chris c nash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This seems to have turned into a " Is Torzite the
> only ring material that holds up to braid " thread
> which is unfortunate .
>
> For most anglers virtually any semi modern ceramic
> ring is more than adequate to handle any modern
> braid of any strength and diameter without
> grooving . Torzite is something that is chosen
> when somebody wants the absolute lightest and
> slickest ceramic ring material currently offered
> it's not something that I would choose for the
> vast majority of rod builds .
>
> It's unfortunate that it is only offered with
> titanium frames as I would be curious to see the
> pricing differences if it was offered with
> stainless steel frames compared to other ceramics
> with stainless steel frames . I think they would
> be a little more expensive than SIC but not near
> as expensive as they currently are with titanium
> frames .

I just want them to offer Alconite rings in Titanium frames again. That is the real bargain and I believe they would also be lighter than Torzite. I have been using Seaguide RS rings with Ti frames and have been very pleased with them.

Tony Politi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> chris c nash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Torzite is extremely slippery , more so than
> any
> > other guide ring material on the market right
> now
> > imo . I use Torzite on my surf rod builds and
> they
> > perform incredibly well , most will not be able
> to
> > tell a difference between ring materials . CTS
> > did a big write up about Torzite and you can
> see
> > for yourself how it compares to other ring
> > materials .
>
>
> Chris, Do you have a link to the CTS article? I
> looked through their site and didn't see it. Very
> possible I missed it.




I have been looking and looking and I found a small part of the demonstration but I'm not sure what happened to the entire demonstration because there were originally a lot more tests than just a single test shown in the below link . Hope it helps



Fuji Torzite guides - demonstration


[ctsfishing.zendesk.com]

Lance Schreckenbach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> chris c nash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This seems to have turned into a " Is Torzite
> the
> > only ring material that holds up to braid "
> thread
> > which is unfortunate .
> >
> > For most anglers virtually any semi modern
> ceramic
> > ring is more than adequate to handle any
> modern
> > braid of any strength and diameter without
> > grooving . Torzite is something that is chosen
> > when somebody wants the absolute lightest and
> > slickest ceramic ring material currently
> offered
> > it's not something that I would choose for the
> > vast majority of rod builds .
> >
> > It's unfortunate that it is only offered with
> > titanium frames as I would be curious to see
> the
> > pricing differences if it was offered with
> > stainless steel frames compared to other
> ceramics
> > with stainless steel frames . I think they
> would
> > be a little more expensive than SIC but not
> near
> > as expensive as they currently are with
> titanium
> > frames .
>
> I just want them to offer Alconite rings in
> Titanium frames again. That is the real bargain
> and I believe they would also be lighter than
> Torzite. I have been using Seaguide RS rings with
> Ti frames and have been very pleased with them.



Yeah, I would love to see the titanium Alconite combo again myself Lance because I also believe it would be far and away the best bang for your buck combo on the market but I have a feeling Fuji knows it would also take a big chunk away from their titanium torzite combo and that's why we won't see it . I used alconite almost exclusively before the torzite came out and I was very pleased with them but for saltwater I almost always choose guides with titanium frames especially on my most prized builds .

I've put them on my lightest weight spinning builds, but even there it's hard to notice a difference because the smaller guides in a K-concept layout mutes the weight difference between titanium/torzite and steel/alconite. In any case, I believe it's the titanium frames and not the torzite rings that make the weight difference. I might put them on a rod that I want to be the best of the best, highest end rod just because it seems like the right thing to do when price is no object. But in my opinion, a builder can't legitimately justify the expense on a performance basis unless money is no object.

100% John.

Concluding that Torzite guides fit into the economic concept of diminishing returns seems straightforward if you only consider one advantage they offer, such as them being lighter in weight. If you are only willing to pay 25% more for that weight savings over Alconite, then there is about an extra 75% difference in cost that doesn’t yield you a return. On some builds, though, objectives would drive me to pay maybe 50% more for the weight savings. On others this weight savings might be worth close to nothing as an additional cost.

