Do you professionals "stay away" from blanks that the manufactorer doesn't list as "for braided line" or some such language When building a rod that will be used with braided line? I note that some companies and their suppliers are listing some blanks/rods as for braided line. Does that mean if they're not listed for braid that they shouldn't be used? I've emailed some companies about this and have yet to get a response from any of them, about 3 weeks ago. The fact that many anglers are going to braid to get more line capacity and/or to avoid shockleader knots makes be think that if one changes to braided line but keeps drag settings set IAW the rod/blank rating that braids wouldn't be a problem, ie 65 lb test braid on a Shamino Calcutta 700S on a surf rod rated for 20 -30lb line. "Regular" drag setting would be 10lbs. Keep the same drag setting with the braid and should there be a problem?Warren

Braided lines are of no problem with any rod. Where problem lies is when the fisherman thinks it is ok to go to a larger diamiter line and over powers the rod using the new smaller diamiter lines. All they have to remember is to go by the recomended line wt. Not line size

Old wives tales. Both on the blanks and guides. In the early days of 'superlines' many were made of Kevlar which does wear guides and blanks. Todays superlines are made from polyethelyne. The same 'waxy' plastic that milk jugs are made of. Basically its self lubricating. No wear.

I have a few of the Lami's that are labelled under the "Braided Line" category. They are graphite butts, and have glass tips. In my opinion, this serves 2 purposes.

1 - Anglers who are not used to fishing braided lines will "high-stick" when setting the hook. With no stretch in the line, something has to give, and unfortunately it is teh tip section of your new custom rod. From what I understand - using mono and glass would not give a solid hook-up because of the stretch in the mono and the bend in the glass. The glass in the tip prevents the tip from breaking when the rod is high stickked. Anglers are still adjusting to the "new" way of fishing.
2 - When using the braided line with graphite, there is no question when you set the hook - you set the hook good. The stiffness of the graphite coupled with braid (no give once again) will sometimes tear the hook out of the fish's mouth. From what I've read, the soft glass tip prevents this from happening.

Does this mean you cannot use braid with other types of rods - NO. But these specific rods I am referring to fill a niche (from what i've been reading) and address a specific problem that anglers are having when using the braided lines.

Billy

The only Hardloy guides I've ever had to replace due to "grooving" have been on rods where "Spider Wire" was used. These were replaced with SIC guides hand no further problems have been incurred. Braided lines are mostly used in places where there are a lot of rough, rocky, & sandy areas which cause abrasion & failure of monofilament lines but, as mentioned above, cause the braideds to pick up a sandpaper-like attitude.