This thread has gotten to the point where it's like asking if high dollar autos are worth it, or guns, or musical instruments, or horses--if you can afford nicer things and have the skill to appreciate them, why not? I'm pretty sure that if we leave this life with anything at all, it's a lot more likely to be memories of our great experiences than the money we saved. Will SS lines outlast average or other lines under most conditions (short of trampling with studded boots, dragging through rocks, and other assorted ways we destroy lines)?--yes. Will they turn a neophyte into an expert?--no. Are they worth it?--If you can afford a $70 line (the going rate for most other top lines), I think you can probably handle an additional $30, and I think that one of the many tapers now available in the SS line up will absolutely make your toes curl. If you're happy with $30 lines, and $75 rods, and $150 shotguns, etc, you'll think they're overpriced no matter how many people tell you otherwise, and that's fine, too. An expert fisherman can do a lot more with a bargain basement outfit than a beginner can do with the best tackle, but both will get more enjoyment and, to a varying degree, better performance, out of something better. Personally, I'd rather have a mid-level rod and top-grade line than the other way around, but I know plenty of people who disagree and think line development post 1965 has been pretty unimportant.
-CC