I have a few sets of Recoil fly guides,both SF and snake,that I plan on using soon,and I wanted to get some extra info on them before I attemp any prep work.

Just curious but has anyone noticed a difference in line friction and noise between the light and heavy wire Recoil fly guides?

I've heard the reports about the noise of these guides,and like many,when I can hear the line going through the guides I think of friction.What I'm not sure of though is exactly which guides most people are using for lighter fly rods.I assume that most are using the thin wire ones for most fresh water rods,and if so,I am wondering if the same noise/friction issues are there with the heavier wire guides?

I've compared both the light and heavy wire guides to regular chrome or TiCH plated snakes and SF guides,and both models seem lighter in weight (the light wire ones are considerably lighter),so choosing either Recoil model would mean weight savings and a crisper rod.I've also noticed that the heavy wire model is about the same diameter as what regular wire gudies are,where as the light wire is considerably thinner.

I am wondering if it is the thinner diameter wire that is making the extra noise as it doesn't provide as much surface area for the flyline to go over?

Also,I would think that a thin diameter wire is probably much harder on a fly line than a thicker one and wants to dig into it more than a thicker one would.Has anyone noticed this or noticed if the larger diameter ones feel like they are a bit easier on the line or any quieter?

Since the heavy wire version is similar to a typical wire guide in size (yet are still lighter) and since they go small enough in size (down to size 1 in SF) and actually match the wire in the tip tops better,is there any reason one could not,or should not,use them on light fly rods like say a 5wt?

Also,the legs on the guides are considerably longer than other wire guides,and longer than I prefer.I have also noticed that many are a bit rough or slightly bent on the ends,so they need prepping anyways(I prep all my guides regardless).Is this material difficult to cut/trim and prep compared to other guides?I have a Dremel tool,with a Flex Shaft attachment,which makes quick work of most jobs,and was wondering what this material is like to work with when shortening and shaping a foot?

The SF guides have 2 sides and should be easy to work with regardless of length as long as the metal will grind well enough to reshape the top of the end.The snakes however are a round,single wire and even with the aid of Flex Coat Guide Foot Adhesive,they would obviously still be tough to keep on the blank if shortened to the point where the flat section was removed.A couple of the snakes I have unfortunately have uneven length legs,so they have to be trimmed and one side will lose the flat spot anyways.If I was to chop off the flat spot and shorten them equally on both sides,then reshape and taper the top of the end,would they still stay in place after wrapping with the rounded bottom,or would they want to roll and move out of position?

Thanks and sorry for the length of post,LOL
Tony.

Try a search or just look father down, there has been several posts on thes in the past few days.

The problem with the Recoils is that they are soldered together with some pretty soft ,low temp stuff and to much heat will cause them to spring apart on the SF guides. Do a search using Christian Brink as the author for some insight on the heavy and thin wire versions. Use all dates as the time frame as it was a while back.

Thanks for the responces,but I did a search and can't really find anything that directly answers my questions regarding a direct comparison in noise and friction between the light and heavy wire Recoil guides,or about what the snake guides are like when trimmed shorter(will they move easily under the wrap & finish due to the rounded ends?)

Most guys seem to use the light wire on all freshwater rods for the extra flexibility,but is there any reason not to use the heavy wire on a 5wt since they are still lighter than other guides and also match the wire thickness in the tip top better?

Are the heavy wire guides as noisy as the light wire?





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2005 09:09AM by Tony Dowson.

Some say they do, some say they don't ??
Try them and if you don't like them -change.

Tony, I can't answer your question about the noise difference. I only use the light wire RSN guides on rods for 3 weight and lighter, and I rarely shoot line on the cast with light lines. I consider the RSN wire guage to be too small, and use the RSNX guides on 4 weights and heavier; I do recommend them to you, or the SF equivalent for your project. The difference between RSN and RSNX guides of the same size on a 9' rod, the smallest being size 2, is about 5 grains, although I must admit that most of the difference is on the tip section.

I am not at all convinced that the noise from RECoils means higher friction than standard plated guides. I have made quite a few 7 and 8 weight rods with the RSNX guides, and they cast every bit as far as other rods of the same line weights I have made, including some with the Fuji single titanium frame SIC guides. The noise may simply be one of the inherent properties of the alloy.

Tony, I'm using them on one of my float rods. they are some very good guides IMHO. I'm very satisfied with them. I haven't noticed any difference between ceramic ringed guides or the Recoils. The only issue I have is the size six guides which sit so close to the blank I'm havin issues of line sticking to the blank when it's wet and it messes up my drift when I'm trotting very slow water. With casting and faster currents this isn't an issue. Another good thing about the guides is the feet don't require any prep work. The feet are already nicely taperd and size A thread winds over the foot very nicely (that's on a size 20 spinning guide).

So far I'm very pleased with the guides. My casts are just as far if not a bit farther than before and the rods action is very close to the tip action of the unwrapped blank. I'm so pleased with the guides that I'm probably going to use them on all my future rods. I only wish they could make a high frame match guide for float fishing.

I hope this helps.

Randy