How exactly does one measure single foot or snake type fly guides? Are they the same as ceramic?
Thanks as always

Mark,
Look at the chart at the end of the following article:

Essentially you are concerned about the inside diameter of the guide in question. The Chart gives you the inside diameter (ID) of various fly guides by various manufacturers:

[raspberryfisher.wordpress.com]

Thanks Roger

Great source of info, Roger!

Another thing to consider is the ability to wrap a small guide on a very thin blank. Single-foot guides tend to have a little broader foot and that makes it a bit difficult to wrap on a tip section that comes in at just over 3/64ths! I only use Snake Brand snake guides for this reason, they have a foot contoured for the curvature of the blank. The contour is different for each guide size, calculated to fit the blank in the location it is slated for. They also come in different wire gauges for different types oif fishing applications - for example, the Spey-specific guides are a heavier gauge. Mike McCoy (Snake Brand owner) has done an amazing engineering job on these guides, and they are made right here in Washington State.

(www.snakeguides.com)

Richard B's comments above are spot on correct.

Be aware the interior "loop" of a Snake Brand snake guide is a circle, but not all other brands are circles - they are sort of a teardrop making apples to apples comparisons difficult.

The "ideal" [least resistant] guide size for a fly rod is influenced by the guide's size, the guide spacing, the coefficient of friction of the guide material, the shape of the guide, the coefficient of friction and diameter of the fly line, and the ambient temperature - which can greatly influence the coiling/suppleness of a fly line. It might be easier and yield better casting results to learn how to double-haul cast. It''s not difficult.

Phil's comments regarding the coefficient of friction brought to mind another advantage of Snake Brand guides. Mike McCoy developed his own formula for coating the wire guides in a chrome-like finish, which he calls E-Coat. This finish has a harder durometer reading than Chrome, and has it's own natural lubrosity which aids in reducing the friction. He developed this coating because the European market is not allowed to use anything with Chromium in it due to ecological concerns, and he has many European customers. I ONLY use these E-Coat snake guides on my fly builds! I am not a great fly-caster, but had to learn to back off a bit using these guides because I was over-casting my targets!