On a simple spiral wrap, am I correct that the bumper guide experiences both very slight tension from the line and the most abuse relative to the rest of the guide train?

Thanks,
Ken

In the simple spiral, the bumper guide is loaded exactly at 90 degrees, right into the rod blank. That is loading it in the most advantageous manner for the guide, right into its feet. The ring is probably highly loaded relative to line scrubbing on it, so select a really hard ring.

It's not part of the regular guide set up so it shouldn't have much if any pressure on it. It simply keeps the line from rubbing the blank between the 1st and 2nd guides, which are only 8 to 10 or 11 inches apart.

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Thanks Tom,
So since it seems like it would get bumped around a lot more, do you think a double foot recoil guide would work?
What about on heavier rods with 9-14lbs of drag?

I really doesn't do anything, so it makes little difference. It carries no load.

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I can understand your thought process Ken. FWIW it doesn't seem like the bumper guide takes much abuse on my rod. For me most abuse comes from things like loading a rod into a car and never from fishing. In those cases the guide is easily visible and on the same plane as the reel so I find I never bump it.

IMHO the pressure on the guide is a function of frame height. For those reasons I like a single foot fly rod guide. I used the double foot first and removed it as it affected line flow to much. I think the ultimate solution would be to glue a thin piece of (ceramic?) materal where the line wants to contact the blank.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

I agree with the previous posts. A mistake that some folks make is to use too tall a bumper guide. Realistically, the bumper guide can be essentially touching the blank for the natural flow of the line. As Mr. Kirkman pointed out, with the right bumer guide; there is essentially no wear or tear on the bumper at all.

Good luck
Roger

So I'm building on a Seeker Hercules 70L, thinking about spiral wrapping...so if I have fuji SiC boat guides, 8mm runners, 10mm butt guide, would a 6mm single foot fly guide be sufficient as the bumper guide in a simple spiral? That would be low, and light. Or even a micro?
Thanks,
Ken

Plan to do a little work static testing as well as test casting. My first attempt was horrible at casting. I had too small of a butt guide and placed it too close to the reel.

You need the butt guide to be tall enough to keep the line off the forgrip and from cutting your wrist. Its location and size should be in line with what you would do in a conventional build. So spool width and height come into play here. It also depends on how far down your flexes.

The bumper guide shouldn't have any side loading. That means it has to be wide enough. In my case that was #10 fly rod guide for #8 runners. I think my butt guide was a #16 but the reel, 525 mag, is a little wide. Again how far down the rod flexes comes into play.

For all practical purposes the 180 degree guides are spinning rod guides. This means you might be able to increase spacing some. It also means you could go single foot and forget the underwraps.

Do not underestimate the gains of a lighter guide train. This was made clear to me when a friend and I both bought the same blank. He had his wrapped old school style and I acid wrapped mine with smaller guides. The rod easily feels a line class stonger, is lighter in hand, and feels much smoother when fighting a big fish.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.