Fly fishing gear is not much more expensive than conventional fishing gear. Check out a fishing shop or bait shop that carries Japanese hard baits or muskie lures and see how much money a guy can spend on a handful of lures. St. Croix and G. Loomis make some expensive spinning and casting rods and bass fisherman have a bunch of rods rigged and ready to go on their boats. Quality salt water fishing gear of any type is not cheap. No one "needs" the most expensive rod of any type, but their are always sineguys that will buy them.

My friends that I spin fish with use the same use the same brands of waders, wading boots, vests, and chest packs (Simms/Patagonia/Fishpond) that I use. This gear isn’t cheap, but it tends to work very well and it usually lasts a long time. In my opinion, some of the gear on your "expensive" list is worth the premium.