Stainless Steel Boat Rod Guides
Stainless Steel Boat Rod Guides
Stainless steel is the standard material for most boat rod guides. It is an ideal metal for salt water and freshwater fishing. It is very strong, corrosion resistant and reasonable priced. The alternative is Titanium which is very strong, corrosion resistant and very light weight. It is much lighter than stainless steel. But Titanium is very expensive. A typical 20 mm guide costs about $30 for 1 guide.
My favorite stainless steel boat rod guide is from Sea-Guide. It's the XRG heavy duty boat rod guide with SiC or SiN ring inserts. The frame is heavy duty 316L Stainless Steel and as tough as it gets. Stainless steel is extremely strong and the XRG guide is just about indestructible. The frame is very thick and well designed. The ring inserts are an advanced ceramic of either Silicon Carbide SiC or Silicon Nitride SiN. These ceramics are micro smooth and reduce friction to almost that of roller guides. These ceramics also dissipate heat.
Sea-Guide XRG Boat Rod Guide Features
- 316L Stainless Steel frame
- 3rd Generation XRG Guide
- Designed to reduce line tangle and increase cast distance
- SiC or SiN advanced ceramic rings - micro smooth, diamond polished
- Reverse deep drawn frame increases strength
- Zirconia ES Rings
- Advanced PVD guide coating - more resistant to corrosion and abrasion
- Polished, Gunmetal, Gold, Black, Sandblasted finishes.
- Reasonably priced
There other great stainless steel boat rod guides brands like ALPS, Fuji, Pacific Bay, American Tackle and CRB. These are all very good brands. I just happen to love Sea-Guide. I've compared all of these with the Sea-Guide XRG guides and they give you the "Best Bang for the Buck". I have built many tuna and shark rods with the Sea-Guide XRG guides. They look great and function flawlessly. Why use another guide??? Right?
Here are the 3 top stainless steel boat rod guides. ALPS HXN is the one on the left, Fuji HB is in the center and the Sea-Guide XRG on the right. All of these function as well as they look.