[numbskull]

It is not that simple. I'm not trying to pose as an expert, but I have fooled enough with these new guide setups that I think my experience can at least give others something to discuss with their rod builder.

First, and most importantly, lowrider guides do not automatically add distance to your cast....indeed they can screw you up if not set up correctly.

Setting them up correctly does not mean doing what ST Croix did (scaling a fuji diagram to 11 feet and going with it). Setting up correctly is very reel height and spool size dependent.

On long rods (11.5 and up) this is not too big an issue. There is a standard formula that puts the first guide 47" from your reel stem. At that distance (or farther) the guide layout will handle any size reel, including big spooled fast line dispensing reels such as the Emblem or its higher end brethren.

As you come in with the collector, however, it gets dicier. Then, line flow begins to take a sharper downward angle and get directed into the rod blank ahead of the second or third guide. There is also less space for line coils to flatten and so you get more overrun. Distance may drop off fast. The way around this involves moving the 2nd and third guides in and following the line path down into the blank, then running to the tip with tiny guides once the line is under control. This however takes test casting and how close you can get that first guide becomes reel and spool size dependent. I may be wrong, but I doubt CMS does it this way. The bottom line is that throwing a low rider (LC) guide on a rod, then attaching a huge spooled reel may not give you the distance you expect (and you might even be better off with a smaller spooled reel).

The other thing guys should know about lowriders (LC guides) is that they are relatively heavy, and stiff (they have a long footprint that inhibits the bend of the rod some, particularly evident near the tip). Going with titanium helps the weight....of your rod and wallet,.... but you still have the stiffer tip issue.

All in all, most guys fishing solely braid are probably better going with a 'New Concept' build......maybe using a 30 size Alconite K guides as the first collector a little further out the rod than you are used to, then dropping 20 (or 16)-10-to size 8 or 10 runners (about 6 of them) to the tip. This setup probably gives you the best balance of versatility, lightness, performance, and expense. You can, I think, do a little better with Titanium LC guides and Titanium K guides as runners, but you will be locked into one specific reel, you will need to test cast a lot, and it will cost you about $200 for the guides.

Finally, after buying and building..then tearing down and rebuilding.. rods like a maniac, I'm beginning to realize that casting technique is more important than blank and guide systems, and that the blank or reel that casts the farthest is often not the equipment you want to fish with when you expect to catch fish.

Hopefully more experienced guys like saltheart or reelin rod will chip in and offer better guidance than I can.