I did a repair on a 6'0" Avid UL today, stripped and replaced all guides. The guide prep was about the same as Pac Bay guides come, and to get the thread to climb the poor prep job it looked like they use size D. Seen this in import rods before, but kinda disappointed.

Sorry - gotta finish my own thought. Has anyone else seen this on other "Good" rods, Loomis, Lamiglas?

Actually some of the best production work I have seen is done on the imported stuff. But at 12 cents per hour, they can go much slower to achieve the desired effect ... no different than what we custom builders do - in output and paycheck. LOL

yeah i've seen gaps and tag peaks on some high end all stars and g loomis' ...some of the best looking rods are shimano's .

It varies. Some good stuff, and a lot of poor stuff too on closer inspection. Shortcuts galore on many constructions.

Price point has a lot to do with it.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Marc StCroix and most other manufacturers outsource guide wrapping so you may easily find differences in quality although it should be minor because different people will be wrapping the rods
When we were at Lamiglas last year we went crazy trying to find a spool of D thread all they had was A
John