Berkley Crystal 20lb?

[hooked_on_trout]

Well I have an 6-8KG setup and about 2 months ago I decided to upgrade the braid.

At the time I had 15lb which in hindsight I should have kept on the reel.

Reason being is that at the time I opted for Berkely 20lb crystal as I believed it would be a thinner diameter.

A few months later I am still noticing it is quite thick bulky and provides similar fishing to heavy duty dental floss.

Anyone else noticed this?

In the photo you can clearly see the 'string like' material it has turned out to be.

It is about 3 times as thick as normal 8lb Fireline, so in reality its quite a thick bulky line for "Crystal" that is.

Cheers

[Whiskers]

20lb is stronger than 15lb generally speaking the stronger the thicker , 6-8kg I would have 15lb on personally as for the string like material well it's braid? You might be happier with mono or fluro?

Or if you want thinner braid you might have to cough up for a better brand.

Cam

[nadders]

ive never been a fan of fireline for those reasons, although plenty are. i guess it just comes down to preference

in the 15-20lb range i like powerpro and bionic, has served me well so far although the powerpro is quite unforgiving on a baitcaster until worn in thoroughly, loose line builds up fairly easily

however once its worn in properly it casts very well and is very supple and thin

cheers

Dan

[marlin magic]

I have got about 10 setups all with fireline and have not had any probs with it and i have 2 setups with fins on them and i dont like it as much i use fireline in all cases i have got it from 2lb to 80lb it is a stiff braid compared to fins and some of the better braids but its a cheaper you get what you pay for

[Cowfish13]

Crystal refers to the colour, not the thickness, so I don't know what your getting at with "so in reality its quite a thick bulky line for "Crystal" that is."

Also, it's a fused braid, so is thicker and stiffer than other, better quality, true braids. It's about as good as you'll get for the money, but I'm never buying it again because I don't believe it is worth the money once you have used better stuff. If you want better performance, you have to pay more.

[kriso]

yep i agree with cowfish you get what you pay. if you want better shell out for some td sensor or castaway

[chris_stewart14]

Cowfish is right.. Crystal just refers to the colour. Remember that fireline also breaks at double it's rating so 20lb fireline will break at the strength of most 40lb genuine braids hence the thickness.. If your after 20lb breaking strain you should have bought 10 or 12lb.. I personally like fireline although I dont have it on my reels.. Sick for distance casting although definately better as it gets older and more supple.

[batman]

On the light gear I have used 6 and 10lb Fireline on two of my light spinning outfits and recentley was talked into Super PE on my bream outfit, casting light lures was a major issue as I am getting wind knots galore!!! I tried everything to overcome the issue but in the end went back to fireline. For my humble skills it does the job and the price is right.

On my Pluton rig I have 30 pound big bucks Jap PE, in the thicker stuff it makes all the difference, same goes for Flurocarbon...you get what you pay for.

For 20lb, I wouldn't go Fireline, something a bit more supple would be better but then the $$ go up.

[tomca]

I use the fireline on my spin reels upto 15lb, then 35-50lb line I use true braid, its what works for me. And I never use fireline on my baitcasters, line that is more supple gives me better feel when casting. If you don't like it, bin it and spend the dollars on some good jap stuff.

[hooked_on_trout]

Cowfish13 wrote:

Crystal refers to the colour, not the thickness, so I don't know what your getting at with "so in reality its quite a thick bulky line for "Crystal" that is."

Also, it's a fused braid, so is thicker and stiffer than other, better quality, true braids. It's about as good as you'll get for the money, but I'm never buying it again because I don't believe it is worth the money once you have used better stuff. If you want better performance, you have to pay more.

Yes I thought it was actually meant to be thinner in Diameter, my mistake.

If I had of known that I would have bought Stren Microfuse, however the rod is Primarily a bait rod, so I may look at putting some high grade mono on.

cheers