Just wondering what some of the pros and cons are of each insert. Is NanoPlasma harder than SiC? How does the friction compare? Thanks.

They will both perform well, I would go with the NanoPlasma, because of the look. They look different, you or I might be able to tell a difference between sic and alconite, but a customer may not. As far as friction goes, I don't think it would be easy to tell the difference. They are both coated and should be bulletproof against braid.

SiC and ALCONITE are not coated. They are solid, highly-polished ceramics. Through and through.

I know there are charts that show the hardness of different ceramic ring materials but none that i have seen have Nano Plasma listed . Very difficult to find any "Real" info on Nano Plasma rings . The biggest indicator to me about the Nano Plasma rings is the cost is only slightly higher than regular Nanolite , if it was a vastly superior ceramic that wouldn't be the case . Seems to me it's mostly about aesthetics .


Here is what the claim is :

"The Plasma deposition ring gives you a near zero coefficient of friction extending line life while increasing hardness"

It's a regular NanoLite ring ( Would like to see specifics on Nanolite ) with rounded ID’s and a new PVD Titanium Nitride or Titanium Oxide coating.


Titanium and Oxide coatings are nothing new , been around a long time .

Alrighty, thanks for the replies. The lack of information that you mentioned is the exact reason that I posted here. I knew some of you fine folks would be able to shed some light on this for me. I'll just stick with good ol' SiC. Thanks again, and happy fishing!

Sic has a Vicker hardness of about 2200-2400 and Nanolte has a hardness of about 1800. So Sic is harder. However, both are overkill as far as hardness is concerned, since neither will ever groove under normal fishing conditions.
Norm

Can never go wrong with Sic , i really like the slim ring versions . I have seen a lot of conflicting info between Sic and Torzite and have serious doubts to whether Torzite is a far superior ring material , it's certainly priced like it is but some info even by Fuji themselves seems to indicate the hardness level is NOT above that of Sic but it's polish and durability is .

Sic rings are harder, however, Torzite rings are lighter, stronger, and smoother than Sic rings, or any other ring material for that matter.
[ctsfishing.zendesk.com]
Norm

I saw and read that CTS info a few weeks back , good info . Now the question that people want to know , are Torzites worth the extra $$$ and that is not a question that can really be answered because the attributes that Torzite has advantages in will be attractive to some and not so attractive to others.

I don’t think either Sic or Torzite are worth the extra money for most freshwater or light inshore rods. I use mostly Alconite with the corrosion control frames., but if you want Titanium guides you have to move up. I miss the Alconite Titanium guides.
Norm