i'm not saying that i try to save a few bucks fishing with shakespere. i can afford the top dollar stuff. actually, the only shakespere i have at the time is a tiger rod which i use as a 20 lb class tuna rod.
it's a great light liner because of the soft tip. i think the most i have paid for a fishing rod is $80. i fish with alot of bass pro rods. they are put together very well and use quality components. i have never fished with the loomis rods and i am not knocking them. i just have confidence in the stuff i use because i have never had it fail on me. knock on wood. i even have an old abu garcia colon 7ft spinning rod that i have used for fresh and saltwater for over 15 years. it is tired and i now have better gear, but i wouldn't hesitate to use it as a back up. also to ask the guy who posted the quote about how if you take care of your fishing rod it shouldn't break and then goes to say that you can expect a shakespere to break so thats why maybe no one complains when they do? well, i know for a fact that there are more shakespere rods out there than loomis rods. most people i see fishing are weekend shade tree fisherman. they don't buy loomis's, they buy the combo's from walmart that are prespooled with line! i wouldn't fish my toilet with those! but, i see tons of people using uglystiks. i've owned about five of these rods and never had one of them break. the reason i don't use them now is because you can get better action from a spagetti noodle than an ugly stik. i know what your talking about with percentages. it makes sense. but there are more people who own shakespere than loomis. but that doesn't make the shakespere a great rod, it just makes them affordable. but i'll still pass up a shakespere and use my bass pro rods.