Some advice please,

I have just ordered a 8# Sage Xi2 blank and am thinking of using the Recoil RSFX single foot guides instead of the standard snake guides.I want to reduce the weight and think the rod will look stunning with the single footguides and standard stripper guides.
My guestion is how strong are the recoil single foot guides? I will be using the rod for saltwater use and having no experinece with single foot guides I dont want to buy the guides to find out that theyare not suitable.

Any information would be greatly recieved.

Stephen





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2007 03:21PM by Stephen Laver.

They will work fine, better than snake guides. They will not work as well as ceramics such as Fuji SiC Titanium fly guides.

Thanks Jim

I looked at the Ceramics but was worried about the weight having a negative affecton the rods actions,or am worrying about nothing?

If you go for fuji TLSG 7 as running guides, they are only 0.16 gram and recoil 0.12-.014 gram. Fuji TsfT 7 a bit heavier than rcoil top abotut 0.34. gram Both guide system is lighter than ordinary snakes.

Weight doesn't change action, only the way a blank loads. Either choice will be fine - why don't you build one both ways and sell/giveaway the one you least like ... your friends can't complain with a purchase at cost. BTW, no matter what you do - definitely Fuji SiC Titanium strippers and top ... the RECoil top is inadequate IMO.

The single foot recoil guides are fine but the snakes are noisy if your fly line gets any gunk on it. On my nine weight I have the American Tackle NIF Titan guides which are titanium. I really like those guides per se but I have not gotten used to having them on a fly rod. Mud Hole Tackle carries those guides and might be cheaper than the Fujis. When I first built my nine weight I took it to a fly fishing club meeting and had an old pro in his 70's try it out. He shot the whole line with it and told me that I had a good rod.

Stephen,

I'm with Jim on this one.

Nothing wrong with the recoil wire guides, but they are still 'wire' guides, and we are past that now.

The SIC titanium guides are lighter than regular snakes(not as light as the recoil single foots), but the real 'reason' to use them is guide performance.

Lines will last longer.

Casts will be smoother, and 'longer' (for each individual, it can add some distance due to reduced friction, but the 'caster' is the most important factor here...i.e; if you can't cast 100 foot with your current rod, adding different guides won't do that for you).

The rod will be quieter.

The guides will last until your great grandkids have great grandkids (nasty little secret they don't tell you, but snakes DO 'wear' out eventually). The single foot ceramics are also stronger than the wire guides.

You can save a couple of grams of weight by using the single foot recoil guides, but the savings won't do all that much for you in comparison to what you'll give up in the long run.

AND, rather than use one of those ugly 'tubed' tip top thingys, you can wrap a single foot guide as a tip top. It's stronger, looks better, and gives a straighter line path....

Up to you, of course. The rod will still fish regardless of the guides you choose to use on it.

Good Luck!

Buddy Sanders