Actually, they are probably not inhibiting the line speed at all. I would agree that they look cheap, but they are very practical in all reality. The whole concept of the recoil guides is pretty cool. They are actually a little spring and when bent, return to their original shape. It shouldn't be hard at all to replace the guide and get the color to match since it is a fairly new rod and I would suggest that you talk to G loomis for the color matched thread and the epoxy that they use. If you can find someone locally you would be better off, it will cost you as much in shipping as it does to replace the guide.

I have an Orvis blank that I built recently and used the recoil guides on it. The whole rod only weighs in at 1 3/4 ounces. While that stripper looks cheap (reminds me of some of the old guides form the 50's and 60's on cheap imported rods) I like the fact that it cant be bent out of shape.