Ye Olde request for newbie fishing gear

On Dec 4, 4:01*am, DaveS wrote:
On Dec 1, 8:03*pm, riverman wrote:





We get these requests here about once a year, but rarely from a
roffian. So much for that...

I'm looking at buying 21 beginner outfits for my students, to be
mailed out to me here in HK. I already know I want to start them with
multi-piece 9ft 5wt outfits (so they can travel with them easier), but
I want to keep the price below $150 per setup while still getting a
rod & reel that will serve them beyond their 'novice' years.

So far, I've looked at LL Bean's 'Quest II' 4-pc outfit for $119 (less
bulk discount, plus shipping)http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/48827?feat=2136-GN2.
The rod and reel are nicely balanced, the rod casts good enough to be
a lifetime toy, but the reel is a little weak: the tolerances are just
loose enough that the line can slip around the stopper to the wrong
side of the reel when stripping line, causing a snarl.

Cabela's has a TFO 'Prestige Plus' setup for $90 for rod, reel,
backing, line, flybox and chest pack. Does anyone know about the rod
and reel: are they any good (or at least as good as the LL Bean
setup?) in terms of durablilty, balance, etc? The price seems too good
to be true, unless its basically a toy rod or reel.

Cabela's also has a Reddington 'Crossover' outfit for $99 with rod, LA
reel, backing and line. That looks like an even better quality setup,
but of course, I can only go by the text.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these (or any other)
Cabela's outfits, or can make another recommendation for a 4-pc 9ft
5wt starter pac?

Thanks

Hell, why carry coal to Newcastle? Why not pop for entry level Sage,
show them some superior American technology and quality manufacturing
for which they can spend some of those Yankee dollars they've been
piling up from the trade deficits and China's rigged currency system.

Dave

'Coal to Newcastle'...I like that. I most certainly would like to get
them starter Sage kits, but my budget for each kid is $200US for
everything, and Sage starts at about twice that for just the rod and
reel. I can do it within budget easily, but I could use some insights
on the quality of Cabela's Prestige Plus and Crosswater outfits. From
name recognition alone, I'm leaning towards the Redington Crosswater
setup, but it's a fairly blind decision.