I'm going to build 6 80 lb chair rods for Marlin and didn't know if I should purchase guides with bearings or bushings. I would like to hear others thoughts on this.
Thanks

Bushings are fine if you service them regularly. Roller Bearing Guides require less servicing but they are not foolproof and usually cost a lot more money. Buy what you can afford.

Michael,
#1 is it depends on the amount of force applied to the actual “bearing” and #2 the rotational speed of the “bearing”. Although we would all hope for a drag-screaming-run while offshore fishing, the rotational speed of the bearings is still relatively low, and certainly not (normally) sustained to easily build-up excessive heat within the bearing. Heat is the major contributing factor to (any type) bearing / bushing failure. While a ball, roller or needle bearing is rarely a poor choice, a properly designed and applied sleeve-type bushing can certainly provide outstanding performance in many cases; I consider offshore, big-game roller guides to be fine candidates for proper bushings. Think of it; just because one is using an unlimited class (130lb +) rod and may be fortunate enough to hook-up to a 350lb tuna, does NOT equate to 350lb of force on ANY part of his equipment! With the drag setting of the reel and the fact that multiple guides are carrying the load, it is unlikely that there is actually 20lbs on any given guide (bearing / bushing). Simply stating the obvious, there is NO better guide than a roller when concerning friction, drag and line-friendliness.
With that said, roller guides do require maintenance, albeit minimal, yet more than ring guides. I suspect the recent movement away from rollers to ring guides is simply due to people not willing to commit to the minimal maintenance. It is a short-sighted (if not lazy) decision in my book!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Thank you.

Aftco big foots or if you have the ability Winthrops. I have Aftco big foots on my 80's.

Capt. Craig Freeman
Grading Scales Sportfishing and Back River Rods

Heads up if you go with SeaGuide rollers. They list five sizes in their catalog but both the #5 and the #4 guides are double roller design, the #4 is just smaller than #5 giving you two options for the size of the stripper. The illustration of the guide set in the SeaGuide catalog makes it look as if the #4 guide is single roller-- it is not.

As Capt Craig said.....I have Aftco Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) on my 80's......130's get Winthrops.