I read on another threat the suggestion that Pac Bay's Minima line of guides are being discontinued. I checked Mudhole, and sure 'nuff they have all their Minimas on clearance. This is news to me. Anyone have any sense why this line was axed? It seems like people talk about the guides all the time, so I assume they are being bought and used...

One of my favorites.

I don't know if the PacBay Minima's are being discontinued or not, but I do know of some alternatives! American Tackle has several lines with Stainless Steel rings, including their MicroWave AirWaves and TiForged Air. Great guides!

I don’t think it just the Minima guides. It appears that most PacBay products are becoming more difficult to find. Not sure if the company is in trouble, but it sure seems that way. Utmost doesn’t have any PacBay products listed.
Norm

Mudhole's CRB SSR Match-Style Light-Duty Spinning Guides - Model MXG, etc. are very similar and well made.

I hope that Pac Bay is just temporarily shifting its business focus due to supply chain issues in China, etc. and that their products will be back soon.

I agree that many a Pac Bay offering is no longer available at a number or reputable on-line vendors. Either the supply chain issue has disproportionally hit them hard, they are revamping their business, or they are in overall trouble. They have not put out a new catalog since Oct. 23 of 2019.

American Tackle Vortex Air are really nice, as are the SSR guides from Mud Hole.

In addition, SeaGuide has a complete line of Minima like guides, which are very nice.
Norm

I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing anything new or even much of the usual from PacBay. Their issues go beyond inventory and supply chain issues currently.

Nearly all the guide suppliers have added a Minima style guide to their line ups over the past half dozen years. If you're going to be at the Expo in February, you can see the ones offered by American Tackle and SeaGuide in person. Last year, Rick Hall from SeaGuide showed me some minima style guides carrying new lightweight ceramic rings that are actually lighter than the standard plated ring minima types.

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I am familiar with their line, and having bought and used them I would say they were higher quality than the PacBay versions. I am not lamenting PacBay's discontinuation of their Minima line insomuch as I'm expressing surprise that they stopped production. As you and others have pointed out, there are plenty of other options out there.

Interesting regarding the minima style guides with ceramic inserts. Do you know off hand what the models are for those?

Shoot an email over to SeaGuide and Rick Hall can give you the specific model numbers.

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Was it the Seaguide HLG? [sea-guide.com]

On a related note, I'm impressed by the look of their TiXOHG but I'm not sure it's the "minima style" we're talking about. [sea-guide.com]

RS rings are a unique ceramic lighter, up to size 20, then stainless. RS rings are made in a very specialized facility in which only a handful exist that can produce them. The original use of the material was for ball bearings in jet engines. They are made under extreme heat and under extreme pressure. The rings go with all frame designs and actually make guides with these rings a fantastic combination.

This is the HLG with RS rings.

[rodbuilderswarehouse.com]

All frames with stainless rings including the new Delta stainless ring frames. [rodbuilderswarehouse.com]

[rodbuilderswarehouse.com]

I'm guessing Tom is referring to their HLG model, which comes with their silicon nitride ring. You can find it on the rodbuilderswarehouse.com website. I have seen SeaGuide's SiN rings. They are quite nice. Not quite as thin as Fuji's Torzite, but pretty close. SiN's density is much lower than stainless steel, so I'm not surprised the weight of these guides is on the low side. It would be interesting to weigh identical sizes of HLG guides with SiN rings next to HLGs with stainless steel rings. It would not surprise me if the SiNs were lighter, though the SS ringed guides would certainly be a lot cheaper.

For the sake of discussion, I had emailed PB regarding the Minima M and received a reply from Karen Galvan.

The Minima is sill a valid product in the line up with no plans to discontinue.

That said, she did not provide any insite on availability other than retailers place volume orders and the orders are fulfilled.

Carol @ Utmost indicated they are not taking orders from PB but did not elaborate on reasoning in another email exchange.

Speaking for myself, I am hoping PB gets back on track; I do enjoy using the TiBlack titanium M and F guides.

Wish they still had a presence here though...after Geoff left it wasn't the same.

Which reminds me that I still have a bunch of Minima guides... Need to go dig them up.