We use fuji Concept Alconite.

Thanks Coop. Unfortunatley, I have only had moderate success with Alconites. Braid debris eats them up after a while and you end up with lost fish and lost lures. For $260+ a rod, I was hoping for REC's or at least Zirconiums.

C-Rad

If your eating up Alconites, REC recoils would fail many times faster. They are the same hardness as stainless steel, in the low 200s. Alconites are in the 1200 range and Zirconiums are just barely harder around 1300. Guide feet on REC recoils shape very easily.
Don't believe me, hit your REC recoil with a file, now try the same thing on an Alconite or Zirconium ring.

Good point. Thanks for the advice. I'm not totally sold on REC's just yet anyway. I have had, however, pretty good history with SS/zirconiums as well as 'old-fashioned' titaniums w/SIC.
I really like the way braid flows through zirconiums. Smooth and quiet. I wish Lamiglass offered even more than the two (Rogue River & Northwest spcl.) with these.
I believe that REC's would be best used on a spinning rod and that on a baitcaster, their inherrent 'flexibility' would be a detriment.
I'd love to own one of these Indian River rods (especially since the Indian River is my back-yard and I fish it every weekend). But I can't see paying $260+ for a rod with nothing more interesting than Alconites wrapped.

This is truly the first I have heard of alconites grooving. In the six years we have put them on more than 100 different models, we have never had a single rod returned with alconite guides grooving. Are you sure the guides were alconite? Were they Fuji or amtack? Did you build the rod or was it a built rod that said it had alconites on it? I only ask this because we have seen some rods with a hang tag that said alconite on the guides that were not.
We have seen a few guides with cracks in the guide that could look like a groove.

You most get your braid quite dirty, I have some oversized sturgeon rods that have had nothing but 80 lb braid on them since '94 if I remember right. Zero damage to Fuji BSVOGs Aluminum Oxide guides.

I built mine with a woven graphite butt section (Texalium), Aero reel seat (no foregrip) with black REC spinning guides to keep it as light as possible. This was for the TLP 842 version. Just got the TLP 844 which I will build the same way...

Ron B