What braid?

[JDP]

On 12/8/2020 at 10:05 AM, GPSguru said:

It isn't a risk if you know a little about the manufacturer etc .......... being in the trade, I probably am able to source this info easier .

28lb spectra with a 30lb Sakuma  copolymer leader and a 92lb conger is a fair test ........... 👍 ................ 80lb Spectra and a large Bluefin is also a fair test, TBH I was more worried about my bimini top shot knot and the Aussie plait leader knot than the braid 🤣

What do you mean by being in the trade ? are you a tackle store owner supplier. I would of thought being in the trade you would test as many different braids as possible so you can advise your customers or at least hand out samples for customers to test, we tend to get given a fair amount to test direct from tackle stores and the rep's who come out on our boats.

What is the spectra tabled as, is it labeled as power pro or simply spectra ?

I contacted major companies over a discussion from the other forum on different labelling being used for different parts of the world. I received reply's from three companies assuring me the same line we get here and labels was the same as what comes from factory to both us and Europe. This to me doesn't make sense as virtually all the braids that were independently tested to industry standards were so far off the strength according to the label it didn't make sense. Powerpro was one of the lines where 20lb actually had a breaking point more than double its stated strength, as did many other brands. Even the 131 I now use braid dint seem to make sense to me when I removed about 100m of 20lb power pro from a small full spin reel to put 300m of 20lb 131. This would have to indicate 131 was 1/3rd the diameter of the pp. No wonder people are saying they haven't had problems with power pro breaking if the line they are using is double the strength they think it is. 

Being in the trade, you would know places that do industry testing, have you considered getting those lines tested to see if they are actually what they state. One of the big issues I hear from China braids is quality control and the fact some simply aren't even braids at all and just a rip off scam ( Which I know people have fallen for).

As you most likely know my daughter is sponsored by a franchise known as the Complete Angler who have stores all over the country, she also skippers what's considered one of the best game charters on the south coast who are tackle testers for both Daiwa and Shimano. They get tackle to test which isn't labeled at all, including rods and reels which they are able to totally punish and break if possible (that's the point of testing). Not that she would want to pester these reps who she has a great relationship with, however I feel she would be able to get honest info from them though. When I got my reply from the companies I questioned, people on the other forum weren't interested in the answers I got because they didn't match what they'd heard on Facebook. 

Im simple keen on knowing the truths and can only go by the info given but do admit I find it quite interesting delving deeper. We all want accurate info and not to be ripped off, so it makes sense to delve deeper, hopefully you have some test results on the lines you mention if you are trading them.

[GPSguru]

16 minutes ago, JDP said:

are you a tackle store owner supplier.

Err ........... yes

However, my main brand that I supply is aimed at the shore lure guys, and slow jigging ............. YGK and Jigmaster ............ Braid is a big market place and not a big earner unless you can sell bucket loads of it and therefore buy it in at a cheaper rate .................

When I want Spectra for me, then I just buy it in straight from China ..................

Testing braid scientifically is extremely complicated and not something I would want to be involved with, but just basic side by side testing of Spectra and powerpro  has shown there to be no difference .............

 

[JDP]

3 hours ago, GPSguru said:

Err ........... yes

However, my main brand that I supply is aimed at the shore lure guys, and slow jigging ............. YGK and Jigmaster ............ Braid is a big market place and not a big earner unless you can sell bucket loads of it and therefore buy it in at a cheaper rate .................

When I want Spectra for me, then I just buy it in straight from China ..................

Testing braid scientifically is extremely complicated and not something I would want to be involved with, but just basic side by side testing of Spectra and powerpro  has shown there to be no difference .............

 

So even though you sell line you don't use what you sell and buy cheaper stuff for yourself, or do you also sell the Chinese line you get for yourself. Goes to show there can't be much of a markup on braid if you find doing it the way you mention works out better. Do you have a shop or sell online and how are you finding supply lately ? Its gone crazy here, with shelves empty and supply not able to keep up (bit like the toilet roll craziness).

Do you also sell gps's or use that title for another reason ?

