# best rod guides please



## fishinmagician (Jun 18, 2008)

are hardened aluminum rod guides any good? lighter weight yes, but can they stand up to a good fight with a lunker striper?


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## basstardo (Jun 5, 2006)

It really depends on the application you're talking about. I stick with Fuji guides for just about any application, and the type of rod usually dictates the guides I use. I usually stick with Alconites or SiC though. Been wanting to try the gold cermet guides too. Were you asking about anything specific?


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## HellRhaY (Jul 6, 2007)

best rod guides = titanium frame/ sic rings.


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## fishinmagician (Jun 18, 2008)

thanks folks. i was just wondering if hardened aluminum is strong enough for stripers. doesnt seem to me that aluminum can ever be made strong enough for anything.


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## Charlie2 (May 2, 2007)

*Best Guides*

Best or Most Expensive? HelRhay is right. Get out your checkbook.

Aluminum can be hardened sufficiently to make fishing guides. They are called Aluminum Oxide. Some builders still use them.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

fishinmagician said:


> thanks folks. i was just wondering if hardened aluminum is strong enough for stripers. doesnt seem to me that aluminum can ever be made strong enough for anything.



Remember- when talking aluminum oxide we are talking about the ring material, not the frame material- which is generally stainless steel- and it is the frame that generally requires strength- and comes in several styles of thicknesses for durability- usually rated for light, medium, or heavy duty use. 

Match the rating for the guide to the specific application intended and you should have no problems.

That being said I tend to stick with alconite or sic ring guides in steel, but have done a couple rods in gold cermet and titanium frames.

A decent guide I like also is the ICMNSG by fuji, not as pricy as the full blown titanium guides but a good medium duty in-betweener price wise, with a little more corrosion resistance than steel frames. I use the ICSMNT tops on the tips of many rod blanks.


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

Also keep in mind if you will be using braid or not. For mono, the quides you mentioned should work OK for stripers. Braid line is pretty tough on inserts, so I'd go with one of the harder insert materials as mentioned, such as the alconites or...if you are rich...the sic's. I've had some cheap off-the-shelf rods that have nicks in the inserts now because of braid. Obviously, you want the frames made from a material that is corrosion-proof. Just depends on how picky you are about overall weight.


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

sprtsracer said:


> Also keep in mind if you will be using braid or not. For mono, the quides you mentioned should work OK for stripers. Braid line is pretty tough on inserts, so I'd go with one of the harder insert materials as mentioned, such as the alconites or...if you are rich...the sic's. I've had some cheap off-the-shelf rods that have nicks in the inserts now because of braid. Obviously, you want the frames made from a material that is corrosion-proof. Just depends on how picky you are about overall weight.


Actually sic inserts are only slightly more expensive than alconite inserts. The big money comes from getting the "corrosion proof" frames- the titanium frames will cost big $$ versus the steel frames


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## fishinmagician (Jun 18, 2008)

perfect. thanx folks, very very helpful advice!


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## eric (Oct 24, 2007)

the best performance for you dollar is still the alconites

BMNAG for example..


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