The Snake Brand name has always been synonymous with creativity and innovation.
Each and every fly rod designer desires to bring to the market a design that will have elements that will increase line speed for distance, better loading properties and loop control for enhanced presentation. Component weight and epoxy build-ups can defeat even the finest designs. With this in mind we were the first company in the industry to introduce guides with graduated wire diameters to optimize the design of the rod and increase its performance.
In 2005 we submitted a design to the Patent Office and were granted a patent for the Universal Guide. What was unique about this design was that it incorporated a concave radius on the bottom of the guide, a convex radius on the top of the guide and a tapered foot for ease of wrapping. The concave radius allowed the guide to have a lower profile to the rod blank which minimized the epoxy build-ups, which reduced weight and helped to achieve the performance desired by the designer. Not only was this a breakthrough but an industry first because the issues with alignment were eliminated because Snake Brands Guides feet are designed to have the feet in alignment to sit flat and incorporated a round helix that assists in creating more line speed which in turn increases the casting distance.
For years we have realized that each and every one of us needed to be stewards of our environment and to ensure that water quality was critical to health of our streams, rivers and lakes. With this in mind I started thinking about the coatings used in the industry. I will discuss this further with the introduction of our Ecoated Guides.
Snake Brand guides: Impeccably crafted - light weight with an elegant profile. The feet are beautifully shaped for easy wrapping.
- Tom Dorsey
Founder, Thomas & Thomas
Ecoating
When I started researching coatings available in the market I discovered that both RoHs for Europe and the EPA here in the United States had identified issues with Chromium. I was looking for a coating that would have a good surface hardness and not be subject to rusting issues. With this in mind we developed a coating that has a Rockwell surface hardness of 64, which is 6 Rockwell points harder than my stamping dies. We sent our samples to Stack Metallurgical for surface hardness testing. Subsequently we submitted guides to Durkee Testing Laboratories for salt fog tests, these guides with the new Ecoating were subjected to 1200 hours and had no rust at the end of the test. You can find the test results on the website for your review. We also have come to realize that this new coating has less friction than chrome and we are able to achieve more line speed and distance.
We also started to analyze the dynamics of the cast, especially on the haul stroke and noticed with our round helix design that the line would no longer come in contact with the tear drop "V's" seen in the foreign guides which reduce line speed which in turn shortens the cast. We had numerous accomplished casters such as Michael Mauri, Mike McFarland, Per Brandin and Vern Jeremica cast rods equipped with the new Ecoated Guides and there was a consensus that they could see the positive results in their casting. Scott's Radian Series designed by Jim Barchi feature these guides. It was a pleasure to speak directly with Scott’s Pro Staff members and many of their customers at the 2013 ICAST Show in Las Vegas and hear their positive comments on Jim’s design and the performance of our components.
Who can’t use a few more feet on their cast to reach that trophy fish?
We are pleased to announce that through lengthy negotiations and increased volumes, we have been able to offer the new Ecoated Guides at the list price of $2.99. Discounts will be available on volume purchases.
