microwave guides hype or not

[angry john]

Checking out the new technology, and these seem very cool, but i know if they were good or bad someone here would let me know the real deal. Is it just hype or are these the latest and greatest.
http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Mic ... -Set-NOIMW

[Bronzeye]

I understand your skepticism; the listed advantages on the page you linked include clearly empty hype:

"Reduction in Fatigue. Less force is required for casting using increased line speed because the blank will load and recover more naturally without inhibition from increased line vibration." (A blank's loading before the cast will not be affected by vibration of outgoing line after the cast, and the idea that a rod's recovery from a cast is impeded by line vibration is ludicrous; if anything, air resistance from line coils passing through a COF guide train would slow down and tame a rod's post-cast oscillation and contribute to faster rod recovery.)

"Converts 'pushing line energy' through a guide ring into 'pulling line energy'...." (A baitcasting reel pushes line forward off the revolving spool; a spinning reel cannot. Line must be pulled through any guide setup on a spinning rod.)

Potential purchasers should know that the larger ring on the largest guide has just a 15 mm interior diameter. I have bought two sets of the Microwave guides for a light and a medium light rod I plan to build. I think the guides will work well with braid and with nylon mono through about .010"; I have doubts about mono or fluorocarbon line heavier than that, though those are just gut concerns and not backed by any reports by others using them.

I bought the guide sets because of light weight of the set and because I like the size and off-the-blank height of the running guides (shouldn't interfere with knots or even bobber stops). If you are considering the TidalWave titanium set, know that the two largest guide frames are stainless steel with a titanium coating over them. I have tried in vain to get a weight figure for the TidalWave guide set (that info is available for the midrange MicroWave Nanolite guide set); I suspect there is very little weight difference, not enough to justify the price premium for the titanium set.

[thedude]

i was given a set to try out. I used it all last year on a 7-10" hydra P903 popping blank that was built as a spinning rod for fishing erie darter baits. I had this rod paired with a daiwa capricorn 2000 and was running 7lb sunline fc sniper. i had moved this reel from a different rod i used to use for the same purpose. While i do believe there is some added benefit in casting distance, i think the only way you would know it is if you measured it with a tape. There really is no human discernible improvements that i could tell while fishing with it. I used it alot too. Maybe with braid or larger diameter FC there is a noticeable improvement, but i'll be sticking with kigan z and micro guides from here on out. no reason in my mind to spend extra money on the microwaves. just my 2 cents.

[angry john]

i was given a set to try out. I used it all last year on a 7-10" hydra P903 popping blank that was built as a spinning rod for fishing erie darter baits. I had this rod paired with a daiwa capricorn 2000 and was running 7lb sunline fc sniper. i had moved this reel from a different rod i used to use for the same purpose. While i do believe there is some added benefit in casting distance, i think the only way you would know it is if you measured it with a tape. There really is no human discernible improvements that i could tell while fishing with it. I used it alot too. Maybe with braid or larger diameter FC there is a noticeable improvement, but i'll be sticking with kigan z and micro guides from here on out. no reason in my mind to spend extra money on the microwaves. just my 2 cents.

I love my 2000 series daiwa's so this is very helpful information. I was looking at them for a DS rod for weight but just using the rapid choke KR system will work out better! I had brought this up again as the search of the thread had some very old inputs when they came out, and wanted some time tested inputs. Only time will reveal a products strengths and weaknesses, when the novelty has worn off.

[Tim Kelly]

I seriously doubt you would notice any difference between the microwave and KR systems in practice. The KR system seems expensive to me, I'd be surprised if there were much difference in the finished price?

[mhgsx]

If you are considering the TidalWave titanium set, know that the two largest guide frames are stainless steel with a titanium coating over them. I have tried in vain to get a weight figure for the TidalWave guide set (that info is available for the midrange MicroWave Nanolite guide set); I suspect there is very little weight difference, not enough to justify the price premium for the titanium set.

On my cheap-o scale, Tidal Wave Spinning set with Nano rings = 5 gm.

[Bronzeye]

According to the guide weights listed in the chart at the bottom of this page, the less expensive steel MicroWave set w Nano rings should weigh just 4.1 g. with 7 running guides.

http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Mic ... olite-Ring

[mhgsx]

According to the guide weights listed in the chart at the bottom of this page, the less expensive steel MicroWave set w Nano rings should weigh just 4.1 g. with 7 running guides.

http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Mic ... olite-Ring

Using the same scale, regular MicroWave set in black w/ Nano ring = 5.5 gm.

I don't trust any weight MudHole advertises. Just look at the claimed blank weights for their MHX line; not even close.

[cuke]

i know- right. i want one of their 7'1" hm mhx dropshot blanks that weigh 1.1 ounces.

[jimmyb]

curious if anyone has used bigger spooled reels (like daiwa 2500/3000 size). honestly the 2000 size reels are pretty small that "taming" is probably not as necessary as those reels are pretty forgiving. I am a proponent of using large spool sizes for spinning reels as they have much less line twist issues...

the reels shown in the pics and videos have larger spools

I need to build on a set of microwaves...

[snowman custom baits]

curious if anyone has used bigger spooled reels (like daiwa 2500/3000 size). honestly the 2000 size reels are pretty small that "taming" is probably not as necessary as those reels are pretty forgiving. I am a proponent of using large spool sizes for spinning reels as they have much less line twist issues...

the reels shown in the pics and videos have larger spools

I need to build on a set of microwaves...

Jimmyb I'm no expert but I have built several rods with with microwave guides using reels from old Sahara 1500 sized reels up to a new saros 4000 sized reel. On the 4000 sized reel I had to move the first guide around a little to get good distance with the 50lb braid I use. I built the rod to skip frogs under docks and low limbs. The rod casts better than a close to same spec factory rod with standard guides . The first rod I built was a spinng rod using the cone of flight method but since then all the spinning rods have used microwave guides. The rods with microwave guides are a little smoother casting slightly further casting and much less wind knots and twisting of the line than the factory rods and the one conventional rod I built. Take that for what it's worth. If you use light line under 10lb mono or fluorocarbon or 30lb braid I think the microwave guides are worth a try.

[mhgsx]

For the weight weenies!

Bored today so I decided to weigh the size 5 runners from the Tidal Wave set vs the regular Microwave set vs. Fuji's KTSG-5 runners. (The Fuji guides are smoked color SS guides with Sic rings.) The guide sets come with 7 runners.

Tidal wave = 1.3 gm
Microwave = 1.6 gm
Fuji KTSG-5 = 0.9 gm

The finish and stamping of the guide frames are noticeably better with the Fujis. (One of the tidal wave runners didn't have the frame punched out below the ring!)

[Bronzeye]

Thanks for those weights! I expected the Microwave runners to be heavier because they hold the guide ring further out from the blank, but I didn't think the difference would be that great.

[f15h1n6]

Thanks angryjohn, going to read through your thread for more info!

[Doug76]

Checking out the new technology, and these seem very cool, but i know if they were good or bad someone here would let me know the real deal. Is it just hype or are these the latest and greatest.
http://www.mudhole.com/Rod-Building/Mic ... -Set-NOIMW

Looks fine except for the stripper guide. No way I'd use that, it has to increase friction on the cast at that point.
But that guide would likely actually enhance the reels ability to lay the line back on the spool during retrieve. So call it 50/50.
I'd use a standard high frame guide there myself.