I have read the the Microwave Air guides are the best guides ever. I bit the bait and ordered a set for a 6'-6" rod. This is going on a bass rod. Has anybody try the Microwave Air Guides?

The Microwave Air are good guides...they are called air because they are light.
They are stainless steel guides. No ceramic rings.

Casting or spinning? I see the most difference in the spinning guide set... others with more knowledge may know more.

I feel better now. I purchased a set before I asked the pro's.

Sam Kirk Wrote:
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> I feel better now. I purchased a set before I
> asked the pro's.

Speaking for myself...I'm hardly a pro. But American Tackle does have a good line of products.
You cant fish braid on those Air guides though...

That I did not know. Thank you. I have made two rods and it was tough. Every time I find something that I have to work through. I am an armature with little experience. I read rod builders talk about things that amazed me. There are prows that share information and knowledge. Even as a new rod builder people help me out. This is what keeps me going.
I am 67 years old and have had cancer two times and now I am making fishing rods for my grandkids. This way Grand Pop can go fishing with them when I am gone. My Grandfather was the one that took me fishing. Now I am taking my grandkids fishing. Time spent very good.

From Mudhole website;

The system addresses coiling-memory issues with monofilament but it's ideal for braided lines

Me;

I've built several spinning rods with microwaves and like em, all with braid for the main line.

Ok thank you for the information.

Stan Vogel Wrote:
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> From Mudhole website;
>
> The system addresses coiling-memory issues with
> monofilament but it's ideal for braided lines
>
> Me;
>
> I've built several spinning rods with microwaves
> and like em, all with braid for the main line.

Stan your getting the Microwave and Microwave Air confused. Braid will cut a groove in any SS guide thats fished to any extent.
This is the Air [mudhole.com]
notice its missing any mention about braid...and like all good marketing...never mention any thing negative.

Well, sounds like some scuttle butt flying around. We're not talking about offshore fishing for sharks with 50 lb braid are we? Panfish and freshwater stuff, you're fine Sam.

From a freshwater perspective - no braid has ever cut into a ss guide. It’s an old wives tale….

Just bass and trout. No salt water.

Has anyone that made a rod with Microwave Lite guides ever replace or change out the guides from damage from Braided line. I use 15 lb. 8 Braided and I do a lot of casting. The weight of the Bass is from 2 lbs to 6 lbs.

Guides without ceramic rings are great for durability and reducing weight. But, they absolutely CAN/WILL grove when used with braided line, especially when the line has picked up an abrasive like dirt/sand. I have seen it personally several times with Minima brand guides. Microwave, Seaguide, or brand X versions are no different. The worst grooving almost always occurs at the tip top due to greater friction created by the angle of the line, but I have see it on the first few guides down also. PVD coatings or hard chrome plating does help reduce grooving but won't prevent it completely on a long enough timeline. Many users of such guides will run ceramic tip tops with steel-ringed guide trains for this reason.
The other thing I've personally witnessed over the years is that SS-ringed guides, both freshwater swaged style and thick steel-ringed/tungsten carbide-ringed welded boat guides, will wear out braided line (i.e. wear off the coating and fuzz up the braid) much faster than ceramic rings will. It really comes down to how much durability you need and how much a particular rod gets fished.

-Geoff

Geoff Staples Wrote:
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> Guides without ceramic rings are great for
> durability and reducing weight. But, they
> absolutely CAN/WILL grove when used with braided
> line, especially when the line has picked up an
> abrasive like dirt/sand. I have seen it personally
> several times with Minima brand guides. Microwave,
> Seaguide, or brand X versions are no different.
> The worst grooving almost always occurs at the tip
> top due to greater friction created by the angle
> of the line, but I have see it on the first few
> guides down also. PVD coatings or hard chrome
> plating does help reduce grooving but won't
> prevent it completely on a long enough timeline.
> Many users of such guides will run ceramic tip
> tops with steel-ringed guide trains for this
> reason.
> The other thing I've personally witnessed over the
> years is that SS-ringed guides, both freshwater
> swaged style and thick steel-ringed/tungsten
> carbide-ringed welded boat guides, will wear out
> braided line (i.e. wear off the coating and fuzz
> up the braid) much faster than ceramic rings will.
> It really comes down to how much durability you
> need and how much a particular rod gets fished.
>
> -Geoff

I would have to disagree vehemently with you about it is no difference between PVD stainless rings. The standard steel rings without PVD are about 150-250 hardness, Functional PVD is about a hardness of 500-600. Our Adaman PVD is about 1000-1100 on the hardness scale. There is a huge difference in the PVD coatings on the market. Also, there are rings such as our Silicon nitride that actually weigh less than stainless rings up to size 20.

Rick Hall
Global Sales Manager
SeaGuide Corporation
406-750-2122
www.sea-guide.com

Any ring can groove but the number of of occurrences should be correlated with the number of times the rod is used.

It takes a a lot of fishing and adverse conditions to cut a groove in a guide.

I tried doing some research and it seems the AVERAGE fisherman fishes once every 3 weeks and about 6% of the fishing population fishes about once a week.Those folks don't give a rod much exercise.

I fish freshwater at least 3 times a week and it has been very rare that I cut a groove in a guide, but I have grooved tips, but since I switched to high quality ceramic ring, I don.t have that problem anymore.

The point I am trying to make is.. yes SS rings can groove but given the statistics it is not common event.

Folks who don't prefer steel rings will amplify this remote fault to epidemic proportions and that will discourage folks who may never tax the durability of any rod they use, from trying them..

My experience is any thing faulty doesn't last and anything good gets improved.

Have fun

The early Berkeley/Pure Fishing rings had a history of grooving far easier than the new products; I haven't had a problem with non-ceramic guides for some time, but I don't use them in a highly abrasive environment where you have the most problems with contaminated line turning into a cutting tool.

Double post.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2023 09:16PM by Spencer Phipps.

I built a casting rod as a grad gift for a family friend using these when they first came out. As they looked cheap (?) I told him if he didn't like the guides I'd replace them. I know I've repeated this offer at least twice since and he's never taken me up on it, so I'd say they're fine. Not my cup of tea personally, from an appearance standpoint.

I have used Microwave Air spinning guides on some inshore saltwater rods and they have worked great! No issues whatsoever!