i am looking at building some 20-25lb conventional sailfish rods....i am looking to keep them light and was interested in using the tuff butts as they are lighter then unibutts....just was curious if anyone uses them often and if so, how are they to install and how they hold up?

thank you

Josh,
They're very light, very tough and I use them on King mackeral rods, headboat rods, and stand-up tuna rods. The sleeves are molded from nylon and are almost indestructible. They can be mounted over cork or EVA, but I prefer to mount them over 5 evenly spaced 28mm graphite arbors(using the 10 1/4" sleeve). I ream the arbors to fit the rod and glue them on. Each graphite arbor will have to be sanded lightly on the outside to fit the Tuff butt sleeve. Combine the Tuff butt with a composite rod blank, and people marvel at how light a "heavy" rod can be.

Unless you are looking for an 'ultra-light' outfit, I would recommend the complete Tuff Butt instead of just the plastic sleave. The complete system with the reel seat, inner aluminum tubing, and the outer plastic sleave is extremely strong. I love using the Tuff Butts. Best of luck. Jay

Stuart Tuff Butts (with aluminium tube and swagged, integral reel seat) is the best you can have for what you're trying to do. As already noted nearly indestructable (even had them run over by a truck). You / your customer will especially come to like the nylon gimbel -- which will save countless 'deck dings' in fiberglas. The only thing you have to think about is what color for the hoods and what length do you want them to be - not only the butts - but since the aluminium tube is hollow you can adjust the length of the rod by sliding it inside the tube to match the targeted overall length of the rod.