Edited December 20, 2020 by JDP

[GPSguru]

34 minutes ago, JDP said:

So even though you sell line you don't use what you sell and buy cheaper stuff for yourself, or do you also sell the Chinese line you get for yourself. Goes to show there can't be much of a markup on braid if you find doing it the way you mention works out better. Do you have a shop or sell online and how are you finding supply lately ? Its gone crazy here, with shelves empty and supply not able to keep up (bit like the toilet roll craziness).

Do you also sell gps's or use that title for another reason ?

Hmmm ....... the YGK braids are soft 8 ply and really not suitable for multiplier applications, they are aimed at the shore lure anglers. Put that stuff on most multi’s and it will ‘dig in’ ...... multi’s require a ‘hard’ braid.

 The only mono’s I stock are a quality coploymer from Sakuma (Nite Crystal) which was the main stay for many competition casters. I also stock heavy mono (up to 250lb) in large half kilo spools from Supacast as it is a favourite with the commercials. 
 

There are numerous Brands that I could stock, but TBH unless you can buy in massive quantities, then the returns are small as every tom, dick, and harry sells braid and mono !

Yes, I use jigmaster braid on my slow jigging reels as I need a high quality thin braid and it has colour depth markers..... again, it has to be used with care even on a level wind.

The bottom line is ........ if I could find any advantage of using powerpro over spectra, then I would use powerpro.

Before I went over to Spectra, all my multi’s were loaded with powerpro, but  TBH I cannot find any difference between the brands, only the price and packaging.

The GPSguru handle comes  from a lifetime in the public safety communications industry ...... I was using and designing GPS and differential GPS receiver systems way back in the early  90’s for location and time signal locking in quasi synchronous radio systems .... 

Stock  is difficult from china at the moment due to staff shortages at the factories as all the Chinese seem to want to be in hospitality right now.

Most of the stuff I stock is made in Japan and flown into the uk, so all is good  for me at the moment, but yes, huge shortages are expected in the coming months, mainly due to container port issues, and Brexit.

Edited December 20, 2020 by GPSguru

[Odyssey]

4 hours ago, GPSguru said:

Hmmm ....... the YGK braids are soft 8 ply and really not suitable for multiplier applications, they are aimed at the shore lure anglers. Put that stuff on most multi’s and it will ‘dig in’ ...... multi’s require a ‘hard’ braid.

 The only mono’s I stock are a quality coploymer from Sakuma (Nite Crystal) which was the main stay for many competition casters. I also stock heavy mono (up to 250lb) in large half kilo spools from Supacast as it is a favourite with the commercials. 
 

There are numerous Brands that I could stock, but TBH unless you can buy in massive quantities, then the returns are small as every tom, dick, and harry sells braid and mono !

Yes, I use jigmaster braid on my slow jigging reels as I need a high quality thin braid and it has colour depth markers..... again, it has to be used with care even on a level wind.

The bottom line is ........ if I could find any advantage of using powerpro over spectra, then I would use powerpro.

Before I went over to Spectra, all my multi’s were loaded with powerpro, but  TBH I cannot find any difference between the brands, only the price and packaging.

The GPSguru handle comes  from a lifetime in the public safety communications industry ...... I was using and designing GPS and differential GPS receiver systems way back in the early  90’s for location and time signal locking in quasi synchronous radio systems .... 

Stock  is difficult from china at the moment due to staff shortages at the factories as all the Chinese seem to want to be in hospitality right now.

Most of the stuff I stock is made in Japan and flown into the uk, so all is good  for me at the moment, but yes, huge shortages are expected in the coming months, mainly due to container port issues, and Brexit.

Sounds interesting work GPS!

 

[Saintly Fish]

So is the opinion of this spectra braid that it’s a just as good braid as the more expensive versions but for half the price?

[Odyssey]

1 hour ago, Saintly Fish said:

So is the opinion of this spectra braid that it’s a just as good braid as the more expensive versions but for half the price?

I hope so, I’ve just ordered 2km of 24lb braid 😬

[Andy135]

Just now, Odyssey said:

I hope so, I’ve just ordered 2km of 24lb braid 😬

Watching with interest. Keep us posted on how you get on with it please Luke. 👍

[GPSguru]

1 hour ago, Saintly Fish said:

So is the opinion of this spectra braid that it’s a just as good braid as the more expensive versions but for half the price?

Generally it is  a quarter of the price of a well known brand.

