have any of you had problems with using braid on your clarus spinning rods ?? i know they are aluminum oxide guides , just don't recall hearing if they are good to go with braid . gonna try some 10 lb. Power Pro on my 6'6" clarus spinning rod (CSS66LA) . let me know , please 

I have that 6'6 clarus and have used nothing but braid with it...........no problemo !

x2.  I use Fireline braid on my Clarus and no problems.

lol , i have that exact rod paired with an abu garcia 801. recently made the switch to braid. went with 15/4 power pro and so far i havnt seen any wear on the guides.

lol , i have that exact rod paired with an abu garcia 801. recently made the switch to braid. went with 15/4 power pro and so far i havnt seen any wear on the guides.

i'm gonna use 10 lb. power Pro with a CXX 6 lb. leader . got tired of changing my line every week  > ( was just using CXX in 6 lb. , full spool ....

i used straight 6lb CXX on my 801 and hated it after a week. now i use it just for leaders.

The range of quality guide ring materials currently used in order of hardness: Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide, Gold Cermet (Gold Ceramic Metallic). The aluminum oxide can be used with braid, it's just not the best option available.

The range of quality guide ring materials currently used in order of hardness: Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide, Gold Cermet (Gold Ceramic Metallic). The aluminum oxide can be used with braid, it's just not the best option available.

you forgot hardloy , Hardloy inserts are made of a special blend of high grade

Aluminum Oxide with a much higher compression strength making them much more durable than

standard Aluminum Oxide inserts.

that is not the order of ring hardness , i believe , Mike please correct me if i'm wrong 

The current model of Shimano Clarus rods actually uses hardloy rings, same as the Compre line above it. Previous model Clarus rods just had standard aluminum oxide I believe.

If your rod has the word "Clarus" written in chrome lettering then it is an older one. If it is written in blue lettering then it is the newer one and has hardloy guides. I was told by Bantam1 from the Shimano forum we had here last year (he is a Shimano rep as well) that hardloy guides used on my Compre will handle braided line just fine. Being that they both will have hardloy guides, I would not feel bad at all using braid with a newer Clarus.