Tailingloop, well said and an interesting post, Morneb!
THIS will probably get those with the so called "Shack Nasties", something to rally around! (then, too, maybe we can finally find out,why people GET these so called "nasties" to begin with, because if it's JUST from not being able to fish, man I'd hate to be living THAT kind of life!).
Anyhoo, like you mentioned, I've also fished more rods than I can remember and sad to say, I own enough rods,still..... to where I can't remember exactly what all brands I DO own, currently.

But I DO KNOW, what I LIKE and what I like to fish with. What I paid for it, or if it's "THE NEWEST HAVE TO HAVE", or not I could care less. Sure, I love the feel of a nice rod in my hand. I love to feel a rod load and release, the way I feel a rod should do both things. ALL of that, to me, is a part of this obsession. But, so is the feel of the stream against my legs, the pressure of current as I wade a stream and those feelings don't come from Sage, or, from Thomas & Thomas.
Out of the rods I own, I fish with about 3 of them, 99% of the time..................
One's, one I built ten years ago. Another, is a little 7' 6" 4wt. with not a single sign of anything on the blank, that tells me who made it or where it came from. Another, is a Green River, given to me as a gift, by my fish'in pard of 30 plus years.
I've got, at that time ten years ago, maybe $45.00 in the one I built. The little "no-namer" 4wt. I won in a poker game and Green Rivers are custom, hand made rods, still in production the last time I checked their website, but I can't afford the model I have, if I had to replace it I know.

I'd gladly give up, all my other rods before I'd relinquish any one of these three.
I don't care what my rods costs. That's why, when we have these rod fights start and I feel I want to answer a question on something, I always try my best to only say, "I HAVE a so and so and this is why I like it", but that's only MY opinion"!
I hope, I've NEVER told anyone, "You'll fish better, cast better, your hair will grow back...........IF ONLY you buy a so and so rod, like the ONE I OWN!"
"Well, you won't KNOW.......how great the new "gotta-haves" are, until you cast one, but when you dooooooo!!!"
Sorry, but I don't buy into that scenario, either.
Please don't tell me "I won't know, until". Because YOU have NO idea, what I may consider a "nice stick". YOU, don't know, how I CAST. HOW I fish, or what I may even consider "distance".
If someone truly enjoys being able to throw an entire fly line, great!! I support anything, that someone else enjoys, as their part of the world of fly fishing.
But I DON'T care to do it, so please quit telling me "What I'm MISSING by not buying YOUR brand of rod and line.
Hmmmmmmm, That's nice. If YOU can throw 90 feet of fly line, I'm sure it comes in quite handy, every single time YOU fish! So, it's a good thing, you learned how to do it, huh!?
But the truth be known....I wish MORE, that my eyesight was GOOD ENOUGH to even SEE my #18 or #20 fly and more importantly, what it's DOING............ after I throw it out there, in moving water, 90 plus feet from where I'm standing?!?

I'm not talking about folks that "just want to throw a 90' cast, just for fun or for a "personal best". I think, that's kinda neat, that you HAVE that kind of goal it'll make you practice your casting more often and make you a better, all around caster, in the end. But, I'm speaking of those, that have TOLD ME (or, members here), "WHY I/we NEED to buy this certain line, or we'll never enjoy fly fishing again".

BUY the rod, line, reel and bottle of wine, YOU like the looks ad feel of, and that won't break your personal bank.
Learn to use, what you buy, as best as you possibly can.
ENJOY, fly fishing, for what it ma come to mean to you. NOT what others tell you, you should be getting out of it.