I have an older Imperial model from St croix- actually a 8'6" 5 wt. I think you are right on with this estimate for your cousin, It has served me well for many years. They have a new (er) version of imperial out here
http://www.stcroixrods.com/product/imperial-fly
I like mine because it has a nice fast action in spite of its 4 piece construction. Looks like they're about $220 direct, not bad for a USA made all purpose trout/bass/panfish stick, especially if he gets a decade of use out of it.
If something happened to mine I would buy the exact same model in a flash.