>>2006138Most of those are "Don't Bother" tier.
Cheapest crap thing you should buy would be a Dock Demon (get the spinning reel version), but that gets you a crap reel and a short crap rod (can't cast as far or as precisely) with crap spine and crap sensitivity.
Next tier up is the Pflueger Trion or Shimano Sierra on a Eagle Claw Crafted Glass or Diamond Graphite rod. This is a $30 reel sold separately from a $20 rod, and gets you a lower quality reel with an acceptable quality drag and a rod that's not complete garbage, but isn't really the kind of rod you want to chase delicate bites or big fish with, because it's got a whippy tip and a soft backbone, which means that it doesn't do the best job transmitting the feel of the strike to your hand, but makes a great rod to keep behind the seat of a regular cab pickup to chase dink bass after work or toss bobbers at panfish to grab a fresh fish dinner after work.
The tier beyond that is things like the Cadence Amazon rods or no-name graphite rods, which are made with real rod features, but not real rod QC or quality, so you might get a good one and have it act like it's a decent rod but it'd be better to save a little more for something nicer, or buy name brand fiberglass or fiberglass/carbon composite rods, like the Ugly Stick or the Shimano Sojourn (get the Sojourn). You can put the same kind of cheap reels on these as the other units, but get something nicer, like a Catana, or two steps nicer like a Sedona or President.
Then you get into the decent graphite rods or specialty fiberglass poles, like the Quantum QX36. These are rods that have most of the good features, and are good quality materials, but check for assembly problems. I don't like to buy these online, because I want to check the spine of the rod before I buy it, if the spine and the eyelets are properly aligned and there's no defects in the construction, they are great. A QX36 with a Sedona is a better combo than most fishermen own.
