Hi Pookie,
I enquired from a Swedish work collegue about Fladen and his view was that the rods are good for what they cost but not to buy the reels. I bought a boat rod and it seems to be solid enough, but I haven't used it much.
I've had some of the other members recommend the Ron Thompson superior beach caster,
Have a look at this thread:
http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... .php?t=646
I started the enquiry about reels but it moved on to rods.
If you're on a tight budget ebay is very good for getting bargains, bought the Fladen boat rod for €16 including shipping, it was new by the way.