Free: Contests & Raffles.
I'm the same way. I have one high $$ Loomis rod that my wife had built by Gary Loomis himself but to be honest, my cheap Okuma rods have been every bit as good, plus I don't worry so much about breaking or losing them. Even when I was a tournament bass fisherman I only had one custom rod that I had specially built but everything else was economical Shimano or Ugly Stick rods. I would rather spend the money on other gear then have a bunch tied up into a couple of rods. I'll give a cheap rod that looks like it is well built a shot, if it works great,if not I'm not out a ton of $$.
Say kufa backwards and thats what you'll be saying about them.