[GPSguru]

50 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

I hope so, I’ve just ordered 2km of 24lb braid 😬

I use the 28lb and it has been fine. I tend to buy the  300m spools apart from the 80lb which I buy in the 1000m spools.

 

[Odyssey]

I used it before no issues, but got 6 reels to reload up so will keep me busy over lockdown. 
 

Also will have spare in case I need to change mid season after all this spring/summer wrecking and reefing I’ll be doing mixed in with a bit of tope fishing 😆

[JDP]

10 hours ago, Odyssey said:

I used it before no issues, but got 6 reels to reload up so will keep me busy over lockdown. 
 

Also will have spare in case I need to change mid season after all this spring/summer wrecking and reefing I’ll be doing mixed in with a bit of tope fishing 😆

When you say change mid season, what would be the reason to change ? The thing that Ive found with the 131 is that so far its been on the outfits I use and punish the most (two years now) and I haven't even needed to reverse it, it looks like new braid still with no fluffing and virtually no fade, which is what I need casting light lures. Other braids in the past were lucky to get 6 months, with Powerpro being on of the quickest braids to discolour and fluff up for me and spider wire being the most prone to breakages. I was always checking my rod guides thinking I had damaged rings to wreck the braid so quickly, not the case with ocea and 131 though. The fact these braids are 3x the price of the likes of Powerpro puts people instantly off but the fact so far mine has out lasted Powerpro by 4x and still not reversed makes them some of the cheapest braids Ive ever used really.

Great thread, good to hear peoples experiences and it seems while you can get good Chinese line you can also get rubbish. I bought an 150lb 1800m spool of saltiga braid from Melton tackle for deep drop Ellectric reels at around $450 and my mate bought what he thought was the exact same product from China on flee bay for $150. We compared the two spools side by side and the difference was quite shocking (I thought Chine would of coppied a little better). There were spell differences, smell difference and the colour rubbed straight off the fleebay braid. Strength test was simply a joke, where his could be broken by hand and mine will pull bycatch makos straight to the boat using 145lb of reel drag on the ellectric. Lucky for him he paid via PayPal and got his money back, this is just one of the reasons its not worth it to me and I have numerous friends who've had similar experience with other copies. 

[GPSguru]

57 minutes ago, JDP said:

Powerpro being on of the quickest braids to discolour and fluff up

Spectra fades, but does not seem to fluff up too bad .............. some of mine have been on reels for 3 years, so fading is acceptable, but the line is still ok ............ a few times a year I chop off the first 10m just to be safe from any damage ...............

[Odyssey]

Once I tad a large tope/small porgie take a huge amount of line on TLD5 abs then snag me. Hopefully it’ll last a few years but if that happens I don’t want to have to come home as out of line....

At least I got spare now. Latest shipping estimate from eBay.... 19th March 🤔🤔🤔

[Ollieollie]

I have the old Chinese twine on my boat reels. Can’t fault it, spectra all the way 

[SiDfish]

Most modern braid is spectra, it's a fibre just like nylon or polyprop.  The generically named chinese 'Spectra' is a brand.  Seems to do its job well, but it's thick compared to the better 8 carrier braids.  As said elsewhere here, there was a problem with Spiderwire breaking for no reason, and we had it, but the latest stealth pro (sent in replacement) is one of my favourite lines, along with whiplash pro @ €150 for 3000m.  Quoted diameters are just rubbish, but these lines are a lot thinner than 'Spectra' and breaking strains are way, way above that quoted.  Fishing in 50-100m+, the slightest reduction in diameter is important as it equals less lead.  Both these lines are colourfast (except the clear which goes gray/pink from the crap on your fingers), take longer than two seasons to 'fluff up' and are nicely 'limp' after a few sessions.  Using a length of whiplash with a palomar knot each end, rated at 36lb, I can bottom a set of 50lb spring scales and just keep on pulling.  When snagged 60lb+ rigs (self made with premium Asso mono) break before the braid.  I don't understand scrimping on line when it lasts so well.  I have very limited money but line is the only thing between you and the fish.  Cut other costs by making leads, traces, feathers (pre-made are sh1t), servicing reels and repairing anything.  Instead of buying small packs of swivels/clips/crimps/hooks etc, buy in bulk over a long period and have years worth in stock, at the same cost, with always a good reserve.