Micro guides worth it?

I searched for more info on them here but nothing really came up. In the process of fitting new rods and reels together and other than being a little more aesthetically pleasing are there any true advantages? I've read about smoother unspooling and improved accuracy but do they actually help?

NO. At least Im not a fan of them. It is harder to thread your line through them, I don't get more distance with them, although they do go into the rod locker a lot better than rods with standard guides. They claim there is less friction because the small guide reduces line slap when casting, therefore it is supposed to give you more distance. Now when you have a fish on and the rod is loaded up you will have a lot of friction because since the guides are so close to the rod your line will be rubbing on most of the rod blank. Lots of friction. Just a thought.

They're a real pain if you use a leader, for most good knots tend to bind up in them. If you use straight braid, mono, or fluoro without a leader, this will pose no problem. Other than that, I can't see much difference in my one rod with microguides and all my others with "regular" guides. Hope this helps.

Only if you like micro guides

They have no give. I've had hell w/ the inserts. I personally won't buy anymore

http://alxrods.blogspot.com/2010/10/micro-guides.html

I have some of all the guide sizes. Like above, less line slap, they look cool( I guess haha), fit Rod lockers easier, etc.

Bad things? They suck to thread line through, the tiny guides pop through my rod sleeves, forget about ever using a leader. Those are my negatives from owning some for a few years.

The guides are spaced close enough to not add friction with a fish on. The problem from the above poster must be isolated to his brand. Mine clears the rod just fine since the manufacturer I use uses the Fuji concept spacing.

The best of both worlds, micro and regular, is the new semi micro guides from Fuji. Even these are still a little bit of a squeeze for a leader knot, but doable.

The real benefit of micro guides is that they are closer to the rod, and by being so, they do cast a little easier. Not a distance increase, just seems smoother and a little more precise.

Sensitivity isn't better or worse, that is a result of a well made tip, rod blank, and seat...not the size/quantity of guides.

if you fish in winter the eyes freezer up faster

Micro guide rods aren't made to use with a leader, this is the reason your leader knots snags. I recently got one and run straight flouro and love it. I feel that I can feel better with it than a normal guide rod. To each his own I guess

I have one of the duckett micro rods. Its been a good rod but feeding the line through the guides when replacing line sucks, and I have good eyesight. It's useless for cold weather fishing because they ice up easily. Hard to clean since you can't get hardly anything through them to do it. Some of the other companies' "micro" guides are not bad, such as falcon and loomis, but I wouldn't call them micro. I won't be getting another.

I will not build a rod without them. They are far superior eyes. And change the whole action of a blank.

could you elaborate on this... Just a little.

Like I said, I own rods with all the different styles and would like to know why you feel they are superior. Not saying they are not pretty good, just want to know why they are the best.

My very best rods I own are regular double footed titanium SiC guided. My favorite rods to use are Fuji alconite micro guided, and semi micro guided. They are the Cara ST rods. Last year, the ST's came with the tiny micros. I bought another a month ago and it came with "Fuji Micro Guides" that were quite a bit larger than the older micro guides. On the first series of ST rods, the guides were all single foot. Now the stripper and second guide are double foot and the other 10 and tip are larger "micro" sized. It doesn't cast any different. Just wondering your views as a rodsmith.

The two rods that I have and was talking about are Duckett Micros, so I guess these are the only ones that allow the line to touch the blank under a load. I don't have any other rods with micro guides so I don't know about them. Maybe they have more guides on them.

I dont think the advantages (if there are any) are as significant as they claim. I have a couple and they dont perform any better than my regular rods but they are no worse either. Leader knots and cold weather fishing will be an issue like mentioned above.

I will add that the leader knot is rather picky. It has to be a slim knot, but if tied correctly, I don't have a problem with them.

The albright knot and the seaguar knot both work good with micro guides. The Seaguar knot is a little finicky sometimes though.

Ok I hope I can make some since of this. They are lighter. Not enough to feel but the weight on the tip helps with sensitivity. They are also smaller and more airodynamic so the hook sets seem crisper. More eyes closer together also helps eliminate friction created by line slap during the cast. I notice greatly improved cast distance. More eyes help translate the vibrations threw to the blank. The small micro eyes are more durable on the front deck. (Harder to crush). All my rods very from short top water 7'3" to 8' frog rods. Personal opinion and observation. I do not believe you will notice this much unless it is on a custom rod.

Over rated hype like most things in fishing. Luke i always say you can catch fish or you cant and no gimmick is gonna change that

Just wondering have you compared the same exact blank with both eyes?

I have a few Duckett micro magics and MegaBass Orixx rods. I like the micro guides on frog rods and flipping sticks. I think it helps with accuracy. Maybe it doesn't but I feel like it does.

I don't like them. They fill up with vegetation and they also freeze up when its cold.