G-Man, please understand it pains me to say this. Today's Hardy is not the legendary company of years gone by. Today's Hardy is only a brand name and it shows. Their website includes phrases such as
our lightest fly reel ever*,
built-in line guard, and
leader-only systems**. These are simply meaningless adver-speak posing as information. As more evidence that Hardy hired clueless marketing hacks,
their website copy also claims the various Ultra reels have a
GEAR RATIO: 1.0:1. That's an interesting claim for reels with no gears...
Marketing puffery notwithstanding, the intent of a line guard is to prevent an abrasive fly line from cutting into the reel frame. To do so, the reel maker has two design requirements. First, the line guard material must be harder than the reel frame. Second, the line guard should be readily replaced when damaged***. A line guard integral to the reel frame, by definition, cannot meet either design trait. Thus, the term
built-in line guard is an advertising inspired oxymoron.
Fortunately, most modern fly lines don't collect dirt and abrasive debris as readily as the silk lines of yore. Modern hard anodizing produces reel frames less susceptible to abrasion. An actual line guard is rarely necessary. Still, adding some shallow slashes to the reel frame in a line guard-ish pattern, doesn't mean the reel has a line guard.
Tom
* Yet the website publishes,
Reel Size = 2000, not a reel weight. Hmm...
** So, how do I catch a fish with only a leader? If I only have a leader, why do I need a system? Did anyone in charge read this stuff?
*** From
Trout Tackle One, chapter 5,
Observations on the Modern Fly Reel, by E. Schwiebert, p 185.