>>1368553Guides on top of the rod tend to increase twist and torque on the blank because every little offset of the line in the guides vs. the blank makes it more unstable. Compare it to balancing a broomstick on your finger. That's also one of the reasons why traditional baitcast rings are very close to the blank, this shortens the lever that generates the torque on the rod.
This comes to play on very light rods because they handle torque worse than for example a heavy jigging boat rod.
