a few times when trotting for barbel and it's actually quite a good rod.

 

The £15 'Mitchell' float rod with a small Barbel caught on it

Edited March 16, 2012 by BoldBear

[Sportsman]

A cheap second hand liquidiser / blender.

A fiver off the bay and saved me a fortune in buying groundbait.

[Phone]

All,

 

While "source material" is very secret in can be sussed out.

 

For the last 30 years (ish) I've had the good fortune to be able to stop by the major manufacturers "outlet shops". Sometimes the situation rob describes is true. For example, the last 3 or 4 thousand yards of line off the main spool are never packaged for the retail market. Often just to maintain production and keep employees working "substantially equivalent" components are used. I've never seen a manufacturer "step down" in quality when doing this.

 

The other "thing" I look for is manufacturer's defects. I bought 25 Berkley rods valued at $100 ea for $7.00 ea. and used them for prizes as several "kids fishins". The label on the rods had been put on in the wrong direction. Instead of reading from butt to tip they read from tip to butt. THATS ALL that was defective.

 

While I didn't keep any that may have been the "best buy" I ever made (other than the freebies).

 

What Wotnob says is also true and you have to be astute. It is a "buyer beware" situation and sometimes you will have to take risks. (Like the landing net I bought that was made of pva string).

 

Phone

[BoldBear]

(Like the landing net I bought that was made of pva string).

That almost made me spill my tea LOL...