I was just wondering what the general concensus on the Alconite guides is. What makes them different from the Hardloy series?

Justin,

In a nutshell, compared to the hardloy series, alconite guides are lighter and the ring is harder.

Rich
www.rodreel.com

In another nutshell, they offer nearly the performance of SiC guides with a price just higher than hardloy.

Does anyone know what alconite IS? Is it just another variety of aluminum oxide, with a special treatment (like hardaloy) or a different manufacturing process that allows it to be made thinner without sacrificing strength?

I guess what I'm asking is: is alconite actually harder and slicker than hardaloy, or just lighter?

I do know that there is a very noticeable difference between Alconite and SIC on flyrods. Especially in the lower weight lines. I built two 3wts same blanks, same guide placement technique. Place them side-by-side in casting and there IS a difference. I find it a little more difficult to "feel" that difference in monofilament setups (casting, spinning), I attribute much of this to less actual contact between the smaller mono than the larger fly line. One other factor for me is I use alot of Don Mortons theories on guide placement, this requires more guides than usual and the SIC is going to offset this versus multiple Alconites (make sense?) So the result for me is this. All my flyrods get SIC guides and most spinning and casting get Alconite. I will use SIC on casting/spin is the customer insists on braided lines, and depending on actual frequency of usage and this is an attempt to reduce the chance of grooving. Anyway, don't know that actual matrix of ALconite, but can tell a difference, and that difference to me is worth the extra $.

Tom,
To my knowledge, Alconite is a name given by Fuji to the ceramic ring material. Alconite is harder than hardaloy, but not necessarily
'slicker'. The frames of alconite guides are lighter than the frames on regular hardaloy, and I believe the ring is smaller thus would also be lighter? Alconite guides offer plenty of strength for most normal freshwater fishing situations. Of course, always it's best to match up the right sizes and spacing, to the blank for optimal performance.

Rich
www.rodreel.com

Fuji claims that Alconite is the lightest guide they make, even lighter than SIC. I like them a lot on spinning tackle although I strongly recommend SIC if the customer ever uses braided line. I'm not really sure how well Alconite would hold up to the braids but I can be certain of SIC. I'm fishing heavily with a rod this winter and spring - Alconite guides & braided line to check it out. I'll post results.