Braid BS

Just read this article,

http://www.sportfishingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=43557

very interesting. Seems most braids are grossly overstated in terms of breaking strainand you can use any knot for attaching to swivel etc as long as its a Palomar. Anyone know of any similar tests done closer to home?

The breaking strains of the braidswere allgrossly understated i.e. the lines broke at far higher strains than that stated on the spool.

Attaching a swivel to Firelineachieved the best knot stengthwith apalomar but that was not the case with thePowerpro which wasbetter with a uni (grinner).

I use Powerproa lot and having tested it myself always use a single looped 4 turn grinner with no problems at all.

Andy, take a look at this table.

You're a little devil though, I am using it in a review that has yet to be published.

However, like the Dog says, all braids behave differently as soon as you put a knot into them. Try to look for a Spectra braid if possible, Cortland Master Braid is the one I was testing.

Here's why from the master of braids and hooklinks, Dave Chilton. With Dyneema braids the filaments, the tiny thin fibres that make up the braid, are all the same thickness (denier). With Spectra it comes in different thicknesses, thereby different strengths so they can spin up a braid using fewer, but stronger fibres that tend to make an overall, thinner line.

Spectra fibres are also used in the manufacture of bulletproof vests. All lines spun from Spectra fibres HAVE to be made in the USA. The technology is not allowed out, apparently.

If you want some Cortland Master Braid, and it is very good, look on eBay. Mal Storey is selling it for around a tenner a spool. Or look here.

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EDIT: IF YOU DO buy some from Mal Storey, don't forget to mention the FishingMagic website as your source!

Woody, many thanks for this and sorry for the devilish pre-empting! Look forward to seeing the full article.Is it fixedwhere it will bepublished?

It will be on here in good time.

Excellent!

Woody, I can't wait to see the review. I hope you do a goodabrasion resistance test. Thats what I'm interested in. I've only found one braid that will cope with some of the place I fish butthats like rope, I would love to find one that has good abrasion resistance but still low diameter.

No I didn't, Eric.

What to test it against, is the question. I used to watch Terry Eustace rubbing line against the sharp edge of glass, all very nice, but does it qualify as a good abrasion test?

Then again, there's only three types of material (I stand to be corrected) for this type of work, Aramid (known better by the Kevlar brand) fibres, Spectra, and Dyneema and of the three, my money is on Spectra.

Can the way it's spun improve it's abrasion resistance? I doubt it very much, the only process that can achieve that is to put a thick coating on it and then it's the coating that becomes abrasion resistant and not the fibres. And then that also defeats the object of having thin and soft braid.

Well, those are my thoughts.

Thanks for that Woody. The one I'm using is NASH Bullet Braid. I don't know what it's made of but it is very abrasion resistant but like I said in my previous post, it's like rope and I'm looking for something less obtrusive in the water.Something with a lower diameter would fit the bill nicelybut it needs to be abrasion resistant or it's no use to me.

Woody If you get the time and can be arsed. would you do a abrasion test on it? As a rule of thumb try a well known abrasion resistant brand like Maxima or similar, rub it against the corner of a house brick and seehow many rubs before it giveswhen youpull then do the same with the braid. I know it's not very scientific but it's better than nowt and it would be interesting.

I'll take that as a NO then./forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif