Got a set of Titan guides from Karen at Bingham yesterday.
Nice, light as a feather

Just curious which one & what sizes.

The single foot spin, Billy. Think they are the NIA's. A 20-10 08, and then some fly a 7, and 6's

Those are the ones with that small brace between the guide legs, right?

Yes, I guess to look different, or for support, nice!

Hi guys,
I have a few myself and I have to agree. Nice and light with a different look then the usual, just my style. From what Joe said the larger tips should be comeing in the near future.
From what I understand the so called "A" strut reduces lateral torque, improves ibrational sensitivity and reduces fatigue.
That fatigue thing could come in handy on the days the fish don't bite. ;)



Tight wraps and lines,
Wylie

Disclaimer: I have the double foot spin guides in sizes up to 30. I have to agree, they are incredibly light and seem to be beautiful guides. I will purchase some more.

I'm not saying its a bad thing, but I was just wondering if I'm the only one who thinks they seem a bit soft? I know they are springy and flexible, which I think will be awesome for helping to keep the action of the rod true. First I thought they were soft, then I retracted my statement after playing with the size 30 a bit. I sat down and compared the guides with a set of stainless fuji's that I have (I know, completely different metals). I can't bend the Fuji's for anything, I think I would probably need a vise or pliers to bend the feet on them, but my Titans can be bent with relative ease.

Phil

Being so stiff, perhaps the fuji's will break easyer?? Where the Titans may take up the shock

I would agree that the Titans are a softer (more malleable) material than the Fuji equivalent. Is this a bad thing? I don't know... probably not... just different. For instance, with the Titans it is easy to adjust the guide foot to fit the blank. This is difficult with the Fuji guides because they don't take a bend very easily. It's also easier to grind the guide feet on the Titans... doesn't eat up your abrasive nearly as fast. I have, however, had rods come in for repair where the Fuji titanium guide was bent all the way back where the foot came out of its winding and I was able to re-use the same guide as it hadn't deformed hardly at all. This, in my mind, is where the harder more springy alloy that Fuji uses comes in handy.

Overall I like the Titans and believe them to be a tremendous value.

One bit of constructive criticism I would offer to American Tackle is to stop pre-grinding the guide feet.

The last batch of Titans I got in were obviously ground very hastily, leaving large lumps on the underside of the guide foot as if the guide foot had curled over from the fast grinding job. The tip of the guide feet were discolored as if they were obviously ground very hot and heavy.

They always require additional guide foot prep, and personally, I'd rather start from scratch than have to fix the bad factory grinding job.

That is my only gripe... otherwise I like them.

Erik

Hi Erick,

Andy at Rod Builders Supply alerted me to the poor grinding job on these guides. We directed the factory to hold up the shipment and sand the guide feet of every single guide. It took them almost two weeks to do it. They will make sure it doesn't happen again. This is just one of the things that happens with a new product that needed to be straightened out.

As far as the softness of the frame, I don't believe it is a negative. The guide is strong enough to take a beating and if it does bend you can bend it back into place. 'We feel they are plenty strong enough and there won't be any problems associated with the strength of the frame. In our testing there were no reports of any problems. You will find the single foot guides much stronger because of the special and very expensive titanium we use. You can't use the stronger stuff for the two foot guides. You also want to remember with the two foot guides in casting and spinning strength increases when wrapping both feet to the blank.

Warmest regards, Joe Meehan, American Tackle Co.

Thanks for clearing that up Joe... I figured you would address that grinding issue as soon as you caught wind of it. That issue didn't seem to be characteristic of American Tackle's normal level of quality.

Personally, I would still prefer them unground, since even what would be considered a decent factory grinding job still requires additional guide foot prep before use (as was the case with the first batch of Titans I recieved and with any other "pre-ground" guide I've ever purchased).

Regardless... Titans are an excellent value and I'll still continue to buy them.

Just my 2-cents...

Erik

Hi Erik,

My OEM's would scream bloody murder if I stopped grinding them. They don't prep the feet at all. They just wind them on as is. They don't have the time.

We tried to duplicate the proper grinding technique but I realized we didn't have any way to get it perfect and still make it affordable. Just think of it as a head start.

Warmest regards, Joe Meehan, American Tackle

My only comments are positive about these guides. They are a bit over half the weight of the comparable size American Tackle guides and lighter than the Fuji titanium guides (likely due in part to the thickness of the Fuji inner ring material). I found them to be of a harder metal amalgam than the other guides I've ground (harder to wear down/file down) and I like the "springy" nature of the frame - perhaps that will eliminate the 'cracking' that was noted a few months back by Billy on titanium guide support frames( jury is out as I've only ground a 20 or so thus far). My only concern now is "What am I going to do with the stockpile of original guides?" My only trepidation is (knowing Joe/American Tackle) "How long will it be before we see different color frames/rings? - Again making even these 'less desireable' ?" LOL.

I know what you mean. I ordered a set of the single foots so I can check them out. I noticed the grinding thing that was mentioned earlier as the guides I have were ground till they turned blue, but I can fix that.

I still have a stockpile of Hardaloy guides I've yet to figure out what to do with. I can't bring myself to use them with the choices that are out anymore.

Phil

Being fisherman, I'm sure you are familiar with the "Terminator" spinner and buzz baits. The wires on these are titanium. You can bens them anyway you want, and they spring back to their original shape. I've not tried the "Titan" guides yet, but I would venture to say that you can probably kiss those epoxy cracks goodbye. my guess.

Bill in WV

I will find out how they will hold up cause the rod mine are going on are for a 5 year old his father is having built for him.I figure he will step on them, hit trees ??
They hand file very easy.
I like them.

Shame on you Ken and Phil....Stockpile of guides laying around collecting dust! You could always throw people like myself and many others here who are building rods on a budget a bone and put them up for sale here.

Just a thought....If you sell the old.....and I do mean sell them, not give them away....you could recycle your stock and get the new stuff.

;-}

Derek

I use them for repair jobs (older, unused guides).

Putter
Williston, ND

Like Randy, and because roughly 60% of my "business" is in repair and/or maintenance of older rods the stockpile gets used. If rods show up with truely older type guides I try to explain the benefits of a total re-wrap. Lots of people will simply opt for replacement of just one guide and a tip top (by far the most common repair is the 5 minute tip top replacement). Selling them has occurred to me - but then I would likely have to buy them back from the person I sold them to LOL

Someone on this forum has a signature that hold very true here.

"It's better to have and not need, than to need and not have." Don't know who it is, but very wise.

Bill in WV

Bill in WV