After having fished them quite a bit last season, and now tweeking the guide layouts, I have to say I really think the Minima's are a benchmark product. They notably lighten a rod, cast and fight fish very well, and are the most durable guide around outside of Recoils, but I think they fish nicer than Recoils.

If you have not tried them yet, put it on your "to do" list this year!

I also hear Minima micros and micro tops are in the works for this spring.

Have fun,

Marc

I like them a lot, too, but I think that there is room for improvement. specifically, I find the feet to be longer than needed, at least in the F style. I grind mine down, but it would be nice if they came from the factory with shorter feet.

I too like them, but am not convinced that they will not groove fairly quickly. These are hard chrome rings and we know from past experience that hard chrome can and will indeed groove over time.

Vic Cutter has told me that Pacific Bay has fully tested them and he says that they are not easily grooved even by braid. Only a bit more time and use can validate this sort of thing. For now, however, they remain very hard to come by. Some sizes are backordered for a month and more out.

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For the dollar, they are indeed very light. But no lighter than Fuji titaniums which are of course, more expensive.

However, two issues:
1. Tackletour found the ring coating rubbing off in just one outing during tests. So I assume grooving is a real possibility.
2. I purchased two batches of the TiN and the colors are inconsistent. One was very dark and one was lighter gun metal grey - so that was problematic in matching guides.

Mo

I doubt the coating is important as far as grooving goes.

I believe they are hard chrome over stainless. The coating is just colorizing.

Are we talking about the minima 3's or the minima 4's?

The rings themselves are the same. The 4's are swaged on both sides, the 3's on one side only.

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So the 3's would be lighter I'm assuming? I thought it was the 4's that were lighter than the 3's.

No, it's the same guide but the 4's have a double swaged ring.

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I am currently using the mostly the M3's. I like the contrasting colors, and they are still impossible to pop a ring on.

They are great in the smaller sizes - the size 4 rings are super light weight, but still have a nice size opening making the user friendly.