Trolling/Standup Rods - Components & Costs

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Recently whilst looking for a new rod I've started to better understand what components make up the cost of a rod and why some are so expensive!

The core of the rod is the blank, this is the starting point for any rod. Blanks come in different lengths, ratings (30lbs etc) and action which dictates their taper etc, along with different materials glass fiber, carbon etc. Good blanks typcially start at around $60 and go up.

The butt of the rod is the next part that can be costly, if its a standard butt with just some EVA sleeve over the blank it's not likely to be expensive. But if you put an Aftco Unibutt which is removable and aluminium then you're looking at another $60 or so for the butt and another $15 for the gimbal at the bottom.

Then you have the reel seats, these can be very expensive depending on the type.

And finally the guides/rollers which can go from very cheap to very expensive at $45 per guide for top notch Silicone Carbide guides. Have 6 of those on your rod and you're looking at $270 just in guides!! However $10 per guide gets you some good ones.

Note that it seems cheaper roller guides mean quite alot of maintenance as their construction and bearings are prone to seizing up and attracting rust.

Finally there's the thread, epoxy and varnishing plus design that holds it all together.

So if you were wanting a good 50lbs rod you might pay:

$80 blank
$75 Butt and gimbal
$90 guides ($15 a guide x6)
$15 Thread/Varnish etc

??Cost of construction

So that's $260 in materials alone, or around Lm83 excluding construction costs.

By the way, trolling rods meant for standup chairs tend to be longer around 6'6 - 7' and therefore have more guides, potentially costing more!

Thoughts, people?