I'm about to start in on an 8wt saltwater fly rod build. Almost all the rods I've built before have been for freshwater. Can anyone help me pick out a saltwater safe stripping guide? I am interested in the titanium guides I see from Pac Bay, American Tackle and Alps. I'm not able to see them in person so I'd appreciate any advice on which would be the best choice. Thanks.

I'm not familiar with the Pac Bay, have used the single foot spin guides from American Tackle, and found their yield strength (easy to bend) lacking. I have used the Alps a number of times and love them. They are very handsome and appear to be very tough, although I've not tried to destroy one. I believe that all titanium alloy guides will work fine in salt.

I've used Alps stainless steel tiptops in salt, and I rinse every day when I get off the water. They seem to be very corrosion resistant, Of course so are REC's.

If you plan to use a keeper, most of the stainless steel ones are not very corrosion resistant. Use a REC keeper or don't use one at all. I don't use them for two reasons. First, I don't want anything on the rod that could tangle with the line. Things happen way too fast in salt. Second, if I use the frame of the first guide, running the leader under the reel foot and back up to the guide I will not have the leader to line knot going through the tiptop.

I rank titanium guides as follows:

1 - Fuji
2 - ALPS
3 - the rest

Everyone has their favorite flavor. Mt last salt built included SeaGuide strippers.

Do not overlook RECOIL guides. No rings, no rust.

I prefer the minima 4 guides. They're light and durable. Also, priced right. I only build saltwater fly rods and use on 90% of builds. Running guides, the recoil or snake brand snake guides and the minima single foot guides.

Most guides advertised as "titanium" guides consist of a plating of titanium a few microns thick over a base metal. There are no solid titanium guides. The closest thing to a "titanium guide" is a REC Recoil guide, which is made of a solid, all-the-way-through Nickel-Titanium alloy. REC guides will not corrode, even if their surface is scratched, and if they are accidentally deformed by being struck or pressed they will spring back into shape.

Thanks for the advice all. One concern I have is how high the guides stand off the blank. I don't have catalogs for all the different components so can any of you recommend a guide that is lower in profile amongst all these titanium guides?

Fuji, Alps, American Tackle, SeaGuide, and PacBay all advertise that their titanium guides are made from a solid titanium alloy, not titanium plated or coated. They are all corrosion proof and all more expensive than stainless frames. In addition to these solid titanium alloy guides, there are various types of Titanium PVD coated and titanium plated guides, and these are not solid titanium.
Norm

The heights for a size 12 titanium stripper from American Tackle, Fuji, and Alps are:
American Tackle Ringlock - 16.26 mm
Fuji KW - 17.4 mm
Alps XN - 18.5 mm
Norm

Fuji KW Ti Frames and Torzite, SIC and Alconite rings. Very strong proven frame and good guide height for fly rods. The others listed do not have that design.

I am a big fan of all the Alps guides! Their TIMXN Titanium (not coated) are excellent for salt!

Alps Ti-LXNZG - excellent titanium framed stripping guides. Have them on several rods, used in salt - not a trace of corrosion.

AmTak TItan. I use the NIRVL model on my smaller weight fly rods and have had no issues in the salt.

Looks like you could flip a coin, they are all excellent guides.
Norm

Thanks all for the recommendations! It's a huge help