Now, let’s go beyond weight. Casting distance is very important to me on some rods. There are also situations where I want lightweight baits to readily sink to depth. Stripping a finesse bait down to 80 feet gets to be a literal pain after a few times. Thus, I’m willing to pay more for guides that are lower in friction on some builds. This relative amount has been highest on crankbait, jerkbait, and drop shot/stand up jigging rods. These happen to be rods where lightness is also a driving objective.

Other guide performance characteristics matter on these same rods. I use some of them in brackish and even saltwater. I can’t always get them readily rinsed with freshwater. Being virtually corrosion proof is worth something in this situation. These builds are all on nice blanks that have fairly specific characteristics for their techniques. The more a blank cost, the less I want to switch guides off of it because a ring has cracked. Having one of these rods out of service also means using a backup that doesn’t fit the technique as well. I’m also willing to pay more for the RV6 frame design on casting rods.

What makes Torzite guides worth it on a few types of builds is that they do several things (everything) exceptionally well. Each of these different performance improvements may be situationally worth something. The amount of added value can sum up to exceed the extra cost margin compared to current Alconite or other offerings. Even if it does, I’m only going to pay the extra cost for the rods I’m going to enjoy using a lot. I’ve got old G. Loomis and pre-decline Lamiglas rods that I still grab for random opportunities. I also do less expensive builds for infrequent uses.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2023 12:04PM by Kendall Cikanek.

I agree, Kendall. I am primarily a freshwater guy and don't have corrosion concerns. Unfortunately, I haven't see any casting distance benefits either. I know the tests show it, and all of that makes sense, but in the field I'm not seeing it. I wish I could say different.

Also, for what it's worth, I had a torzite tip-top crack on me (while I'm sure it was my fault, replacing a $25+ tip-top hurts). I've also had an issue with the first (largest) reducer guide on a spinning rod where the ring separated from the frame so that it rattles around, which is weird. I'm thinking about putting a couple of drops of super glue in there to fix it but haven't bothered yet. These issues probably color my perspective on torzite a bit.

I'm all-in on titanium frames being worth it for the weight difference alone. The fact that Fuji doesn't offer more reasonably priced titanium frames (i.e., titanium/alconite) has caused me to try other brands.

I’ve never seen as good casting distances as with RV6 led Torzite guide trains. I haven’t tried the SiC option for comparison as the cost savings isn’t all that great. I have a few balsa crankbaits I’ve been throwing since the 1980’s that definitely fly farther then they ever have. While these aren’t lures I cast a lot anymore, I feel like they are a good baseline for comparing lines, guides, and such. I’m use to them and they are naturally flight challenged. With modern, weight transfer baits the casting distances are way out there. I’m selecting blanks with good recovery rates, putting on ten to eleven guides, and using good line, Thus, it’s hard to definitively state that Torzite is “X” percentage better. I do wish the systems were available with Alconite.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2023 12:45PM by Kendall Cikanek.

I’m going to build my first casting rod using the RV6, nice to know how great it is.

John Nesse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree, Kendall. I am primarily a freshwater guy
> and don't have corrosion concerns. Unfortunately,
> I haven't see any casting distance benefits
> either. I know the tests show it, and all of that
> makes sense, but in the field I'm not seeing it.
> I wish I could say different.
>
> Also, for what it's worth, I had a torzite tip-top
> crack on me (while I'm sure it was my fault,
> replacing a $25+ tip-top hurts). I've also had an
> issue with the first (largest) reducer guide on a
> spinning rod where the ring separated from the
> frame so that it rattles around, which is weird.
> I'm thinking about putting a couple of drops of
> super glue in there to fix it but haven't bothered
> yet. These issues probably color my perspective
> on torzite a bit.
>
> I'm all-in on titanium frames being worth it for
> the weight difference alone. The fact that Fuji
> doesn't offer more reasonably priced titanium
> frames (i.e., titanium/alconite) has caused me to
> try other brands.


I am not sure that Super glue is water proof, why not some Perma Gloss?

Try this
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