Over my time as an angler, I've used pretty much all budget tackle, everything from the cheaper end of the spectrum, and I've not had a problem with any of my gear over the past few years and I've enjoyed using multiple different brands of a more budget price range; Shakespeare, NGT, Lineaffe and Grandeslam are among the many brands that sell top quality tackle for a very reasonable price. I can stand for all 4 of these brands being good value as I've used products from each one...
Lineaeffe-
Landed carp to 16lb when stalking with one of their telescopic spinning rods combined witha vigor rd reel (excellent all round reel for less than 20 pounds). As well as this, I use two lineaeffe carp beater 2.75lb carp rods and they are brilliant; I've had them for around 7 months and I've landed carp, pike, tench and a couple of barbel on these rods, again very cheap only 24.99!
Grandeslam-
The grandeslam reels I've been using are brilliant, used them fishing with lures, feeders, leads and pvas... Trying waggler tactics with my carp rod and reels this week.
Shakespeare-
Used to have a 13ft Shakespeare match rod, fished a wide variety of methods catching carp, barbel, pike, tench etc. Only got rid of it because mum went over it with the lawnmower!
NGT-
Currently (literally right now) using an NGT 8ft 2lb stalking rod and its incredible value for money for less than 20 pounds, the 8ft length is very handy for fishing really close in and in tight swims, very strong too with a good load of backbone... Great for carp and tench!
People need to stop being snobs about fishing tackle and appreciate that cheaper brands can produce top quality products! These cheaper options are brilliant as they open up the possibilities for younger people t start fishing and enjoy it without having to pay an arm and a leg for a rod or reel. I was in the same situation when I started as I was given a kingfisher float rod and couldn't fish with it for much longer than I already had due to a crack in the push reel seat, I went down to my local tackle shop and had a chat with the owner and he sorted me out a bundle package with a Shakespeare rod and some extra bits and bobs for only 40 pounds. It just goes to show, you don't have to pay top prices for top quality.