Will double-footed guides make a rod stiffer?Updated 3 years ago

Actually, it will make the act softer overall. All guides, whether single or double footed, will soften a rod to some degree as the weight they add has a greater effect on rod efficiency than does any stiffening that does occur between the guide feet.

Let's put this into perspective. Let's say you're building a simple 6 foot spinning rod. I'd guess you're going to use about 6 guides or so and to make things interesting let's assume they are of ultra-stiff frame construction. What is the total area between the guide feet? Add up that space on each guide and I'll bet you'll come up with a combined total of something less than 3 inches. So on a total rod length of 72 inches you're going to stiffen less than 3 inches! In other words, the total amount of stiffening going on is pretty much immaterial - you'll never notice it.

But you will notice the reduction in rod efficiency caused by the overall weight increase made when you added those guides. The bottom line is that this reduction in efficiency caused by the weight of the guides will have an overall greater effect than any few inches of stiffening will.